What to anticipate from Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) in season three of the Regency drama has been revealed by executive producers Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers. The next episode of the royal epic, based on the novels by Julia Quinn, will include Colin and Penelope Featherington’s (Nicola Coughlan) long-awaited transformation from friends to lovers. Inside Bridgerton, a tell-all book that goes behind the scenes of the programme was revealed earlier this year by Rhimes and Beers. They discussed Colin’s lifelong need to “rescue the damsel in distress” in an exclusive excerpt from the book that was published by Entertainment Weekly.
Beers note that Colin is “constantly striving to reinvent himself” due to the fact that, as the third Bridgerton brother, he is neither the heir nor the backup to the heir apparent (Anthony, played by Jonathan Bailey) nor Benedict, played by Luke Thompson. The show’s setting in the Regency era basically renders Colin irrelevant to the established order of things. To that end, he focuses his efforts on protecting women. This is seen in season two when Colin saves the Featherington women by revealing Lord Featherington’s deception. Rather than the action itself, “he’s in love with the concept of doing the right thing,” as Rhimes puts it. “This obsession with honour, though, is one of the reasons I adore him so much. Personally, I find this topic to be rather intriguing.” Beers concludes that Colin wants to be “a saviour, to be noble” after investigating the root of his acts. According to Beers, the protagonist has a “strong impulse to rescue the damsel in peril,” which may be “a resonance from being too little to do anything to aid his dad or his mum.” When he saves the Featheringtons, you can see his chest expand.
Newton, who plays Colin on the programme, shares his thoughts on the character and his obsession with being unique compared to his brothers. “I think he’s intrigued to the concept of not being like every other Bridgerton, of differentiating himself and not doing precisely what’s required of him,” he says in the book. The actor continues by saying his character is attracted to Marina Thompson (Ruby Barker) because of “the naughtiness of the affair and his ambition to be a man.” As is customary for Lady Whistledown, we don’t know if Colin’s desire to be a man and a rescuer will affect his friendship with Penelope.
The third season is now under production, so maybe fans won’t have to wait too long to find out what happens. Whilst Bridgerton season three does not yet have a publication date, the good news is that the Bridgerton-verse is expanding through the prequel narrative Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. The forthcoming story will centre on Queen Charlotte and her transformation into the Bridgerton royal.