We solemnly swear that this news is only good.
After all, it’s been confirmed there will be a familiar face for Harry Potter fans in season 4 of Bridgerton: Katie Leung, who played Harry’s first love interest Cho Chang in the film series, has been tapped to enter the regency-era Netflix show.
But while fans first met Katie as a student in the Goblet of Fire, with that particular film debuting almost 20 years ago in 2005 (we know, deep breaths), it makes sense that for the now 37-year-old actress, Bridgerton fans will get to know her as a mom.
However, let’s rewind.
Season 4 of Bridgerton is set to center around the second-eldest Bridgerton sibling, Benedict (played by Luke Thompson) as he falls in love with local maid Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha) after they meet at a masquerade ball Sophie sneaks into. But when identities—and social standings—are revealed, Sophie and Benedict will have to grapple with their love in the harsh reality of societal norms.
So where does Katie fit into this season? The Scottish actress will play Araminta Gun, a twice-married, twice-widowed mother of two who is debuting her two daughters—Rosamund Li (played by Michelle Mao) and Posy Li (Isabella Wei)—on the marriage mart.
Oh, and she’s Sophie’s employer.
So when her daughter Rosamund sets her sights on Benedict, only for his heart to be captured by her maid Sophie, drama is sure to abound.
But in the meantime, the newly announced cast members joining the Bridgerton universe are reveling in their new roles.
As Katie wrote on Instagram Sept. 16 alongside her, Michelle and Isabella’s cast announcements, “Buzzin’ for me and my girls.”
Yerin, too, has been candid about her nerves stepping into the role of leading lady in the beloved Netflix romance—and how they were quickly assuaged after meeting Luke for the first time at showrunner Jess Brownell’s home.
“I remember Luke stood there with arms wide open, just ready for an embrace,” Yerin recently told Netflix’s Tudum. “That was the moment I was like, ‘Ah, OK, I don’t need to stress about these little things now. I can just genuinely focus on the on-screen connection with him.'”
And Luke, for his part, is excited to share this particular story with fans.
“What’s striking about season four is that it’s the struggle between a proper old-school fairy tale,” he told Tudum. “The romance of it, and the actual reality of the world.”
He continued, “And both are true. You have to hold both of them—the romance and the reality—in your hand. In its best version, ‘true love’ happens in the middle of that.”