Bridgerton showrunner explains why Season 3 cut out major book character

Netflix’s smash hit drama series Bridgerton is about to return for its highly anticipated Season 3, but before fans hit play, showrunner Jess Brownell has revealed why a major book character was cut from the show.

Bridgerton Season 3 will focus on the blooming love between Colin Bridgerton and his longtime girl best friend, Penelope Featherington. A portion of the show will focus on Penelope’s home life with her mother, Portia, and two older sisters, Prudence and Philippa.

However, in the book, there’s a fourth Featherington sister named Felicity with whom Penelope is very close, a vast change from the volatile relationship she shares with her older sisters. But Brownell says that Felicity’s absence from the show was a much-needed change.

“I think [that] was a smart decision. I think that was a decision made by Chris Van Dusen and Shonda [Rhimes] early on in the pilot,” Brownell told TVLine. “It just gets hard to characterize three siblings, especially when the Featheringtons are in a secondary position. The main dramatic purpose of the Featherington sisters, they’ve obviously been comedic relief, but they’re there to play as a foil to Penelope.

“I think in the books, if I’m not mistaken, Felicity is like a kinder sister. I think dramatically it helped Pen [in the show] feel even more isolated and alone and underscored her plight to have her be in this viper’s nest with her sisters who are not very nice to her, and her mother who underestimates her, so we ended up really not needing that character.”

Season 3 will be based on the novel Romancing Mister Bridgerton, the fourth installment in the series by Julia Quinn.

In the book, Portia wants Felicity to marry Colin because the Featherington matriarch thought she would be a better match for him, despite Felicity being 12 years younger than Colin and best friends with his youngest sister, Hyacinth.

Thankfully, Colin declares his love for Penelope and proposes to her, so Felicity and Penelope continue to have their their strong sister relationship while the couple gets her happy ending.

Not having Felicity in the series robs Penelope of a true ally. Seeing as she’s no longer friends with Eloise Bridgerton due to a falling out the pair had at the end of Season 2, she’s going to have to fend for herself.

Coupled with the accusations of being a spinster and her only friend being an eligible male she can’t be alone with, Penelope will have to fight against the odds to find her true love when Season 3 premieres.

Bridgerton Season 3 Part 1 will drop on May 16 on Netflix with Part 2 dropping on June 13. In the meantime, check out the new TV shows coming to streaming this month and make sure to add these new movies to your watchlist.