Season 3 Delay Once Again Proves Bridgerton Should End With Season 4
Who is going to care after that?
When two new chapters of Netflix's romantic hit Bridgerton were greenlit in April 2021, following the wildly successful first season, no one doubted that the series would consist of at least seven installments following the love stories of all the Bridgerton siblings, from A to G.
After all, the show's source material, Julia Quinn's novel series, consists of eight books, including one with epilogues for each story. But as time goes on and each new hiatus between seasons gets longer than the last, it becomes clear that it might be best to end the series with a bang after Season 4.
There are just enough main characters for two more seasons
Bridgerton is a unique show. It follows new protagonists with each new season. But the carrying story is ongoing, and what really makes the series a sensation among viewers is a limited number of main characters that we get to know and fall in love with from day one.
Anthony, Colin, Benedict, Eloise and Penelope have all played important roles in the background of Daphne's story and have become close friends to millions of viewers over the course of two seasons. We relate to them, we invest in them, we want to see them shine. They are the suspense and money makers.
But you can't be friends with people who don't communicate with you for years. You'll eventually forget about them and move on.
With Season 3 delayed until sometime in 2024 due to the Hollywood strikes or some other reason, and Season 4 likely to take even longer than that to get to our screens, there's no way the public's interest is going to stay with the show.
People won't be interested in tuning in to the secondary characters' stories
So far, Bridgerton has been going like this: one sibling gets their solo story and then they gradually drop off the radar to make way for new storylines (look at Daphne and Simon Basset). With a pattern like that, there won't be any familiar faces left on the show after Season 4.
Unless you're a fan, you probably don't even remember what Francesca, Gregory and Hyacinth look like. And Francesca has just been recast. So why should you bother to wait and get excited about their stories?
With that in mind, what makes the most sense for Netflix and Shondaland is to wrap up all the stories in the next two seasons and end Bridgerton on a high note while viewers still care, instead of dragging it out for years and driving it into the ground.