Dearest readers, a new season of Bridgerton has finally hit streaming platforms, with viewers once again finding themselves yearning for a Regency-era romance. The first four episodes of Bridgerton season three debuted on Netflix on May 16, with new budding love interests at the center of the drama: Penelope Featherington ( Nicola Coughlan ) and Colin Bridgerton ( Luke Newton ). This season, Penelope – the anonymous author (spoiler alert) behind the show’s gossip pamphlet, Lady Whistledown – is intent on finding a husband, so that she may live her life freely and away from the confines of her often mortifying Featherington family.
Colin, fresh from his grand tour of Europe, offers to play “marriage whisperer” for his old friend by giving her lessons on love. However, their innocent efforts unexpectedly take a turn once Colin begins to learn his feelings for Penelope – who has always harbored a secret crush on the third oldest Bridgerton – are more than just platonic. As fans eagerly awaited the arrival of Bridgerton season three, much of the excitement swirled around the inevitable sex scenes that would be depicted in the Shonda Rhimes-led period piece.
In 2020, when Bridgerton debuted on Netflix during a touch-starved lockdown, the show instantly became a smash hit for its steamy scenes between the Duke of Hastings (Regé-Jean Page) and Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor). While the show’s second season contained considerably less sex scenes, the palpable ten.
