Why Shonda Rhimes ‘Cried’ While Watching Bridgerton’s ‘Secretive’ Season 3 Finale
Bridgerton fans should be getting their tissues ready before sitting down to watch the second part of season 3.
“We’re very secretive about it but I will say it is sexy and surprising in many ways," executive producer Shonda Rhimes said on Today on Tuesday, June 4. . "And also, I cried at the end."
Rhimes credited the "beautiful story" for getting her emotional, adding, "I found it very moving — and I don’t always cry. So I really go into it.”
Based on Julia Quinn's book series, season 3 is focused on Colin (Luke Newton) and Penelope (Nicola Coughlan) as they evolve from friends to lovers. Their story was depicted in Quinn's novel Romancing Mr. Bridgerton.
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Quinn recently reflected on making Colin and Penelope’s romance come to life on the page.
“For me, the most exciting thing is that this season — unlike most ones we’ve had before and probably mostly ones that would come after — is about two characters that we already know quite well,” Quinn told The New York Post last month.
Quinn did admit that there was one issue while writing Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, adding, "I just think there’s a different type of emotional investment coming into it. It’s interesting because when I was writing the books — this book, Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, which is actually the fourth in the series, was the hardest one to plot."
Colin and Penelope being “very established characters” before becoming the focus of the show helped keep fans invested.
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“I did not expect it to be as crazy big as it is,” Quinn shared at the time. “It took everyone by surprise, in the best possible way. I really think that people could look at Bridgerton as a masterclass in adaptation. Because each season doesn’t follow [the books] word for word. And there are things that are changed in the plot.”
She concluded: “But, if you look over the arc of the whole season, the characters are absolutely true to who they are. The main conflict is actually true to what it was. So, I think it’s really brilliant."
Meanwhile, Coughlan, 37, has also teased her thoughts on the season 3 conclusion. “I love when [Colin and Penelope] are in that giddy, giddy time, and they’re so in love," she told The Hollywood Reporter earlier this month about episodes 5 and 6 being her favorite. "Because that’s the thing, some of the best things in this show are when you see people truly in love with one another, so blissfully happy.”
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It seems viewers are anxiously awaiting to see the moments for themselves after Netflix confirmed that the first half of the third season brought up 45.05 million views (total hours watched divided by running time) worldwide after its premiere. In math terms, that is about 165.2 million hours of viewing time by late May.
The first half of Bridgerton season 3 is currently streaming on Netflix. The remaining episodes drop on Thursday, June 13.