Regency Romance
‘Bridgerton’ Season 4’s Faithful Fairytale Adaptation & 5 More Major Reveals
Bridgerton fans were treated to plenty of Season 4 goodies during Netflix‘s Season of Love Valentine’s Day celebration, which took place in London and virtually for viewers around the globe.
The event, which featured Season 4’s leading stars Luke Thompson and Yerin Ha as well as Queen Charlotte herself, Golda Rosheuvel with her onscreen right-hand man, Brimsley actor Hugh Sachs, made way for major reveals and teases as to what viewers can anticipate when Bridgerton Season 4 arrives.
As previously revealed, Season 4 will shift its spotlight to the second-eldest Bridgerton brother, Benedict, who is reluctant to settle down until he encounters the Lady in Silver (Ha’s Sophie) at his mother’s masquerade ball. In anticipation of their fairytale romance, showrunner Jess Brownell, Thompson, and Ha offered some exciting insights alongside a first-look behind-the-scenes featurette that is packed with easter eggs.
Below, learn about how this season is anticipated to be the most faithful adaptation of Julia Quinn’s books yet, what’s in store for the new characters joining the Ton, when the masquerade is set to take place, which favorites are returning, and so much more. Scroll down for a closer peek at the reveals as well as the video feature.
Faithful Adaptation
Liam Daniel/Netflix
During the presentation, Thompson and Brownell confirmed that this season is rather faithful to Quinn’s original vision. “It’s pretty faithful to the book, and there are amazing moments from the book,” Thompson teased but was reluctant to spoil. Thankfully, Brownell stepped in to offer some goodies for fans to ponder as she confirmed the masquerade ball, and the inclusion of Benedict’s country home, My Cottage, which is actually a mansion. Netflix even released an image of the exterior and included a brief peek into the home during the behind-the-scenes feature. “When our locations team showed us this I was like… this is exactly how I pictured My Cottage, it was amazing… and you know maybe within striking distance of that cottage, there’s a lake,” Brownell added.
“It’s entirely possible that Benedict might wanna go for a swim,” she teased. Ha previously teased her excitement around the book moment to Swooon in October of 2024. But while things are fairly similar to the book, Brownell noted, “Some smaller things have changed, character motivations especially. Benedict is quite different from the book just in that Luke Thompson brings this wonderful sensitivity and self-awareness to the character and so in Benedict’s story of trying to woo Sophie, I think the character is a bit more delicate and thoughtful perhaps about the way he goes about it.”
As readers will know, Benedict propositions Sophie to become his mistress as she hails from a lower class, making it taboo for them to marry. In recent years, book Benedict’s approach to the proposition has been critiqued by readers. How the show will change this remains to be seen, but we’re certainly excited to see and hear more.
Polin & Kanthony Baby Bliss
Liam Daniel/Netflix
Brownell also offered an overview of where certain characters will be when the season picks up, as she noted, “We’ve got Penelope (Nicola Coughlan) and Colin (Luke Newton) who are fully Polin now… they are merged. Colin is a wife guy. They’ve got their baby.” Fans got a peek at the baby in a new image, and viewers got a glimpse of the pair a few times in the behind-the-scenes feature which also hints at a potential new mirror scene. Additionally, Portia (Polly Walker) will be residing with the couple, as Brownell revealed, “She’s the mother of the most famous gossip columnist. Life is good… she’s not moving out of that house just yet because she’s enjoying it all way too much.” Again, we get a taste of that in the feature, below, as Portia dotes on her son-in-law Colin.
Meanwhile, Jonathan Bailey and Simone Ashley will both officially be back for another batch of Kanthony moments. “Kanthony will be together again and we will get to be seeing more of their marital bliss and seeing their baby as well so lots of fun,” Brownell teased. While Ashley’s Kate doesn’t appear in the feature, below, Bailey’s Anthony does make a quick return to screen (sporting a beard!), giving fans of Season 2’s lead couple something to swoon over.
New Team-Ups
Netflix
As Brownell pointed out during the presentation, Penelope is now fully out publicly as Lady Whistledown, and that leads to a new arrangement with the Ton’s lady in charge, Queen Charlotte. “She’s got a new relationship with Penelope now that she knows who Whistleown is and her relationship with Lady Danbury is also right at the center of the story,” Brownell shared. The video feature offers a glimpse of Penelope and the Queen’s new bond as she whispers in her ear at the masquerade.
Meanwhile, Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh) is also going to play a vital role in the Mondrichs story this season. “Will and Alice, who are now fully into society and enjoying their role there and maybe looking for a little bit of a new challenge. Lady Danbury is back and she is helping the Mondrichs with that challenge,” Brownell teased.
And while Lady Violet Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell) may be busy romancing Lord Anderson (Daniel Francis), she’s not too busy to try and get Eloise (Claudia Jessie) motivated to marry. Despite that predicament, Brownell revealed that Eloise will be paired up a lot this season with younger sister Hyacinth (Florence Hunt). “Francesca is now married off, which leaves Eloise in a position where she’s in her mother’s clutches again… She’s absolutely dreading it, whereas you have Hyacinth who… is desperate to pre-debut early, and the two of them get paired together this season for comedic results.” The youngest Bridgerton brother Gregory (Will Tilston) will be sent off to Eton for a little bit so he’ll be able to make a grand entrance back as a proper young man.
Upstairs-Downstairs
Liam Daniel/Netflix
The upstairs-downstairs dynamic will be a key component to Season 4 considering Sophie’s role as a maid and that obstacle in her romance with Benedict. “I think because of that whole upstairs-downstairs influence this season, I do think it’s gonna bring this kind of new fresh energy and vibe to the show and I’m really excited for what the audiences will think,” Ha excitedly shared.
Thompson echoed her sentiments, as he complimented his costars that haven’t had as big of a spotlight in past seasons, but are getting one now. “Characters like Mrs. Wilson or John the footman… [you] suddenly get to see a bit more of them.” But not all upstairs-downstairs dynamics are the same as Brownell pointed out, “Bridgerton House, even the downstairs is beautiful and kind of like a dream. I would one-hundred percent live in the Bridgerton downstairs whereas I don’t know when you go over to Penwood House to the kitchen, you might not wanna… it’s not as nice.” In other words, the Penwood House doesn’t treat its staff as kindly as the Bridgertons.
Villains With Depth
Liam Daniel/Netflix
Speaking of Penwood House, viewers got a closer look at Lady Araminta Gun (Katie Leung) and her daughters Posy (Isabella Wei) and Rosamund (Michelle Mao) in new photos and the feature. And while fans of the book may expect full-on villains out of Lady Araminta and Rosamund, Brownell revealed that there’s more to them than meets the eye.
“They’re some of the biggest villains in the Bridgerton books. They are still villains, absolutely, in our show, but I think there’s a difference between meeting a character on the page versus seeing them embodied by an actor like Katie or Michelle and so it was really important to us to humanize those characters and understand why are they villains, why are they making decisions that we might not agree with,” Brownell said.
When Ha was asked to describe the dynamic at the house she works at as a maid she said, “I kind of compare it to getting an MRI scan… Like suffocating and claustrophobic, but you have to do it to know what’s wrong with you so you can fix the thing and you wanna just press that emergency button.”
Masquerade!
Liam Daniel/Netflix
Brownell confirmed that “a very large chunk” of Season 4’s premiere episode will feature the highly-anticipated masquerade ball, which will feature a slew of interesting costumes, many of which are teased in the feature video. “This is something that occurred in the Regency period and the goal was to… hide your identity. So some people would go in proper costumes. Some people would just try to alter their appearance or wear a mask enough that they could hide their identity and because of that people usually would get up to things that they might not normally get up to,” Brownell shared.
“The rules were a little bit looser it was a little bit more frisky,” she added. As for inspirations behind the pivotal sequence, she cited Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The fairytale romance of it all is something Thompson believes sets this season apart. “I think there’s something about the fairytale element of it that makes us all sort of kids again,” he said.
As for playing the lead this time around, Thompson said, “It’s a privilege to be in the middle of it… I feel like as a character, we’ve got him as sort of a little musical theme for most of the seasons. Now suddenly you’re like, oh let’s write a whole symphony about him and that’s really exciting.” Bringing life to the metaphorical symphony is Sophie. Ha noted she is “this super headstrong character and she’s very independent, but she craves and yearns for love.”
Will Benedict be able to provide the love she needs? We’re willing to bet the chances are good. While filming continues, check out the exciting feature video, below, and let us know what you’re looking forward to most in Bridgerton Season 4.
Bridgerton, Season 4 Premiere, TBA, Netflix
