Bridgerton Season 3 has ended, and Season 4 has already been confirmed, but what else is there to know?
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.
At the time of writing this, in June 2024, about a week after the finale of Bridgerton Season 3, 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.
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.
I know, I know… this is the central theme in the room – who is going to be the romantic lead for Bridgerton Season 4? While I am fully in support of Benedict and his adventures and him becoming the lead, we still have no idea whose will be the next love story. Benedict seems like the most likely option, especially with those three lines in the Bridgerton Season 3 finale that feel like they’ll lead into his story, but Francesca, John, and Michaela seem plausible, too.
In fact, Jess Brownell opened up about Francesca’s story, and how there’s a “big twist” that fans of the books know that viewers don’t, in an interview with The Wrap in June 2024:
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.
Brownell confirmed in another interview with Variety in June 2024 that she did put deliberate signs in the finale that would give us clues as to the lead of Season 4, which could lead to either Benedict or Francesca. However, in that same interview, Brownell stated that they will not be combining love stories, so each season will still stick to just one Bridgerton love story.
While I did love the “specialness” of Colin and Penelope, I’m already eager to see who the heck this next season is going to follow – and whenever that gets announced, I’m going to actually scream to the heavens because I’ll finally have something to look forward to.
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 right now, 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 wanting to break into the Netflix headquarters in order to figure out who is going to be the lead? Because I’m dying over here.
The last thing we know about Season 4 is that while there will be a new lead from 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 literally 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.
Meanwhile, if you’re not caught up with Bridgerton Season 3, you should check it out on Netflix now. The full eight episodes are finally up.
