With its recent season wrapped up, fans are already excited to know what’s ahead with Bridgerton Season 3.
Fans had to wait two years for the love story of Colin and Penelope. While the historical romance is undoubtedly one of the best shows to binge-watch on Netflix – and really one of the best shows overall that you can get with a Netflix subscription – it does take a while for the seasons to reach our TV screens. And unfortunately, Season 4 seems to be trending in that direction as well.
But, aside from the fact that we will have to wait some time for the next season, what else do we know about Bridgerton Season 4? Be ready to get your piping hot tea and settle in for Lady Whistledown’s papers because there’s plenty of info out there already.
What Is The Bridgerton Season 4 Premiere Date?
At the time of updating this, in July 2024 there is no set release date for Bridgerton Season 4, which isn’t that much of a surprise. The third season was a part of our 2024 TV premiere schedule, so it’s not like Season 4 would have been coming out this year even if it was done.
However, we do have an estimate, at least, from Jess Brownell herself, the showrunner. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in June 2024, she confirmed that there would be “at least” a two-year wait:
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 the 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 that range.
While Brownell says they are trying to “speed things up,” a roughly two year wait does seem pretty standard for Bridgerton. The second season was released about a year and four months after the first, and the third, obviously, was released more than two years later. This most likely means we won’t get another season of Bridgerton until at least 2026.
The Bridgerton Season 4 Cast
While the Bridgerton cast has undoubtedly changed and grown over the last three seasons, there are plenty of characters we can expect to see for Bridgerton Season 4. These include:
- Jonathan Bailey as Anthony
- Nicola Coughlan as Penelope Bridgerton (née Featherington)
- Luke Thompson as Benedict Bridgerton
- Ruth Gemmell as Violet, Dowager Viscountess Bridgerton
- Florence Hunt as Hyacinth Bridgerton
- Claudia Jessie as Eloise Bridgerton
- Luke Newton as Colin Bridgerton
- Hannah Dodd as Francesca Bridgerton
- Victor Alli as John Stirling
- Golda Rosheuvel as Queen Charlotte
- Will Tilston as Gregory Bridgerton
- Polly Walker as Portia, Dowager Baroness Featherington
- Simone Ashley (Season 2–present) as Kathani "Kate", Viscountess Bridgerton (née Sharma)
- Adjoa Andoh as Lady Agatha Danbury
- Harriet Cains as Philippa Finch (née Featherington)
- Bessie Carter as Prudence Dankworth (née Featherington)
There are plenty of others we could see too, but as for main plot points, the characters above would probably have the highest chance of appearing in some way. Granted, there are also other characters, as well, in the Bridgerton Season 3 finale that had somewhat open-ended conclusions, such as Cressida (and all her beautiful Season 3 dresses) as well as Michaela Sterling, all of whom could appear in Season 4.
However, since nothing has been confirmed yet, we’ll have to wait and see.
What Will Bridgerton Season 4 Be About?
I know, we’ve all been waiting for this, but thankfully, we now know that Bridgerton Season 4 will be following Benedict Bridgerton, as confirmed by Netflix Tudum in July 2024.
I was fully in support of Benedict and his adventures during Season 3 and it was clear from the three lines in the Bridgerton Season 3 finale that he was going to end up becoming a big part of Season 4 – and now, it’s officially confirmed.
Tudum also released a short synopsis of what we could expect with the upcoming season, saying that Benedict would be the focus and that Season 4 would be spent with him trying to find the “Lady in Silver,” a young woman that captured his attention at his mother’s masquerade ball – which is obviously what happened in the books.
While I did love the “specialness” of Colin and Penelope, I’m already eager to see Benedict’s story, as someone who has loved him since Day 1 of this franchise.
We also know from that Tudum article that Season 4 will be like Season 3, and only have eight episodes, so be prepared to be yearning and longing for this show for the next two years and then only get eight episodes again.
Yes, I am crying, don’t judge me.
Francesca’s Story Has A “Big Twist” Coming
While we know that Benedict will be the lead of Season 4, we also know that Bridgerton tends to give us other stories as B plots in the middle of all the steamy romances. And one of the biggest things that we might see is more of Francesca’s story with John Stirling and his cousin, Michaela.
Now, don’t start thinking that two love stories are going to happen in the same season with the siblings. Showrunner Jess Brownell confirmed in another interview with Variety in June 2024 that they will not be combining love stories, so each season will still stick to just one Bridgerton love story.
However, Brownell did open up that there is a “big twist” that fans of the books know that viewers don’t, in an interview with The Wrap in June 2024, and that it’ll be something coming to Francesca’s story soon:
Book fans know where we’re heading with that story. It’s a tricky one to talk about, because there’s a big twist in Francesca’s book, and if people Google it, they’ll know what is coming. We do plan to stick pretty closely to Francesca’s book other than the gender-swap, there are certain elements of the book that will have to be altered. But actually, we found that we’re able to adapt the book fairly accurately, so people can expect it to play out in a similar way.
Francesca ended up becoming a big fan-favorite during Season 3 of the show, so I’m eager to see more of her story – as much as possible.
Showrunner Jess Brownell Says Season 4 Is “Some Of Her Best Work”
In today’s episode of Jess Brownell teasing us even more, the Bridgerton showrunner revealed in that interview with The Hollywood Reporter that writing is going on, as of June 2024 – and that she believes Season 4 will have “some of her best work” to date:
I have almost slipped up a couple of times, so keep asking, and maybe I’ll slip up. I’m really excited about what we’re writing. We’re toward the end with the writers room season, with the scripts. And I feel like it’s some of my best work and my writers room’s best work. We’ve just really gelled our collaboration, and we’re firing on all cylinders, so I can’t wait for fans to see what we have.
So, who’s with me in dying to know what they have going on?
Season 4 Will Also Touch On Penelope Becoming A Public “Gossip Columnist”
The last thing we know about Season 4 is that while Benedict will be the new lead among all the fantastic Bridgerton characters, Penelope’s reveal at the end of Season 3 will be a story-point in the next season. Brownell revealed in that interview from The Wrap that Season 4 will also see Penelope begin to deal with becoming a public “gossip columnist” now that she revealed who Lady Whistledown truly is:
As we talked about where we wanted to end Penelope in the writers’ room, it felt like, in a season where she’s discovering the importance of her power, for her to then give up the column felt like it might be a down note. I think there’s more to come with Lady Whistledown — I think now Pen will have to navigate what it’s like to be a public gossip columnist, not only dealing with the people she writes about, but also taking steps to be more accountable in what she writes. Accountability and authenticity are two things that she’s had to really face this season, and we’re gonna continue that thread going into Season 4.
I’ve been waiting for her secret to be out since Bridgerton's first season, so please sign me up for Season 4.
While Bridgerton Season 4 is likely to be years away, I know that when it comes, we’re all going to be sitting down and watching it like the good little society lovers we are – and until then, I suppose I’ll live with these other Bridgerton romances that have enthralled me.
