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Louise Thomas
Editor
Bridgerton season four is welcoming another member of the family to the marriage mart.
After season three saw the nuptials between the Bridgertons’ third son, Colin (Luke Newton) and Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan), fans have been debating which Bridgerton child – Benedict or Eloise – was going to be the focus of the next season. The eldest Bridgerton, Anthony (Jonathan Bailey), married Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley) in season two and the eldest daughter Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor) married Simon Basset (Regé-Jean Page) in season one.
On Tuesday (July 23), Netflix made the exciting reveal that the Bridgerton family’s second eldest, Benedict (played by Luke Thomas), will be the new romantic lead.
“Despite his elder and younger brothers both being happily married, Benedict is loath to settle down,” a press release states, “until he meets a captivating Lady in Silver at his mother’s masquerade ball.”
“I’m honored to accept your acceptance,” Benedict says in a teaser trailer. “It feels right now that the next thing may change me entirely.”
Executive producer Shonda Rhimes told Netflix’s Tudum of Thomas’s character: “He’s a charming man who’s trying to find his way. He’s very delightful and funny. I’m excited for everybody to watch him.”
Showrunner Jess Brownell added: “It felt important for him to explore the fullness of himself before he settles down. He is someone who has big appetites, and we wanted to see him living a big life before he goes into settle-down mode.”
Benedict was last seen in series three exploring a relationship with Lady Tilley Arnold (Hannah New) and Paul Suarez (Lucas Aurelio).
No further details about the cast have been shared.
Though Dynevor reprised her role in season two, she did not return for the third season. “I did my two seasons. I’ve done what I wanted to do with that character, and she had a great arc,” she told Variety in January 2023.
Page, meanwhile, bowed out of the show after the first season, explaining that he didn’t want to be pigeonholed.
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“I signed up to do a job and I did the job and then I did some other jobs. That’s it. That’s the story,” he previously shared.
A release date for the eight-episode season four has not yet been announced. However, the first three seasons of Bridgerton are available to stream on Netflix.
