Although Benedict (Luke Thompson) and Sophie (Yerin Ha) are about to take center stage in Bridgerton Season 4, showrunner Jess Brownell is already dishing on who will be the period drama’s next central romances. At the red carpet premiere for the Netflix megahit, her elegant outfit featured two pocket squares embroidered with the initials E and F, which she confirmed was a hint at the show’s future. “Both characters with the initials on my pocket squares will get seasons in five in six,” Brownell said at the event. “In what order? I can’t say.” That little tease ensures the two recently ordered runs will, as expected, follow the love stories of Claudia Jessie‘s Eloise Bridgerton and Hannah Dodd‘s Francesca.
If the series adapts Julia Quinn‘s novels in chronological order, that would make Eloise and book five, To Sir Phillip With Love, first on the docket, followed by When He Was Wicked. That can’t just be assumed, though, with Seasons 3 and 4 swapping their respective numbered installments. Alas, Jessie hasn’t given any hints whether she’ll be the next star of the ton, telling Deadline, “I wish I could say that I have started working on [Eloise’s story]. That would make me seem like such a professional as well if I was starting to work on it.” We’re not likely to get an answer for a while, with the focus currently on another couple, though it would be curious if Sir Phillip Crane (Chris Fulton) were to make an appearance in Season 4.
Book 5 finds Eloise caught in a whirlwind romance with the widowed Sir Phillip after he sends her a letter. It initially seems like an imperfect match when she finds he’s far from the man of her dreams, yet love blossoms between the two nonetheless. Book 6, meanwhile, tackles grief and finding a second chance at love through Francesca after the death of her first husband, John Stirling (Victor Alli). It follows the third Bridgerton daughter as she unexpectedly finds her next love in John’s passionate cousin, Michael. Unlike the books, however, the show will feature a key change, as Michael is now Michaela and is played by Masali Baduza, setting the stage for a delightful queer romance.
What’s in Store for ‘Bridgerton’ Season 4?
Before viewers can get to those stories, however, Season 4 will finally give Benedict the spotlight as he meets his bewitching Lady in Silver. It will all begin at Lady Violet Bridgerton’s (Ruth Gemmell) famed masquerade ball, where he encounters the masked Sophie Baek for the first time and begins a search to uncover her identity, only to discover that she’s no member of high society, but instead a housemaid under the fierce Lady Araminta Gun (Katie Leung). While it seems like a classic Cinderella story, Sophie is hardly some damsel in distress, daring to dream of something better. It all paves the way for a fateful union that will take the pair beyond the ton to My Cabin and test whether love can conquer all. Both Jessie and Dodd will be among the returning cast, including other familiar faces like Jonathan Bailey, Simone Ashley, Luke Newton, and Nicola Coughlan, among many others.
Bridgerton Season 4 Part One premieres on Netflix on January 29, followed by Part Two on February 26.
via Collider