Warning: This story contains spoilers for Season 3 of “Bridgerton.”
“Bridgerton’s” next couple has made their debut. Production for Season 4 is underway, the streaming service announced Sept. 16.
In a social media post, Netflix also shared the first on-set look at one of the love stories set to unfold in the upcoming season.
“Please rise for Sophie Baek & Benedict Bridgerton!!!” Netflix wrote, sharing a photo of the anticipated couple. “Here’s your first official photo of Yerin Ha and Luke Thompson on the set of Bridgerton Season 4.”
Earlier this month, the official Bridgerton X account hinted at the pairing by sharing a video of Ha, asking that fans give a “warm welcome to the newest member of the Ton.” On Monday, the account shared more photos of the actors.
The announcements shouldn’t come as a surprise to fans, however, as the ending of “Bridgerton” Season 3 seemed to tee up multiple Bridgerton siblings to potentially find love in Season 4.
In July, Netflix hinted that the upcoming season would specifically focus on Benedict Bridgerton, the second oldest child of the family.
“It has been brought to this author’s attention that perhaps it is time to unmask the newest suitor of the marriage mart… Benedict Bridgerton’s story is coming next season,” a tweet on the “Bridgerton” X account reads.
“Bridgerton” debuted in 2020, following Daphne Bridgerton’s (Phoebe Dynevor) love story with Simon Basset (Regé-Jean Page), a slightly grumpy duke. In Season Two, Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) put aside his rakish ways to find love with Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley). Next up was Colin (Luke Newton) and Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) in Season 3.
In 2021, Netflix renewed “Bridgerton” for a third and fourth season. The series has eight books, each focusing on a different sibling’s love story.
Read on to learn all about “Bridgerton” Season 4 and what could happen in the new season.
What will ‘Bridgerton’ Season 4 be about?
If the show were following the books’ order, then Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) would have been the focus of Season 3. Instead, his younger brother, Colin, took center stage.
The end of Season 3 contains hints about who will step into the romantic lead role for Season 4, Brownell tells TODAY.com.
“I think that there are some clues,” she says. “I don’t know that it’s completely obvious where we’re going. But there are definitely some clues for fans to pick over and theorize about.”
At the end of the season, Colin and Penelope successfully settle into married life and welcome a son after her identity as Lady Whistledown is revealed to Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) and the rest of the Ton.
But three other Bridgertons experience major life changes. Francesca marries John Stirling, Earl of Kilmartin — her first husband in the Bridgerton books. She also meets his cousin, Michaela Stirling, marking a notable departure from the novel. (Click here for spoilers from Francesca’s “Bridgerton” book.)
Francesca decides to move to Scotland to live at his estate, and Eloise asks to join her, reasoning, “I cannot change the world without seeing more of it.”
Meanwhile, Benedict’s affair with Tilley Arnold (Hannah New) leads to his first onscreen kiss with a man and makes him realize his desire to live outside the confines of society.
None of these circumstances explicitly set up one to take the lead in Season 4, though there are hints that seemingly reference how their books start.
In Eloise’s book, “To Sir Phillip With Love,” she notably leaves home right after Penelope and Colin’s marriage to meet her pen pal, Phillip Crane, sparking romance.
For Benedict, while there’s no sightings of the character he ends up with in his “Bridgerton” book, “An Offer from a Gentleman,” there is a reference to the setting where he meets her.
In the “Cinderella” retelling, he meets Sophie, the daughter of an earl who’s forced to live as a maid by her stepmother, at a masquerade ball. One of Benedict’s last lines of dialogue confirms that he’ll be at his mother’s masquerade ball at the start of the next social season.
Claudia Jessie, who plays Eloise Bridgerton, tells TODAY.com “whenever” her character steps in the lead role, she hopes to follow the example set by Phoebe Dynevor as Daphne in Season One.
“I will always be so grateful to Phoebe — it’s an amazing responsibility, isn’t it, to lead? I wouldn’t have been as graceful if I did it,” she says. “I think we’ve had a lot of people to look up to in the show and see examples of how it can be done. So I’m just going to take from them lot, just gonna steal all their techniques.”
Brownell says for those waiting for fan-favorite character Benedict to step into the spotlight, the delay of his season could be “good news.”
“As you know, once people have their season, they fall to the background a little bit. But actually, by delaying Benedict’s season, we get to send him on more adventures for a little bit longer,” Brownell says. “And when he eventually gets his season. I’m sure it will be great.”
When will ‘Bridgerton’ Season 4 premiere?
The “Bridgerton” Season 4 premiere date has not been announced. Brownell told Refinery29 in May that she’s unaware of the date, too.
“We actually don’t know when it’s gonna drop,” Brownell said. “We’re still making sure that we write the best possible script that we can before we start production.”
Since May, however, Netflix has announced that production has officially began. But the streaming channel has not yet revealed when the new season will air.
What has Shonda Rhimes said about ‘Bridgerton’ Season 4?
“Bridgerton” creator Shonda Rhimes released a statement when Netflix announced that the series was renewed for a third and fourth season.
In the statement, Rhimes expressed her joy about the show returning to Netflix.
She said, “From the first time I read Julia Quinn’s delicious ‘Bridgerton’ series, I knew these were stories that would captivate a viewing audience. But the evolution of this adaptation would not be a success without the many significant contributions of the entire Shondaland team.”
Which actors will be starring in ‘Bridgerton’ Season 4?
Although the cast is not yet confirmed, fans can expect series regulars to return for the fourth season.
The cast, for the past three seasons, has included most of the Bridgerton siblings and regulars like Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh) and Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel).
Page, who played Simon Basset, said he would not return to the series after Season One. Phoebe Dynevor, who played Daphne Bridgerton, made a cameo in Season Two.
Bailey and Ashley returned for Season 3, making brief appearances as Kate and Anthony.
Netflix revealed in a Sept. 16 social media post that actor Yerin Ha will take on the role of Sophie Baek, Benedict’s love interest.
