'Bridgerton' Season 3 Diverges From Book Order, Will Focus On A Different Couple

Dearest "Bridgerton" reader, there is unwelcome news for those of you who were looking forward to seeing Benedict Bridgerton find a suitable love match this season.

Instead, Nicola Coughlan recently divulged that it is the younger Mr. Bridgerton, Colin, to be exact, that will be the talk of the ton after he begins to court her character of Penelope Featherington, better known to some as the enigmatic Lady Whistledown.

According to Deadline, Netflix’s FYSEE Space’s opening night ATAS panel on Sunday night revealed some big news about season 3.

At the end of the panel, Nicola Coughlan, who played Penelope Featherington and her alter ego Lady Whistledown, was asked what viewers could expect in the upcoming third season. Although the third book in the Julia Quinn series the show is based on focuses on the love story between Benedict Bridgerton and Sophie, Nicola revealed that it's actually Penelope and Colin, played by Luke Newton, whose love story will be the focus of season 3.

“Like Lady Whistledown, I have been keeping a secret for quite some time and I can confirm to you all that season 3 is Colin and Penelope’s love story,” Coughlan told a shocked audience. “I have kept that secret since two weeks into season 2. This is the first time I am saying it here.”

Their love story was supposed to be reserved for the show's fourth season, based on the book "Romancing Mister Bridgerton." The first two seasons followed the book's original order, first focusing on Daphne Bridgerton and then Viscount Anthony Bridgerton, head of the Bridgerton household.

The show has already parted ways with the book series they are based on. Although readers don't learn Penelope's true identity as Lady Whistledown until the fourth season, the series spoils the secret at the end of the first season.

That's not going to be the only difference that fans can expect going forward. As Deadline revealed late last week, Ruby Stokes has been recast as Francesca Bridgerton. Ruby had left after filming only three episodes of season 2 due to her being cast as the lead in a new Netflix series, "Lockwood & Co." Instead, "Anatomy of a Scandal" star Hannah Dodd will take over the role.

At the end of season 2, Penelope overhears Colin bad-mouthing her to the other eligible bachelors in the ton. She also has a major fight with Eloise Bridgerton (Claudia Jessie), which may spell the end of their friendship after Eloise learns that her best friend is actually Lady Whistledown.

Nicola sat down with Entertainment Weekly to talk about the fallout from season 2, including Penelope overhearing what Colin said about her.

Coughlan explained “that's something taken directly from the books. He says it to Anthony and Benedict in the book. Luke Newton and I both spoke to Chris Van Dusen about that moment and said, ‘Is that something you're going to put in the show?’ And he said, ‘We've put it in and taken it out multiple times.’”

“But I always felt like it was important because Penelope needs to realize Colin is a fallible human being,” she continued. “He's is not a god; he's not an Adonis. If they're ever going to have any type of relationship, it's not healthy for her to see him in that way. She's got to see him flaws and all, and she currently doesn't. In the long run, it's probably a good thing, but it's not going to be an immediate good thing.”

“She's definitely at her lowest point. The three most important things in her life are Colin, Eloise, and Whistledown,” she explained. “She begins with having lost three out of the three, and then she reclaims one, so her world has come crumbling down. She thought she could keep all the plates spinning and, ultimately, she couldn't.”

When asked who Penelope was hurt by the most, she revealed, “Oh, that's tough. I think it's in that order. It's Eloise, Colin, and then her family. She's used to her family hurting her, so that's just like par for the course. Colin, that's got to cut deep, but for Eloise to say, ‘I never want to see or speak to you ever again…’ God, what could hurt more than that?”

Production on season 3 is expected to start in London this summer.