Netflix smash hit Bridgerton became the subject of a lawsuit earlier this year as the streaming giant took the creators of the “Unofficial Bridgerton Musical” to court for copyright infringement. However, it seems that the case has now been dropped by Netflix before it made it to the courtroom, with sources suggesting that an undisclosed settlement was reached out of court between Emily Bear and Abigail Barlow, who wrote the musical, and Netflix.

The issues for the pair started when their musical, which is inspired by Bridgerton, went beyond being just an online sensation and they started selling albums and then live performance tickets with face values of $150 and more. Having had no authorization from Netflix, the musical had been given plenty of lea way by the streamer, who originally supported the efforts of the songwriting duo and even tweeted about their TikTok videos when it all began. At the time Netflix commented:

“Absolutely blown away by the Bridgerton musical playing out on TikTok. Standing ovation.."

However, the throwaway fun of Bear and Barlow’s TikTok turned into something much more lucrative when they began profiting from their project in a big way, and that is when both Netflix and Bridgerton creator Shonda Rhimes stepped in to stop the pair’s venture. Rhimes commented:

"What started as a fun celebration by Barlow & Bear on social media has turned into the blatant taking of intellectual property solely for Barlow & Bear's financial benefit. This property was created by Julia Quinn and brought to life on screen through the hard work of countless individuals. Just as Barlow & Bear would not allow others to appropriate their IP for profit, Netflix cannot stand by and allow Barlow & Bear to do the same with 'Bridgerton.'"

Related: Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story Clip Reveals Sneak Peek at Upcoming Spinoff

Netflix Have Recently Teased Bridgerton’s Third Season and Spin-Off

Queen Charlotte first look photo
Netflix

While it seems that the distraction of a lawsuit over Bridgerton has now been settled, Netflix has much more to come from their official Bridgerton offerings, including a third season now in production and a new spin-off, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story getting its first look at this weekend’s TUDUM event.

The Bridgerton prequel is described as being “centered on Queen Charlotte’s rise to prominence and power, this Bridgerton-verse prequel tells the story of how the young Queen’s marriage to King George sparked both a great love story and a societal shift, creating the world of the Ton inherited by the characters in Bridgerton,”

While there has been no date announced yet for either the prequel series or Bridgerton season 3, fans are already hyped for more the world of Netflix’s period drama. That has been helped along by the reveal of the third season’s opening episode title being revealed as “Out of the Shadows”, and a preview of the opening monologue from the episode as can be seen in the special video shared during TUDUM below.

Bridgerton’s first two seasons are currently available on Netflix, with season three and Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story coming soon.