It’s official: Yerin Ha will be the Lady in Silver in Bridgerton Season 4. Netflix confirmed that the Halo and Dune: Prophecy actress will indeed be playing Benedict Bridgerton’s (Luke Thompson) love interest in the fourth season of Bridgerton this morning. However, even more tantalizing than getting an official confirmation video welcoming Yerin Ha to the Shondaland show is the reveal that Bridgerton showrunner Jess Brownell let the Australian actress pick Sophie’s new last name to honor her own Korean heritage. Sophie Beckett will now be know as Sophie Baek!
Bridgerton Season 4 will follow the events of the third Bridgerton novel, An Offer From a Gentleman. In that book, Benedict Bridgerton meets a mysterious “Lady in Silver” at his mother’s masquerade ball. She leaves before the clock strikes midnight, leaving the dashing young gentleman pining after this mystery woman. What Benedict doesn’t know is that Sophie is actually a servant who snuck into the ball for a single night on the ton. When they cross paths later, Benedict doesn’t recognize that the sweet but scrappy maid Sophie is actually his Lady in Silver.
Netflix confirmed on Tudum today that Bridgerton Season 3 will follow this basic set up, revealing that Sophie “meets Benedict at the upcoming Bridgerton masquerade ball, where attendees are encouraged to transform into whomever they choose.”
“There’s this theme with masks that was running throughout all of my audition scenes,” Ha told Tudum. “When does Sophie put on this mask to cover her emotions? Or vice versa, when does she take it off and when does she soften up? Playing with those [questions] is just really fun.”
According to Yerin Ha, Bridgerton showrunner Jess Brownell worked with her to change Sophie’s last name from Becket to Baek. Bridgerton has previously done this in Season 2, changing Kate’s (Simone Ashley) surname from Sheffield to Sharma, as a nod to the TV show version’s South Asian roots.
“A name is the first bit of identity that you share with the world, and that’s why changing a name can be so powerful,” Ha said. “To make Sophie’s name fit someone who looks like me is really empowering. All credit to Jess Brownell, our showrunner.”
Bridgerton Season 4 is currently in pre-production and Yerin Ha and Luke Thompson are already working on their dance moves. Tudum’s report teased that Thompson has “only stepped on Yerin’s toes once, which is good.”
