For the past four years, Bridgerton has transported viewers to a world of romance and historical finery. In May 2024, the Regency era smash hit series returned to Netflix for its third season, which saw longtime friends Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) and Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) step into the main romance storyline (with Kanthony not too far behind them). There was friends-to-lovers tension, multiple subplots with the rest of the Bridgerton cast (maybe too many subplots), and a masterful glow-up when it came to Penelope's Regency-era fashion and hair and makeup looks. Though Pen and Colin eventually found their happily-ever-after by the end of eight episodes, fans were left languishing, facing another multi-year hiatus between seasons.
Fret not, gentle readers. Netflix is known to keep fans updated as an upcoming Bridgerton season is made, from highly-anticipated castings, to updates from set, to plenty of first-look images and teasers. We're keeping track of all this, and every clue we can find on Bridgerton's fourth season, below.
Has 'Bridgerton' been renewed for a fourth season?
Yes! The romance series was renewed for seasons 3 and 4 in April 2021, while season 2 was still in production. As for the future of the series, Rhimes has hinted that the series could go on for as long as seven seasons (though we're hoping for eight, as there are eight novels in Julia Quinn's book series).
“I do have a very specific plan of where we go each season — which one is which,” Rhimes told Variety in a May 2024 interview. “Because you really have to start seeding in the other siblings, and what’s going on with them, to push them to the next season. We’ve really talked about it through, I think, season 6 or maybe 7.”
When will 'Bridgerton' season 4 come out?
The hiatuses between Bridgerton seasons have been unbearable for fans, as each season has taken over two years to be released. (Season 1 debuted in December 2020, season 2 in March 2022, and season 3 in May and June 2024.) If season 4 follows the same schedule, we won't see the next love story until fall 2026.
However, Rhimes has also been clear that she and the Bridgerton team are considering ways to speed up the show's production, while still working with the Netflix method of filming. She explained to Variety, “They want to write everything, and then they want to shoot everything, which is—it’s very counterintuitive to the way I learned to make television.”
"We’re really working on the idea of if this is the field we live in, then how do we make the field faster?" she added. "And so we really are thinking about stuff such as permanent sets and lots, and things like that that will really help us speed the process up.”
Which Julia Quinn book will 'Bridgerton' season 4 be based on?
It's official: Bridgerton season 4 will follow Benedict's love story. After a heavy amount of hinting in the season 3 finale, Netflix confirmed on July 23, 2024, that Luke Thompson will step into the leading role for the upcoming season, as Bridgerton adapts the novel An Offer From a Gentleman. The streamer announced the news along with a video of Thompson preparing for a costume fitting, involving a suit for a masquerade ball.
For those who are still making their way through the books, An Offer From a Gentleman sees Benedict become entranced by a mysterious woman attending his mother's masquerade ball. The woman in question is Sophie Beckett, an earl's daughter-turned-servant for her wicked stepmother, who must flee the ball before the clock strikes midnight. (It's giving Cinderella.) Benedict loses his dream girl, but soon he also becomes captivated by an oddly familiar maid.
July's announcement ends years of speculation on whether the Netflix series would return to the original order of Quinn's books, or continue to shake things up as the adaptation puts its own spin on the beloved romance series. While season 3 did confirm that later books will make some big changes (especially Francesca's story from When He Was Wicked), for now it appears that season 4 will be heavily based on the second-eldest Bridgerton brother's romance with
Who will be in the cast of 'Bridgerton' season 4?
Ladies and gentlemen, we officially have our Sophie Beckett! On August 16, 2024, Variety reported that Korean-Australian actress Yerin Ha has been cast as Benedict's love interest, also known as the "Lady in Silver." The star will also be Bridgerton's first lead of East Asian descent.
Ha is best known to U.S. audiences for playing Kwan Ha in both seasons of Paramount+'s Halo television series. Ha's also part of another mega-popular franchise; she's set to appear in HBO's Dune: Prophecy this fall.
As for the returning cast, it's still very early days, but one thing we do know about season 4 is that Polin will be back! Speaking to TheWrap in May, Nicola Coughlan confirmed that she and Luke Newton will return for the upcoming season, keeping the show's tradition of bringing back (at least one member of) each season's prior couple to help along the next.
Coughlan told the outlet, “They’ve told us we’re back for Season 4, which is super lovely … It’ll be exciting. [We’ll] pop back and have some fun for sure."
What do we know about the plot of 'Bridgerton' season 4?
All we know of season 4 so far is the official logline provided by Netflix: "The fourth season of Bridgerton turns its focus to bohemian second son Benedict. Despite his elder and younger brothers both being happily married, Benedict is loath to settle down — until he meets a captivating Lady in Silver at his mother’s masquerade ball."
While season 4's plot is still tightly under wraps, fans can at least take comfort knowing that the installment is already in the works. In April 2024, ahead of season 3's premiere, showrunner Jess Brownell teased to Refinery29 that season 4 already had its star, adding that the show's writers are hard at work on new episodes.
"I can tell you that I know who it's gonna be. We are in the middle of writing it right now, " she said. "We're still making sure that we write the best possible script that we can before we start production. But we're really thrilled with what we've been working on. So hold out hope!"
