In a nutshell:

The Shonda Rhimes hit will return in all its candy-colored, feather-strewn glory, with the focus this time on Colin Bridgerton and Penelope Featherington’s love story.

Is Bridgerton Season 3 based on a book?

Yes. The Netflix sensation’s first season, which centered on Daphne and Simon’s romance, was based on the first novel in Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series, The Duke and I, while Season 2, which followed Anthony and Kate, took its plot from the second book, The Viscount Who Loved Me. As a result, fans had assumed that Season 3 would track Benedict’s path to wedded bliss as laid out in the third book, An Offer From a Gentleman, but on May 15, Variety reported that this would not be the case. Instead, the show would be skipping ahead to explore Colin and Penelope’s relationship further, as Quinn does in the fourth book, Romancing Mister Bridgerton. Nicola Coughlan herself confirmed the news during a Netflix panel discussion in Hollywood, adding, “I have kept that secret since two weeks into Season 2.”

More details were revealed by Coughlan and her co-star Luke Newton, who plays Colin, via Netflix shortly after the event, including the reason for the change in the running order. “I feel like if you see Penelope fawning over this boy for another season, you’ll be like, ‘Get it together! Come on, move on and get over it,’” said Coughlan. Of what she knows of their story so far, she said, “I think people are going to be really obsessed. I think book fans are going to be happy.”

Meanwhile, Newton acknowledged that many viewers were, of course, unhappy with Colin after the Season 2 finale, in which Penelope overheard him telling a group of friends that he would “never dream of courting” her. He believes this was just a “throwaway comment” from Colin, but says that what really matters is “how important it is to the audience and how important it is to Penelope.” The press release then adds that, “It’s possible Colin’s willful obliviousness is the biggest obstacle to romance heading into Season 3. After all, Colin isn’t currently pursuing anyone at all.”

In Romancing Mister Bridgerton, Colin returns from his travels and begins to see Penelope in a whole new light, but the pair are prevented from getting together by the momentous secrets they’re hiding from each other. While it’s almost certain that Season 3 will feature Colin discovering that Penelope is Lady Whistledown, as Eloise already has, it’s also likely that other aspects of the plot will deviate from the source material. After all, in the show, Colin comes back to the Ton in the second episode of Season 2 and Lady Whistledown’s identity is revealed at the end of Season 1, unlike in Quinn’s novels, where readers are kept in the dark until the fourth book.

The log line for Season 3 reads: “Penelope has finally given up on her long-held crush on Colin after hearing his disparaging words about her last season. She has, however, decided it’s time to take a husband, preferably one who will provide her with enough independence to continue her double life as Lady Whistledown, far away from her mother and sisters. But lacking in confidence, Penelope’s attempts on the marriage mart fail spectacularly.

“Meanwhile, Colin has returned from his summer travels with a new look and a serious sense of swagger. But he’s disheartened to realize that Penelope, the one person who always appreciated him as he was, is giving him the cold shoulder. Eager to win back her friendship, Colin offers to mentor Penelope in the ways of confidence to help her find a husband this season. But when his lessons start working a little too well, Colin must grapple with whether his feelings for Penelope are truly just friendly. Complicating matters for Penelope is her rift with Eloise, who has found a new friend in a very unlikely place, while Penelope’s growing presence in the Ton makes it all the more difficult to keep her Lady Whistledown alter ego a secret.”

Alongside Coughlan and Newton, most of Bridgerton’s Season 2 cast should also be back for Season 3, including Anthony (Jonathan Bailey), Lady Violet Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell), Lady Portia Featherington (Polly Walker), Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh), Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel), and the rest of the Bridgerton clan—Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor), Benedict (Luke Thompson), Eloise (Claudia Jessie), Hyacinth (Florence Hunt), and Gregory (Will Tilston) among them.

More good news? Unlike Regé-Jean Page’s dashing Duke of Hastings, who did not reappear in Season 2 despite becoming a fan favorite after the show’s debut, Simone Ashley—who dazzled as Kate in Bridgerton’s latest installment—has confirmed that she will be returning. “Kate and Anthony are just getting started,” she told Deadline in March. “In season two, there was a lot of push and pull between [them]. There were complications with the family, and then they find each other towards the end. [Now] I’d like to see Kate just let go a bit more and play more in season three and kind of swim in that circle of love together. I think they both deserve it.” And as for Kate’s impressionable younger sister Edwina (Charithra Chandran)? There’s been no confirmation yet, but here’s hoping the young debutante finds happiness this time around, preferably with the Queen’s nephew, Prince Friedrich, who was mentioned in passing in Season 2.

Who will be joining the cast for Bridgerton Season 3?

On May 12, it was revealed that Hannah Dodd would succeed Ruby Stokes in the role of Francesca Bridgerton (Stokes is leaving the show to star in Netflix’s Lockwood & Co). Dodd will be familiar to those who binge-watched Anatomy of a Scandal—she played the younger version of Sienna Miller’s character as she navigated Oxford University in the ’90s. Then, on July 20, came the news that three new cast members had entered the fray: Daniel Francis as Marcus Anderson, a charismatic presence who lights up any room he enters, attracting the notice of certain matriarchs in the Ton and the ire of others; Sam Phillips as the eccentric Lord Debling, whose wealth and title mean he’ll have no shortage of interest from young ladies this season; and James Phoon as Harry Dankworth, who lacks wit and intelligence but more than makes up for it with his serious good looks. With further updates expected in the coming weeks and months, it’s worth keeping your eyes peeled for announcements.

Who will be behind the camera for Bridgerton Season 3?

There will be changes behind the scenes, too. For Season 3, Jess Brownell, who has previously penned episodes of Scandal and Inventing Anna as well as earlier seasons of Bridgerton, will be taking over the position of showrunner from Chris Van Dusen. “Bridgerton will always have a special place in my heart and I think I did what I set out to do,” the latter told the Radio Times in an interview in March. “The fact that this show has become Netflix’s biggest English-language series ever is something I’m incredibly proud of. But, at the end of the day, it was time for me to move on.” The Bridgerton veteran will, however, remain on board as an executive producer alongside Shonda Rhimes, Betsy Beers, and Tom Verica, meaning it’s unlikely that the tone or visual style of the show will change significantly in Season 3.

Is there a release date for Bridgerton Season 3?

It may be a while yet before the next season of Bridgerton lands on our screens, but fans will be relieved to hear that production is already underway. On July 20, a video posted by the show’s official Instagram account showed Jonathan Bailey, Adjoa Andoh, Golda Rosheuvel, Claudia Jessie, and co back on set. It ends with a shot of Luke Newton opening the door to a carriage—inside is Nicola Coughlan, who declares: “Bridgerton season three filming has officially begun.” If all goes to plan, an early 2023 release date is certainly possible.