It's a great day to be a Bridgerton fan right now! To commemorate Valentine's Day and the season of love, Netflix hosted a fan celebration to get us all excited about Bridgerton season 4. And boy did they deliver! We have so many amazing new looks and tidbits about the new season. I'm in literal fangirl mode right now, we can't wait to see what the story brings.
I mean, do you see Benedict and Sophie in that featured image above? These two are already giving us all the feels, and it's definitely the fairytale story we need. Benedict is giving off such pirate vibes, and Sophie is looking spectacularly beautiful in a swan princess/Cinderella sort of way.
It's already been previously revealed that the new central couple of the Regency-era series meet at a masquerade ball, Violet Bridgerton's masquerade ball to be exact. And this helps everyone sort of hide their identities and act a little more freely than what the restrictions of society usually entail, teased showrunner Jess Brownell at the event.
She also added that the special Masquerade Ball takes place in the very first episode, and it takes up a large part of it as well. Plus, the looks of it all are inspired by A Midsummer Night's Dream. Ooh! Check out the beautiful design (and people!) in the first-look clip below.
Bridgerton season 4 is about true and forbidden love
There's no release date set for Bridgerton season 4 yet, which will be a total of 8 episodes. Though it expected to releas sometime in 2026 on Netflix. There's still a long way to go, though there's plenty of more teases and first-look images to tide us over.
Brownell described the fourth season as being a forbidden love-sort of tale as there's a "class clash" since Benedict is of course a Bridgerton and part of the ton and higher society, while Sophie is a maid in the Gun/Li household. We got a feel for this societal difference with Anthony and Siena. While they weren't meant to be, we know Benedict and Sophie will find a way to be together. They have to get their happy ending! The theme of this season is true love being between fantasy and reality after all, said the showrunner.
This does also mean the "stakes are higher than ever" for the two, and their love journey won't be easy. And just because Sophie might be in a lower class than Benedict, that doesn't mean she's going to fall straight into him. Brownwell teases Sophie is "no damsel in distress" and "she's absolutely going to throw Benedict for a loop."
The actress, Yerin Ha, shared that Sophie is headstrong and independent, "but craves and yearns for love. Just because this man comes into her life, she doesn't surrender everything, she doesn't give up everything. There's this sense of self-respect and this dignity for herself." She's also looking forward to her character learning it's alright to be vulnerable and ask for help, and that it's not a weakness.
I love that, and I think Benedict is going to need someone like this to match his free-spirited energy. Luke Thompson shared that for the past three seasons, he thinks his character has had a fear of commitment perhaps, and that's why he's been circling in the background of the marriage mart for so long. But I think Sophie certainly is going to turn his life upside down, and make him realize that love is worth it all.
Introducing the fairytale villains and different social classes
Every fairytale story needs its villains, and this time around it's coming in the form of some new characters from Julia Quinn's third novel, "An Offer From a Gentleman." Katie Leung as Lady Araminta Gun joins the cast with her onscreen daughters Michelle Mao as Rosamund Li and Isabella Wei as Posy Li. They are the main antagonists in the season 4 story and run the household Sophie works in.
Even so, Brownell explain how it was important to the creative team to "humanize those characters and understand why they are villains, why are they making decisions we might not agree with... while you might not agree with all their choices, I think you will certainly understand them as people." Though it's definitely a complex dynamic and Sophie's sort of "mode of survival" to remain in a toxic place because she has nowhere else to go, said Ha. Let's just say she's definitely not being treated well.
The fact that Sophie is a maid allows the writers to focus on the other integral people in a household - all the maids and other employees that we've seen. There's many for the Bridgertons, Mrs. Varley for Lady Featherington, and more. The showrunner explained that we'll definitely be seeing more of the "upstairs/downstairs" dynamic, how the two classes differ, and what we might also learn about the main characters through the ones we see on the screen a bit less usually.
Finally in the main takeaways from the fabulous event is the fact that the Bridgertons are all in a stable place - especially Colin and Penelope who are "fully Polin now" in their relationship and with their baby, per Brownell. There's also more Anthony and Kate to look forward to with their little one. Plus, Violet and Lord Anderson's relationship just might grow into something more.
And of course, we can't forget about our regal Queen Charlotte who will show a more vulnerable side to herself in season 4, while also growing her friendship even further with Lady Danbury. Boy, there's so much to look forward to. We absolutely can't wait!
Stay tuned to Show Snob as we bring you updates about Bridgerton season 4 on Netflix!