The successful second season of the hit series Bridgerton suggests that the show won’t be going anywhere anytime soon, but Netflix’s cancellation of other popular properties has sparked concerns about just how many seasons Bridgerton will have. Bridgerton season 1’s debut in December 2020 was the most-watched English language series on Netflix at the time of its premiere until that record was overtaken by Bridgerton season 2 in March 2022. The impressive popularity of the show seemingly guarantees it will be sticking around for a while, but the streaming platform has shortened other beloved series in the past.
Netflix has been garnering criticism from viewers complaining that they cancel too many popular shows, and many of these series are canceled after only two or three seasons — before they get a chance to really develop and tell the story they’re trying to tell. Well-liked and even award-winning Netflix Originals such as The Baby-Sitters Club, I Am Not Okay With This, and Raising Dion have ended before their time, often without Netflix even informing showrunners why the decision was made. This unpredictability makes it hard to determine how many seasons Bridgerton will end up having.
If Netflix’s Bridgerton continues following the path laid out in Julia Quinn’s book series, then the show should have a total of eight seasons. After season 1’s success, which followed Quinn’s first book, Netflix decided to renew Bridgerton for three more seasons. With Bridgerton confirmed for 5 seasons, it seems likely that the streaming platform is committed to adapting all eight books, and the popularity of Bridgerton season 2 means they’re on track to do so. Netflix’s renewal decisions are reportedly based on viewing data, not cost, but an expensive show like Bridgerton, whose first season cost $7 million per episode, will need to continue drawing in large numbers of viewers to produce eight total seasons. Showrunner Chris Van Dusen has said that he hopes to be able to explore all eight siblings’ love stories, but whether or not they each get their own season to do so remains to be seen.
Certain changes made to the Bridgerton series so far has some viewers wondering whether Netflix will actually need eight seasons anyway. By expanding Marina Thompson’s story, and adding new love interests like Theo Sharpe, Bridgerton has encouraged speculation that it may be diverting more fully from the source material in the future. The show may choose to rearrange the book order to prioritize telling more popular Bridgerton siblings’ stories first, such as Benedict and Eloise, both of whom appeared torn between their personal pursuits and duty at the end of Bridgerton season 2. This similarity between their struggles would make it rather easy to tell both siblings’ love stories in one season, especially since Bridgerton has been slowly developing their characters’ conflicts from the start. The series has also been teasing Penelope Featherington’s crush on Colin, and although the two do end up together in the books, Colin was clearly not over his past engagement to Marina in season 2.
If Bridgerton continues drawing in the same amount of views as its first two seasons, then Netflix would be foolish not to greenlight eight seasons for all eight siblings. Yet, if anything happens to jeopardize the show’s massive success, it may end up cutting its losses by focusing on the siblings with the most pressing, unresolved stories — Benedict, Colin, and Eloise — and leaving the rest untold. Only time will tell if seasons 3 and 4 of Netflix’s Bridgerton draw in similar numbers to its first two, but hopefully every Bridgerton sibling will get their chance in the spotlight.
