Picture: Bridgerton – Shondaland / Netflix
Alas, Bridgerton season 3 is over, and fans are already looking forward to the fourth season! With filming scheduled for Summer 2024, we’ll be keeping a close eye on all of the production updates, cast announcements, news, and more for the fourth season of Bridgerton on Netflix.
Based on Julia Quinn’s beloved novels and adapted by Shonda Rhimes’ production Shondaland, Bridgerton has quickly become one of the most successful Netflix Originals.
With over a billion hours consumed since its debut, which equates to over a hundred million views, Netflix subscribers adore Bridgerton.
Jess Brownell replaced Chris Van Dausen as the showrunner of season 3 and will continue as the showrunner in season 4. Meanwhile, Van Dausen remains as an executive producer.
Has Bridgerton been renewed for Season 4?
Official Renewal Status: Renewed (Last Updated: 13/06/2024)
This won’t be news for many, but anyone newly introduced to Bridgerton will be delighted to learn that we’ve known about plans for the fourth season of the series since April 2021, when Netflix confirmed the renewal of Bridgerton for seasons 3 and 4.
What is the production status of Bridgerton Season 4?
Pre-Production
Filming Scheduled
Filming Ongoing
Post-Production
Official shoot dates have yet to be announced. However, we have learned that filming is expected to begin early in Summer 2024 and last several months before ending sometime in Winter 2024.
Given Bridgerton’s popularity, we fully expect Netflix to post on social media when the cast reunites for the first table read. It won’t be long before Netflix confirms production.
Showrunner Jess Brownell has discussed the lengthy production process of Bridgerton.
“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,” she continued. “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.”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MAY 13: Jess Brownell attends Netflix’s “Bridgerton” Season 3 World Premiere at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center on May 13, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Arturo Holmes/WireImage)
What can we expect from Bridgerton season 4?
Warning: The following section contains spoilers. Proceed with caution!
Thanks to Emma Armbrüster’s insights, a contributor to What’s on Netflix, we can deduce further what to expect from the fourth season of Bridgerton.
Season 3 of Bridgerton was the first time the adaptation departed from the chronological order of the books. It opted to adapt Colin and Penelope’s romance from the fourth book, Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, and skipped over Benedict’s story from the third book, An Offer from a Gentleman.
Going into the fourth season, we’ll see either Benedict’s story adapted or Eloise’s romance from the fifth book, To Sir Phillip, With Love.
Claudia Jesse, the actress who plays Eloise Bridgerton, commented on the subject of her character at the New York Premiere for season 3, stating;
“There’s more space with Eloise’s character. There is a lot of room for her to play, and you can experiment more with Eloise. While I think Shondaland would never ignore romance, Eloise has room to go on a different journey. The books are a beautiful foundation, but Shondaland has always kept it fresh by adding new things here and there. “
British actress Claudia Jessie arrives for Netflix’s “Bridgerton Season 3” premiere at Alice Tully Hall on May 13, 2024, in New York City. (Photo by ANDREA RENAULT / AFP) (Photo by ANDREA RENAULT/AFP via Getty Images)
Julia Quinn has publicly discussed that no clause in the contract requires Shondaland to keep to the book couples and has expressed her confidence that Shondaland and Shonda Rhimes will do a fantastic job.
Given the ages of the remaining Bridgerton children yet to be wed, it would make the most sense to follow the story of Benedict or Eloise. As for Francesca, an excellent point was raised by Emma Armbrüster;
“Francesca’s story can’t be the focus of season 4, especially since we were just reintroduced to the character in season 3 with Hannah Dodd taking over the role. Francesca’s story is much more complex and dramatic compared to all the other Bridgerton stories. In her book, “When He Was Wicked”, Francesca initially doesn’t want to marry for love; she wants to take a husband and return to her music until she meets John Stirling. Unfortunately, he died two years after their wedding. Her true love will be Michael, John’s cousin, whom she will meet before her wedding to John. Likely, her story, at least the first part – her wedding to John and the first two years of her marriage – might be one of the subplots of seasons 3 and 4, with possibly her taking over in seasons 5 or 6.”
Emma’s excellent research led her to discover that the working title for the fourth season of Bridgerton is Vauxhall. This is significant because masquerade balls were held at Vauxhall Gardens during the Regency Era. Not so coincidentally, Benedict meets his love match at a masquerade ball… that his mother is due to host soon.
Ironically, Benedict just swatted away a chance of marriage after turning down Lady Tilley Arnold’s request for something more serious for their relationship. The person for whom Benedict falls head over heels will be exceptional indeed.
Picture: Benedict’s story takes place in An Offer From a Gentleman – HarperCollins
As for Eloise, by joining Francesca and John Stirling in Scotland, perhaps the foundations will also be laid for her love story in the fourth season, as further explained by Emma;
“While Eloise has developed throughout the seasons and is coming of age, she hasn’t matured enough to be ready for her season. When someone like Cressida Cowper calls you out on your uncaring ways, you still have much to learn, experiences to have, and perspectives to gain. If the plan is still to follow her book storyline from “To Sir Phillip, With Love”, we could see Eloise starting her correspondence with Sir Phillip Crane in the following season. “
At the very least, we’ll see Eloise determined to take advantage of her time away from the Ton and discover herself.
Picture: Eloise’s story takes place in To Sir Phillip, With Love – HarperCollins
Who is in the cast of Bridgerton Season 4?
We would expect to see all of the following cast members return for the fourth season of Bridgerton;
- Luke Thompson – Benedict Bridgerton
- Claudia Jessie – Eloise Bridgerton
- Nicola Coughlan – Penelope Bridgerton
- Luke Newton – Colin Bridgerton
- Jonathan Bailey –Anthony Bridgerton
- Simone Ashley – Kathani ‘Kate’ Bridgerton
- Hannah Dodd – Francesca Stirling
- Victor Alli – John Stirling
- Masali Baduza – Michaela Stirling
- Golda Rosheuvel – Queen Charlotte
- Adjoa Andoh – Lady Danbury
- Harriet Cains – Philippa Featherington
- Bessie Carter – Prudence Featherington
- Polly Walker – Portia Featherington
- Florence Hunt – Hyacinth Bridgerton
- Will Tilston – Gregory Bridgerton
- Lorraine Ashbourne – Mrs. Varley
- Julie Andrews – the voice of Lady Whistledown
- Martin Imhangbe – Will Mondrich
- Emma Naomi – Alice Mondrich
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MAY 13: Cast and crew of Netflix’s “Bridgerton” Season 3 pose at the World Premiere at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center on May 13, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)
For now, we await casting news for the fourth season.
When is Bridgerton season 4 coming to Netflix?
Thanks to the filming schedule, we’re looking at a potential late 2025 or early 2026 release date.
Netflix often saves some of its most significant releases of the year for Christmas Day, and the fourth season of Bridgerton could fill that slot. However, we may also see a February 2026 release to coincide with the arrival of Valentine’s Day.
Given the comments made by the series showrunner Jess Brownell, a 2026 release is most likely.
Will Bridgerton be renewed for a fifth season?
Even before the release of Bridgerton season 3, part 2, thanks to the success of part 1, we are fully expecting to see Netflix renew the drama for more seasons. The last time Netflix renewed Bridgerton, it renewed the romantic drama for two further seasons.
It wouldn’t surprise us if Netflix were to renew Bridgerton for a fifth and sixth season.
We expect big numbers from the second half of season 3, which will help pave the way for future seasons.
Are you looking forward to the fourth season of Bridgerton? Let us know in the comments below!