Yahoo News Nicola Coughlan, Luke Newton Are Ready for Even Spicier Polin in ‘Bridgerton’ Season 3, Part 2
London’s Leicester Square was once again transformed into the ‘Ton as Bridgerton‘s season three castmembers, including Nicola Coughlan and Luke Newton, teased an even raunchier part two.
Part one of season three premiered on May 16 and followed the love story between Penelope Featherington (Coughlan) and Colin Bridgerton (Newton). Netflix execs decided to split the installment into two parts, with the second airing on Thursday.
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Episode five, shown to the audience at the Odeon Luxe theater, delivers even spicier scenes and more tense interactions between the beloved characters of the Regency-era hit. According to Netflix’s internal rankings, the first half of season three racked up 45.05 million views (total hours watched divided by running time) worldwide. That’s about 165.2 million hours of viewing time.
Coughlan commented on the fan reaction ahead of the premiere. “I’m going to take a stab in the dark and say I will never experience anything like this again,” she said to adoring fans who, of course, matched the actress’ elbow-length gloves and extravagant headwear.
What makes this season so successful? “You can never really predict why, but I think there’s been a growing love of Bridgerton,” executive producer Betsy Beers told The Hollywood Reporter. “I think that there’s something about this season that people waited a bit – there’s something about getting to see it with a lot of anticipation. There’s also something about these two characters, and the fact that we love them, and we’ve been rooting for them.”
Other castmembers who made their way to the red carpet include Luke Thompson (Benedict Bridgerton), Claudia Jessie (Eloise Bridgerton), Simone Ashley (Kate Bridgerton), Adjoa Andoh (Lady Danbury), and Ruth Gemmell (Lady Bridgerton). Notable absences included Jonathan Bailey, who is fresh off of wrapping on Jon M. Chu’s Wicked parts one and two.
It wasn’t quite the spectacle to behold at the premiere of Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, where the entire square was fitted with cream carpets and an actual golden carriage was erected. But the event livened up a gloomy June day in central London by fitting a giant cutout of a hot air balloon – the exact balloon Coughlan’s character was forced to dodge as it came loose and threatened to topple her over in part one – at the end of the carpet.
Guests of the screening were also delighted to walk into Andoh spontaneously playing the piano ahead of the premiere. Word spread that she spotted the instrument after walking off the red carpet and swiftly sat down to give fans and fellow castmembers a beautiful performance.
Trouble brews for Coughlan’s Penelope in part two, as she is forced to come to terms with potentially revealing her identity as Lady Whistledown – gossip queen of the ‘Ton but, notably, a public critic of Colin. Fans will see the extent of her conundrum when the last four episodes of season three air on Netflix on June 13.
Bridgerton season three, part two, is now streaming on Netflix. Read THR‘s chat with showrunner Jess Brownell on part two spoilers.
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