After two series and a spin-off, we’re by now well-acquainted with how Bridgerton goes. Boy meets girl – invariably a sibling of the high society Bridgerton family – and, despite the gossipmongering of the “ton”, the competing suitors and meddling mamas, they fall in love. It’s beautifully lurid, gracefully written and has plenty of shagging. Two years since our last visit to 1800s Mayfair, the third series, which arrives on Netflix today, is no different.
Except that this time around, it’s not a fresh-faced new arrival – a downcast Duke (Regé-Jean Page as Simon Basset in the first series) or a no-nonsense spinster from India (Simone Ashley as Kate Sharma in the second) – whom we watch fall truly, madly, deeply. No, the sweethearts are both already fan-favourites: Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton), the youngest of the family’s eligible bachelors, and shrinking violet Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan).
Those who have read Julia Quinn’s novels, upon which the series is based, have been so rabid for the turn of “Polin” as Bridgerton’s central lovers that creator Chris Van Dusen decided to change the order of the adaptations and skip ahead to the fourth instalment. It’s a smart move and one that pays off by the end of the second episode, when Colin and Penelope share their first kiss. Listen carefully and you might be able to hear the entire country swoon.
The series begins with Colin’s return from his travels in Europe, which broadened his sexual boundaries (in just four episodes we see him have two threesomes) as much as his mind. With fresh sideburns and a newfound bravado, Colin is the hottest hunk in town – leaving his old friend Penelope, who has long been in love with him, feeling hopeless at any shot of romance.
At their reunion, Penelope bares her soul to her old pal, sharing her anxieties that she will never find a man to marry. Colin suggests coaching her in the art of seduction – which, of course, forces the Bridgerton boy to admit he shares Penelope’s amorous feelings. It’s the ultimate will-they-won’t-they storyline – an,d finally, we have our answer: they will. In the back of a carriage.
So, it’s not exactly the most imaginative plot – but Newton and Coughlan’s chemistry burns through the screen, making even Polin’s most platonic moments crackle with fiery possibility. Coughlan is particularly wonderful this series, embodying Penelope’s anxieties about her future spinsterhood with delicate understanding and without turning her into a self-interested sap. Following Big Mood and Derry Girls, Bridgerton series three is yet another sign that the Irish actor is set to be one of the biggest stars of her generation.
There are only four episodes available to watch today (the final four will stream from 13 June), and there’s a lot stuffed in alongside the main romance. The third Bridgerton daughter, Francesca (Hannah Dodd), is reluctantly thrust into the marriage market when she’d rather focus on her piano; Penelope’s sisters race to make an heir; club owner and former boxer Will (Martins Imhangbe) and his wife Alice (Emma Naomi) struggle to fit in with high society following their son’s appointment to the nobility.
But perhaps the most heart-wrenching – and consequential – thread picks up Penelope’s fallout with her best friend (and Colin’s younger sister) Eloise (Claudia Jessie, fantastic as usual). The pair’s fast friendship was once a constant of the ton and without it, Penelope is rudderless. Add in Eloise’s newfound friendship with bully Cressida (Jessica Madsen) and Bridgerton becomes not unlike a 19th–century Mean Girls. That’s a compliment.
The final episode of the four ends with an intoxicating cliffhanger, with Penelope and Colin’s future hanging in the balance. I would usually admonish Netflix for splitting up a series (a transparent ploy to keep viewers subscribed for longer) but, in the case of Bridgerton, it’s somewhat poetic. So far, it’s been worth the wait.
The first four episodes of ‘Bridgerton’ series 3 are streaming on Netflix now. The final four will stream from 13 June.