Bridgerton continues to be the talk of the town even though it has been almost two months since its second season’s debut. Ever since Season 2’s dramatically steamy finale, fans have been wondering what couple would take center stage in Season 3. Over the weekend it was revealed that the upcoming season would stray away from the timeline of the books and focus on Luke Newton’s Colin and Nicola Coughlan’s Penelope. Now in an exclusive interview with Variety, Bridgerton’s new showrunner Jess Brownell talked about the decision to focus on this particular couple rather than the love life of Luke Thompson’s Benedict like the third book in the series did.

When talking about that change Brownell said, “we already differ from the books a little bit because we’re an ensemble show. The books really focus on one romantic pair at a time and maybe the siblings have a little cameo here and there but they don’t have full stories.” She continued on saying, “In that way, even though we’re reversing the order of the books, I think all the people you would expect to see — Benedict, who is book three, he will be a vital part of Season 3." Brownell was then asked how big a role previous romantic leads like Daphne, Anthony, and Kate would play in Season 3. "We want to keep seeing all of our Bridgerton siblings. We feel like those moments when the whole family is together is what really makes the show and makes all of us, I think, want to be a Bridgerton,” Brownell said. She nailed down her answer by affirming that, “yes, you will definitely be seeing Daphne, Anthony, and Kate.”

When Brownell was asked if Season 4 would go back to Benedict or focus on Eloise, she danced around any confirmation saying, “So, you know, I think Shonda Rhimes has said publicly before that she wants to have eight seasons. We hope to get to tell every sibling’s love story and they will always be in each season.” Brownell also spoke about how Season 3 would differ from the first two love stories. "I think of Colin and Pen as being characters who bring a lot of comedy to the show. So I think we’re gonna get to play a lot of that this season. But I want to balance that out with quite a bit of sexiness and romance. I think that’s so important to the show,” Brownell said. However, she also followed that up by saying, “We’ll get the chance to go deeper with them and push them to more serious sides and see what that looks like, so you’ll be seeing new new levels.”

bridgerton-season-2-episode-8-recap-social-featured
Image via Netflix

RELATED: 10 Best 'Bridgerton' Characters That We Can't Get Enough Of

Colin and Penelope's relationship and their dynamics within the show will naturally shape the themes of Season 3. Brownell explained, “I don’t want to say too much, but in general, we’re playing a little bit with the fact that this season is about two characters who are sort of stepping out of the shadows,” Brownell teased. She continued on saying, “Colin, as a third son who’s kind of been behind the scenes a little bit, and Penelope as Lady Whistledown, living this dual identity and in her public face, really living on the wall. So watching these two step into the sunshine and find each other will be really rewarding.”

There is a lot to look forward to in the Bridgerton universe and focusing on Colin and Penelope’s relationship feels like the logical next step to go for the main series. Despite Benedict being the main focus of the third book, we really haven’t had a lot of time with his character yet on screen. There is plenty of drama to stir up with Colin and Penelope, whose relationship has been touched on in both previous seasons. It's likely that since Benedict will play a key role in Season 3, Bridgerton may be setting up his story for Season 4.

Only time will tell, but until Season 3 makes us rediscover love all over again, you can watch the first two seasons of Bridgerton on Netflix now.