Bridgerton season 4: Release date speculation, cast updates and latest news

The pictures offered up another first look at new leads Yerin Ha and Luke Thompson who will be taking up the romantic helm as Sophie and Benedict Bridgerton.

While not decked out in their usual stunning gowns and suits, some of the wider cast can also be spied in the images including the likes of Adjoa Andoh, Ruth Gemmell, Hannah Dodd and more.

It was announced last year that Benedict would be the next Bridgerton sibling to take up the helm of the series, with love interest Sophie Baek also announced and encapsulating a name change from the original novel.

"A name is the first bit of identity that you share with the world, and that’s why changing a name can be so powerful," Ha said in an interview with TUDUM. "To make Sophie’s name fit someone who looks like me is really empowering. All credit to Jess Brownell, our showrunner."

As well as Ha, there have been some further exciting casting announcements, with some familiar faces being upped to series regulars.

Fans were treated to a brief clip of the new leading pair reading from the original book by Julia Quinn, which saw them both conclude that they have an exciting ball to prepare for.

You can watch that below.

But of course, there's plenty else that's been revealed about the upcoming season so without further ado, here's everything we know about Bridgerton season 4.

Is there a Bridgerton season 4 release date?

Not yet, although we do know that Bridgerton season 4 will likely arrive on our screens in 2024.

Production for season 4 has now begun as teased in the table read images but showrunner Jess Brownell previously explained that there is likely to be a two-year wait before the show returns.

She told The Hollywood Reporter: "We are working to try and put the seasons out more quickly, but they do take eight months to film and then they have to be edited, and then they have to be dubbed into every language.

"And then writing takes a very long time as well, so we're kind of on a two-year pace, we're trying to speed up but somewhere in the range."

A potential 2026 release date is yet to be officially confirmed so there's no real telling when the season could land, especially seeing as Bridgerton hasn't really followed a specific release pattern. Could such a long wait hinder its important future storylines? Time will tell.

There's also been no confirmation on whether season 4 will be split into two parts like season 3 or not. While the first two seasons were released all at once, season 3 was released in two batches, with a month's wait between them.

Who could be in the cast for Bridgerton season 4?

The cast of Bridgerton has changed ever so slightly from the early seasons with the exits of Regé-Jean Page, Phoebe Dynevor and Charithra Chandran.

It has been confirmed that Luke Thompson's Benedict will be taking centre stage with his own love story in season 4 and that Yerin Ha will be starring as Sophie Baek, with the pair expected to make each other's acquaintance at Violet Bridgerton's masquerade ball.

Known for her roles in Paramount Plus series Halo, Bad Behaviour and upcoming Dune spin-off series, Dune: Prophecy, Ha will star as Sophie who has already been described as "a captivating and complicated woman".

In the novel An Offer From a Gentleman, Sophie is the illegitimate daughter of an earl and one of his maids. In a very brief teaser, we get a glimpse of Ha leafing through some of the outfits that Sophie could be wearing in the upcoming new season. You can watch that below.

There's also further good news on the horizon as it's also now been confirmed that Jonathan Bailey will appear in the fourth season of the hit Netflix show.

Obviously, Benedict would need the guidance of his older brother but Bailey is a busy man, with the actor going on to star in both Wicked movies, the new Jurassic World film and a West End production of William Shakespeare’s Richard II. Many fans thought the actor may be a little held up but it turns out that Bailey is excited about reprising his role as Anthony.

Speaking in a recent interview on Good Morning America, Bailey said of filming Bridgerton season 4: "I have a couple of weeks etched out in my schedule for returning. I look forward to reading the scripts."
He added: "Obviously being the older brother, I'm going to be there to support the youngsters as we go."
From the table read pictures, we have a pretty good idea of who will be returning for season 4 already but the confirmed cast is as follows:

• Luke Thompson as Benedict Bridgerton
• Yerin Ha as Sophie Beckett
• Nicola Coughlan as Penelope Featherington
• Luke Newton as Colin Bridgerton
• Jonathan Bailey as Anthony, Viscount Bridgerton
• Hannah Dodd as Francesca Bridgerton
• Victor Alli as Lord John Stirling, the Earl of Kilmartin
• Martins Imhangbe as Will Mondrich
• Ruth Gemmell as Violet, Dowager Viscountess Bridgerton
• Claudia Jessie as Eloise Bridgerton
• Will Tilston as Gregory Bridgerton
• Florence Hunt as Hyacinth Bridgerton
• Golda Rosheuvel as Queen Charlotte of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
• Adjoa Andoh as Agatha, Lady Danbury
• Polly Walker as Portia, Dowager Baroness Featherington
• Emma Naomi as Alice Mondrich
• Hugh Sachs as Brimsley
• Daniel Francis as Lord Marcus Anderson
• Masali Baduza as Michaela Stirling
• Katie Leung as Lady Araminta Gun
• Michelle Mao as Rosamund Li
• Isabella Wei as Posy Li

Those not included in the confirmed season 4 cast list include: Bessie Carter (Prudence Featherington), Harriet Cains (Philipa Featherington), James Bryan (Nicky Mondrich), Ariella Warburton (Daisy Mondrich), Elias Amos (John Mondrich), James Phoon (Harry Dankworth), Lorn Macdonald (Albion Finch) and Jessica Madsen (Cressida Cowper).

Another surprising official cast list omission is Simone Ashley's Kate Bridgerton, who was the focal point of season 2 with Bailey's Anthony. While Ashley's involvement in season 4 hasn't officially been confirmed by Netflix, Ashley did say she was in an interview with Glamour.

She confirmed: "I know that I am returning, but that’s all I can say. I absolutely adore the show, and the more I can be a part of it, the better. They’ve been really kind to work around my schedule."

Bridgerton season 4 plot: Will Benedict, Eloise or Francesca’s story be next?

The question on everyone's minds! Well, it's been confirmed that Benedict will lead season 4.

Netflix revealed the exciting news in a video including clips of Benedict, and ending with Thompson preparing for a scene at the masquerade ball.

As many fans will know, season 3 of Bridgerton stepped away from the order of the original novels, with Benedict's love story being bumped for Colin's – and it appears they will be going back one book to focus on Benedict.

Benedict's story is the focus of the third Bridgerton novel, An Offer from a Gentleman, and it appears to stick fairly closely to the original book, in which Benedict falls for a woman called Sophie Beckett (changed to Baek for the series).

"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," the streamer teased.

While it has only recently been confirmed, fans have been theorising about Benedict's love story after one major hint was dropped.

Bridgerton artist Grace Gorman posted a photo of Lady Cowper on Instagram and wrote that the character's first name was Araminta. Fans of the books will be aware that Araminta is the same name as the stepmother of Sophie Beckett, Benedict's love interest!

Although Francesca won't be the new season lead, the end of season 3 saw some pretty major sparks flying between her and Lord John Stirling's (Victor Alli) cousin, Michaela (Masali Baduza).

With Baduza being announced as part of the season 4 cast, we can expect Francesca and Michaela's story to possibly unfold further after Francesca's previous plans to relocate to Scotland following her marriage.

The decision to gender-flip the role of Michaela from the book's original Michael was one that was talked about a lot with the release of season 3 but showrunner Brownell defended the decision, saying that their story will be one of queer joy.

Speaking to Variety, Brownell said: “We really want to see queer joy. And if we’re going to tell a queer story, we would like to find a way for there to be a happily ever after.

“So we have done a lot of research to figure out how we can achieve that within the confines of our world. And after people see the next couple of seasons, I’ll be able to talk about that more.”

Is there a trailer for Bridgerton season 4?

No. As season 4 of Bridgerton is yet to begin filming, there is no trailer.

Bridgerton seasons 1-3 are available to watch on Netflix now. You can buy the Bridgerton book series on Amazon.

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