'Bridgerton' Star Jonathan Bailey Tells All on the Season 3 Kanthony Kiss
Showrunners have revealed that Bailey took some creative liberties with the script.
Dearest Gentle Reader: Bridgerton Season 3 is finally here and with it, blossoming romance between this season's lead characters, Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton. In previous seasons, Penelope and Colin bonded over the hysterics of their family members and the ostentatious balls they found themselves at, and as a result, a friendship blossomed. While Season 2 saw an enemies-to-lovers dynamic between the primary couple, Season 3 marks the beginning of a romantic friends-to-lovers courtship between Penelope and Colin. The pair are not the only couple in the spotlight, however.
Following the finale of Season 2, where Anthony Bridgerton and Kate Sharma—played by Jonathan Bailey and Simone Ashley, respectively—wed after an entire season of will-they-won't-they tension, the newly married couple have returned to the Ton, clearly still enjoying their honeymoon phase. Both Anthony and Kate appear renewed, relaxed, and utterly romantic versions of their past selves in their Season 3 appearances so far. In particular, Anthony, who was characterized in previous seasons by the stressful burden of acting as the head of the Bridgerton family, seems to have a weight lifted off his shoulders and appears at a ball in the Season 3 premiere ready to dance the night away in the company of his new wife, Kate. During the party, Anthony leans in for a kiss while the pair are dancing, leaving fans just as shocked and delighted as Kate looked after the impromptu show of affection.
Although the pair are supposed to appear loved-up—after all, they had just returned from their honeymoon—in Season 3, showrunners of Bridgerton have revealed that the kiss in the ball scene was completely unscripted.
"That's something that I think Simone and Jonny orchestrated together, and I'm so glad they did because it's a wonderful moment," Bridgerton season three showrunner Jess Brownell said in a Business Insider interview. "They are two characters who spent so long playing by the rules all last season, and for them to break the rules in the name of love, I think is very fitting," she concluded.
As it turns out, it wasn't quite a spur-of-the-moment decision by the actor, but it certainly came as a surprise to production supervisors on set, given that the kiss was completely unscripted.
"Simone and I had a dance rehearsal and I think it was my idea, but we rehearsed it," Jonathan Bailey said in a Business Insider interview. "It wasn't improvised in the moment, but it's Simone's amazing performance that made it look like it was."
For more Kanthony moments, be sure to tune in to Bridgerton Season 3 parts one and two, dropping on May 16 and June 13, respectively, on Netflix.
