A couple of weeks ago Bridgerton fans got some bad news that would have rattled the very foundation of the Lady Whistledown newsletter. Rege Jean Page, the Duke himself, would not be returning for the second season of the show…

(gasp)

(sobs)

(hyperventilating)

(deep immense sadness)

(the world is darkness)

(stares endlessly forever)…

Yeah, this news sucks. Let’s move past the fact that Rege Jean Page is unfairly handsome and even more unfairly charming to the point where you want to hate him but you can’t. He’s that charming. Plus, he boxes and I’m not about that life. For me, the Duke had the most engaging storyline in the series and probably was the best character on the show with my girl Eloise a close second. His loss will be felt but this guy is about to blow up so we’ll be able to find him in other projects. Like an upcoming Dungeons and Dragons movie. So, yay for that?

It was because of this soon-to-be skyrocket to superstardom that I thought that Rege Jean Page, umm, pulled out of the future seasons of the show. But happily that’s not the case. The show will be closely following the books, which I hear are an anthology series following different characters in each novel, and the Duke’s story is basically done. He doesn’t really turn up in the story anymore. A bummer. I know if I was showrunner on Bridgerton, I would be finding any excuse to get Rege Jean Page on those Netflix screens. I don’t think we can downplay the audience numbers he brings in. But

Well, for those of you who are still recovering…

(continued sobbing)

(why does the world hate us)

(Duuuuuuuke)

(heartbreak emoji)

(blink only to realize all that staring has made you temporarily blind… continue staring endlessly forever)…

I’ve got good news! Netflix announced today that Bridgerton has already been picked up for seasons three and four! That’s right, two new seasons ahead of a second season that I’m pretty sure hasn’t fully started production yet. That shows how confident Netflix is with a Dukeless Bridgerton. They think this show has legs and they’re confident the audience is going to stick around despite Rege Jean Page existing off-camera.

What does this mean for the full Bridgerton story though? There are nine Bridgerton books and Netflix has a reputation of not giving shows more than four seasons to tell their stories. Could this mean that future seasons could be dealing with multiple book arcs at once? Or does Netflix want to see how these next three seasons go before they think about a season five? I guess we’ll have to wait to see but the good news is we’ve got at least another three seasons of Bridgerton. Maybe with all the advanced knowledge, the writing team can start working on some ways to bring the Duke back for future seasons. Someone better start sweet talking Rege Jean Page now or roll higher than an eleven… because he’s going to be in the D&D movie. Get it? Get it?!