Why was Bridgerton season 3 split into two parts?

Bridgerton season 3 left off the first half of the year on a wild note! But why did Netflix decided to split this latest season of the drama in half? Especially since seasons 1 and 2 were not split into two parts.

As one of Netflix’s biggest hits, it’s no surprise the streamer would want to promote Bridgerton season 3 well. The Regency Era drama has been a huge winner, adapting the hit novels by Julia Quinn, focusing on the goings on of the Bridgertons, Featheringtons and more. And it's all narrated by the mysterious Lady Whistledown (voiced by Julie Andrews) who’s the pen name of Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan). 

The first half of Bridgerton season 3 focuses on Penelope trying to find romance and putting herself on the marriage market. That culminated in a very steamy coachside encounter with Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newman), which ended with him proposing to her. 

That was a great cliffhanger but odd that it came in only the fourth episode of the season. The remaining four episodes are scheduled to drop Thursday, June 13, 2024 on Netflix. This follows a trend of other Netflix shows to drop half a season at once and then the rest later, so why is Bridgerton being split up like this? 

Why Bridgerton season 3 is coming out in two parts

It turns out it’s both a business decision and a creative choice to have Bridgerton's latest season split in two. Speaking to Tumdum, showrunner Jess Brownell revealed that the Penelope/Colin scene was a perfect storytelling point to leave off for a month and let the audience anticipate what comes next. Here's what she said:

"There is a natural structure to eight episodes, and we’ve done it actually every season, that episode 4 ends on a big world-shifting midpoint. Viewers know that there’s an extra thing dangling over Penelope and Colin that will provide conflict going into the back half."

Of course, there’s also how Netflix has used the strategy before of only dropping half a season at a time. A common complaint about having all episodes of a show dropped at once is that it can be harder to build up interest, and the season or show is quickly overlooked. 

With something as big as Bridgerton, Netflix wants as many eyes on it as possible, so splitting up a new season with a month-long gap between episodes works to gain more viewers. So, while it may be a bit annoying for viewers not to be able to binge all of Bridgerton season 3 at once, there are good reasons why the third season is split in two.

Bridgerton season 3 part 2 premieres June 13, 2024 on Netflix.