The Big Picture
- Jonathan Bailey confirmed his return as Viscount Anthony Bridgerton in the upcoming fourth season.
- The Bridgerton family expands with new in-laws as
An Offer From a Gentleman
will be adapted in Season 4. - Filming for Season 4 begins in September with Luke Thompson and Yerin Ha as leads.
It’s official. Bridgerton will see the return of the family’s eldest in the upcoming fourth season. On the heels of the long-awaited casting announcement of Yerin Ha as Sophie Beckett, Jonathan Bailey confirmed to Good Morning America that he would be reprising his role as Viscount Anthony Bridgerton.
“I have a couple of weeks etched out in my schedule for returning,” Bailey explains in the GMA interview. “I look forward to reading the scripts.” The last time that Bridgerton was filming, Bailey was doing a triple gauntlet, running between the sets of Bridgerton, Wicked, and Fellow Travelers. Strapping in and out of period piece costume after period piece costume didn’t seem to deter Bailey’s love for the show either.
“The thing about Bridgerton, which is so brilliant, is that there’s so many different ways you can fall in love as humans and that’s what this show will explore. Obviously being the older brother, I’m going to be there to support the youngsters as we go.”
The Bridgerton In-Laws Are Shaping Up
With the three seasons now in the books on Netflix and the fourth season love interest announced, the Bridgerton family is expanding. The series, based on the 8 book series by Julia Quinn, follows a Bridgerton sibling each book on their way to finding love, often in unexpected places in Regency Era England. The first season saw Regé-Jean Page as the Duke of Hastings, Simon Bassett wooing eldest Bridgerton daughter Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor). Page’s swift exit after the first season has left a gap in the storytelling, but Page also gave his blessing for the Duke of Hastings to be recast.
In the fan-favorite Season 2, it was Anthony Bridgerton’s (Jonathan Bailey) turn to find love. After an aborted wedding to another bride, his character weds Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley). The couple returned, expecting a child, in season 3 of Bridgerton. The third season, very much taking on the trope of best friend’s brother, sees Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) and Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) finally properly falling in love.
Just recently, it was announced that Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) would be the lead for Season 4. There had been mixed fan reaction to the show going out of book order (Benedict’s book comes before Penelope and Colin’s) but now it’s been confirmed that fans will see An Offer From a Gentleman adapted in Season 4. Yesterday, it was confirmed that Yerin Ha will be playing his love interest, Sophie Beckett. The book follows a Cinderella-esque trope, complete with an unkind step-mother and step-sister.
We’ve also met two additional Bridgerton in-laws: John and Michaela Sterling. Francesca married John at the end of season 4 and (spoilers) after he dies, she will be with Michaela (Michael in the books). If the show continues to follow the books in some sort of way, and expand it in unexpected ways, we’ll also hopefully meet Hyacinth Bridgerton’s (Florence Hunt) future beau, Gareth St. Clair since he is Lady Agatha Danbury’s grandson in the books.
As filming for season 4 is set to begin in September, Bailey has faith that Thompson is more than ready for Benedict’s season. “Benedict’s full of wonder and joy. He’s the beating heart of the family,” Bailey said. “Luke Thompson is going to be stunning.”
You can catch up on the first three seasons of Bridgerton now on Netflix.
Watch on Netflix