Remember When Netflix Had 8-Season Plan for Bridgerton? Season 3 Renders It Useless

Summary

• Despite Shonda Rhimes' promise of an eight-season series, Bridgerton's current release schedule is evidence to the contrary.
• The romantic drama airs eight episodes roughly every two years.
• Such a slow pace has hurt the show's chances of retaining its main cast.
• Besides, the long breaks make it impossible to maintain the public's interest in the show.

'There are eight Bridgerton siblings, and as far as I'm concerned, there are eight Bridgerton seasons. And maybe more,' Shonda Rhimes told Variety in 2021.

At the time, it sounded like a solid plan that had many Bridgerverse fans breathing a sigh of relief. Even though Netflix only announced four seasons, if Shonda sounds so sure about more, they have to happen, right?

Well, promises or not, two years after the interview, things are not looking so great for Bridgerton. In fact, the release schedule suggests that Season 4 may be the show's last.

Bridgerton premiering one story every two years

Based on Julia Quinn's series of romantic novels, Bridgerton revolves around a Regency London viscount family consisting of a matriarch and eight siblings, each of whom is destined to find love. At least in the novels.

So far we've seen the solo stories of Daphne, the eldest daughter, and Anthony, the head of the family after his father's death. The two seasons were released 15 months apart.

The next installment will focus on the third son, Colin, and his relationship with Penelope Featherington, the family's friend. While not announced by the studio, the chapter is looking at a spring 2024 premiere, making the current hiatus over two years long.

If this pattern holds, each new entry will debut roughly every two years, and Season 8 will not arrive until 2034, which presents some major problems for the show.

The cast ages and moves on

In the Bridgerverse, new social seasons come right after the previous ones to maintain continuity. In real life, twice as much time passes.

The Bridgerton cast ages twice as fast as their on-screen counterparts, and while this is not a drastic change for adults, it is much more noticeable for children (younger Bridgertons).

Besides, the main cast is not going to be sticking around with the show forever. Bridgerton made them famous, and they will ride that wave and take on new projects, just as Regé-Jean Page, Phoebe Dynevor and Ruby Stokes have done. The longer the hiatus between seasons, the greater the likelihood of scheduling problems and lead actors not reprising their roles.

Public interest wanes

On top of that, it is hard to keep viewers hooked on a show that only releases eight episodes every two years. People tend to move on when the wait gets too long.

The first season introduced some major characters that captivated the audience, but each of them will likely have their arcs wrapped up in the next two chapters. After that, Bridgerton will have to shine a spotlight on secondary characters. But will viewers want to follow them as they did the leads of the first few seasons? I highly doubt it.

Without viewers, there's no ratings, without ratings, there's no profits, and without profits, there's no continuation. So it looks like Netflix and Shondaland killed Bridgerton's chances of getting eight seasons by going slow on the show.