Here Are the Biggest Differences Between ‘Bridgerton’ Season 3 and the Books

Based on Julia Quinn’s Romancing Mister Bridgerton Season 3 on Netflix and Shondaland’s Bridgerton, the friends-to-lovers romance between Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) and Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) blossoms. While their book is fourth in the series behind Benedict’s love story, the show has moved their sequel up the order of the Bridgerton sibling romances. Francesca’s (Hannah Dodd) love story is also more heavily intertwined in the two-part expansion, with Part 1 dropping on Netflix on May 16 and Part 2 on June 13.

Before Part 1 of Season 3 debuted, showrunner Jess Brownell, executive producer Shonda Rhimes, and author Julia Quinn confirmed that a pivotal scene in which Colin cuts his hand will appear in the show. This scene first sparks more than just Colin’s friendship with Penelope when she bandages his hand. She peeks into his diary and reads what he wrote about his journey, and he gets angry with her, which leads him to cut his hand.

Other scenes and lines of dialogue are carried over from Quinn’s page to the script and eventually to the screen, but there are also changes to character backstories, backstories, marital statuses, etc. Even the changes surrounding Lady Whistledown’s identity include different characters than Quinn’s book.