Why Julia Quinn Is Happy with the Timeline Changes in Bridgerton

The author of the Bridgerton book series, Julia Quinn, has supported the changes made to the Netflix series of the same name based on her books.

The popular period drama adds a contemporary flair to historical romances, focusing on the eight children of the aristocratic Bridgerton family as they pursue their individual love interests.

The first two seasons closely followed Quinn’s books by depicting the love affairs of Daphne and Anthony, respectively, but Bridgerton season 3 will skip to the fourth book of the series to show the blossoming relationship between Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton.

Quinn has expressed her approval for depicting the romance of Penelope and Colin instead of Benedict, as the third book does.

According to Insider , Quinn, who works as an adviser for Bridgerton, reveals why the next season is the ideal time for Penelope and Colin’s love, and why it could be an advantage for Benedict’s fans to wait for his love story. See what she has to say below:

I think they had just felt they had laid down so much groundwork because we already know Penelope. We haven’t met Benedict’s love interest. I suppose people are gonna say, “They could have introduced her.” But the fact of the matter is, we haven’t. And what I try to tell people is, look, once a character has their season, we don’t see them as much, right? So, if you love Benedict, you want him to wait as long as possible.

Changing the sequence in which the Bridgerton siblings fall in love is a very significant departure from the books, but it is not the first.

For example, Queen Charlotte, a character which is so popular that executive producer Shonda Rhimes created the recent hit Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story specifically to explore her rise to power.

In fact, despite her important role in orchestrating Bridgerton’s main relationships, the book series does not mention any members of royalty.

The most influential change has been the diversity of Bridgerton’s characters. The variety of ethnic backgrounds shown, a consequence of Queen Charlotte’s marriage to the king, is explained in season 1 by Lady Danbury when she says, “We were two separate societies divided by color, until a king fell in love with one of us.” 

This choice resulted in a remarkable amount of representation for a historical series, including Regé-Jean Page playing the romantic lead of Bridgerton season 1 and Simone Ashley portraying Anthony’s season 2 love interest, Kate Sharma, who was called in the book as Kate Sheffield.

Another important change to Bridgerton that will affect season 3 is the early disclosure of the fact that Penelope has been the person behind the town’s anonymous gossip writer, Lady Whistledown.

Though Quinn did not reveal this twist until the fourth book, the television series shows this angle as early as the season 1 finale.

From then, Penelope’s secret double life became a major part of her ongoing storyline and severely affected her close friendship with Eloise Bridgerton.

One of the reasons why fans are sort of disappointed with Colin and Penelope’s relationship being the focus of the next season is because of the lack of chemistry between the leads. Many have pointed out that the actors lack the sizzling chemistry that we see in the leads of the first two seasons.

On the contrary, some viewers have pointed out that this dislike towards Colin and Penelope is because the female lead does not adhere to conventional beauty standards. 

Her weight has always been mocked by her own mother in the series, which could be a reason why she is not considered a desirable Bridgerton heroine by viewers.

However, it would be harsh to consider this discrimination. It is however true that compared to the first two seasons, there’s not much chemistry between Colin and Penelope for them to pull off an entire season on their shoulders.

Moreover, both Penelope and Colin aren’t the most likeable of characters. Many consider Penelope to be a bad person as she spread many rumors about people through her secret identity as Lady Whistledown, including her best friend, Eloise.

Nevertheless, let’s hope that the viewers change their opinion about the couple after watching the third season.

About Bridgerton

Bridgerton is an American streaming television period drama series created by Chris Van Dusen and produced by Shonda Rhimes. It is based on Julia Quinn’s novel series of the same name, set in the competitive world of Regency era in London.

The show’s ensemble cast includes Adjoa Andoh, Lorraine Ashbourne, Jonathan Bailey, Ruby Barker, Sabrina Bartlett, Harriet Cains, Regé-Jean Page, Bessie Carter, Nicola Coughlan, Phoebe Dynevor, Ben Miller, Golda Rosheuvel, Luke Newton and Julie Andrews among many others.

The series follows the eight close-knit siblings of the Bridgerton family on their journey to find love and happiness in London’s high society.

The first season debuted on December 25, 2020. The second season premiered on March 25, 2022. The series was renewed for a third and fourth season in April 2021. In May 2023, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story was released, a spin-off series focused on Queen Charlotte. The third season will premiere in two parts; the first premiered on May 16, 2024, and will be followed by the second on June 13, 2024.