"Bridgerton" Season 3 is about to begin - mark your calendars, as the first four episodes of the new season will be available on Netflix on May 16, with four more episodes on June 13. But what does the future hold for the beloved franchise? Will there be eight seasons of period dramas to match the eight-book Julia Quinn novel series on which the show is based? If all goes according to plan, it will, says production magnate Shonda Rhimes. [Rhimes, already firmly established in television as showrunner of the medical drama "Grey's Anatomy," its spin-off "Private Practice," and the political thriller "Scandal," is both "Bridgerton" and its prequel "Queen Charlotte." She serves as executive producer: as part of an overall deal between Netflix and her production company Shondaland, she serves as executive producer on both "Bridgerton" and its prequel, "Queen Charlotte: The Bridgerton Story." In other words, it is safe to say that this woman has some influence on whether or not we will see more of the Bridgerton family in future installments of this romance series.

And in a recent interview with Variety, Rhimes assured "Bridgerton" fans that she and her producing partner, Betsy Beers, are committed to adapting all eight Julia Quinn novels. Of the production time frame for each season, Beers joked, "I'll be gumshoeing like a grandmother. But I want to make sure there is a 'Bridgerton' for everyone who loves 'Bridgerton.'"

Each season of "Bridgerton" has followed one brother of the close-knit Bridgerton family trying to find love in Regency England. The first season was about Daphne (Phoebe Dinnever), the eldest daughter of the Bridgertons, and the Duke of Hastings (Rouget-Jean Page), and the second season was about Anthony (Jonathan Bailey) and his sister Kate (Simone Ashley), who are romantically involved in an illicit affair.

While the previous season closely followed what Julia Quinn wrote in the first and second books of "Bridgerton," the upcoming third season deviates from the order of the novels, skipping Benedict Bridgerton's story from the third book and instead focusing on Colin (Luke Newton) and Penelope Fetherington (Nicolas Coughlan), focusing on their friend-turned-lover relationship.

But Benedict and the other Bridgerton siblings will have their moment in the spotlight once Rhimes' series plans come to fruition. And given how popular "Bridgerton" is for Netflix, Variety reported in 2022 that Season 2 beat out Season 1 for the top spot as the streaming platform's most popular English-language TV series.

As for the future of its "Queen Charlotte" prequel, Rhimes also gave the outlet an update on that show: "I'm still trying to figure it out. I don't want to tell a story that doesn't need to be told. I don't want to make a second season of 'Queen Charlotte.'

Tom's Guide will keep you posted on future airings of "Bridgerton" and "Queen Charlotte: The Bridgerton Story." Until then, rewatch the first two seasons of "Bridgerton" and the prequel series on Netflix to revisit this romantic franchise.