Bridgerton season 3 has been a long time coming, and every moment is crucial when it comes to a viral, next-big-thing Netflix series. The first two seasons of the show gave birth to a brand new phenomenon that turned the regency era from a time of perceived boredom (read some Jane Austen and it’ll turn your world upside down, trust us) into one of debutante debauchery and, intermittently, classical string covers of notable pop songs.

There’s plenty to look forward to in the upcoming season, as actors from the show have noted that there many new revelations to be expected. It’s going to be incredibly exciting to see if the show can keep hype and expectations rolling after it became a true phenomenon. So, what exactly can we expect from the upcoming series? Here’s everything we know about the upcoming Bridgerton season 3.

Following the bombshell Featherington Ball of Bridgerton season 2, we find Penelope in a sensitive state after overhearing Colin admit that he’d never court her, and after a huge bust-up with her best friend Eloise. The third season of Bridgerton sees Penelope make an attempt to find herself and become a new woman, traveling to London in hopes of moving on from Colin — but it looks like she’s going to find some new suitors along the way. Nicola Coughlan, who plays Penelope, has asserted that the series is going to be a very big deal for her and her character progression, telling CBS that “She really becomes herself.”

It seems these changes will be reflected in her costuming. As Coughlan said, “[Penelope] really grows up throughout the season. You know, and she’s coming into her own, becoming a woman. And the shapes of the dresses and the corsets have reflected that.”

It’s not all about her in this breakup, though. The series will also follow Colin in attempts to win back Penelope’s friendship. Along the way he’s expected to question his own judgements, wondering if friendship with her is all that he wants.

A great many of the Bridgerton cast are making their return for the third season, along with some newcomers and some surprise recasts.

Returning to the third season of Bridgerton are:

Along with this cast are a number of new characters, including Sam Phillips’ Lord Debling and Daniel Francis’ Marcus Anderson. Plus, Francesca Bridgerton returns to the show, though recast to Hannah Dodd after Ruby Stokes moved away from the show for Netflix’s Lockwood & Co.

Bridgerton, aside from its raunchiness, has made a name for itself with its creative approach to its soundtrack, transforming recognizable pop hits from the 2000s up until the present day into regency era, string-led quartet bangers. It’s an impressive feature of the series, and fans have been wondering what to expect from the upcoming season. But so far we haven’t had any songs confirmed for the soundtrack.

The musical team remains strong, though, with composer Kris Bowers, music supervisor Justin Kamps and on-camera music supervisor Sarah Bridge keeping the ship running in the auditory camp. According to Bowers, too, the music is looking to play a very big role in the development of Colin’s character. “We have the music start off reflecting how he’s presenting himself, and then over the course of the season, we start to see what’s happening underneath and see how he’s actually the one who starts to develop these complex feelings,” he told Screenrant. “Then his theme adapts with that as well, but it was a lot of fun to give him a more confident sound that wasn’t there in his past scores.”

The Colin vibes are going to be strong this season if the musical department has anything to say about it, and though he doesn’t reveal the use of any song in particular, Kamps also reveals one song that synergizes with the ongoing lovey-dovey back-and-forth between Penelope and Colin. “I’ve always loved this song called ‘Everything You Want’ by Vertical Horizon, which has a kind of friends-to-lovers theme to it a little bit. That’s the storyline we’re going with this season, and that was one that I was playing a bunch when we were working on season 3.”

The trailer for Bridgerton 3 launched on April 11, offering our first look at the new installment of the Regency drama. It comes packed with plenty of excitement, showing us our first look at Penelope’s journey to London and the life she chooses to leave behind– along with a moment with Colin that looks to be leading to him finally confessing how he feels about her. It’s all very exciting, and it indicates that we’re in for a few bombshells over the course of the series.

You can watch the trailer here:

Though fans have waited two years for a mainline entry into the Bridgerton story, some fans have grown frustrated with Netflix’s release plan, as controversially, the show will launch in two parts.

The first batch of episodes will debut in Part 1 on May 16, and the second collection follows it on June 13. Both collections are four episodes apiece.

The episodes are titled as follows:

Part One

Part Two

Joseph Kime is a journalist, author and podcaster from Devon, UK. He is the Senior Trending News Writer for gaming site GGRecon, writer of the self-published essay collection Building A Universe, and co-creator of The Big Screen Book Club podcast. After graduating from Plymouth’s MarJon University with a degree in Journalism, he’s written for the likes of The Digital Fix, Zavvi and FANDOM. He’s Nobuhiko Ōbayashi’s biggest fan, and will talk your ear off about the significance of Kiki’s Delivery Service.