If you’re still thinking about Colin and Penelope’s love story, your thoughts have likely also turned to the fourth season and what we can expect from our beloved ton. Officially announcing the storyline for season four, Netflix released a video last year to confirm that we will indeed see Benedict’s foray into love and romance in the next season of Bridgerton.

Netflix also announced that Halo’s Yerin Ha would be stepping into the role of Sophie Beckett, renamed Sophie Baek. And now, we also know who will play a few of the other pivotal roles in the upcoming season, as well as some first-look images and a new clip from the series.

Here’s everything we know about the upcoming season so far.

What is season 4 of Bridgerton about?

Season four will officially follow the events of Julia Quinn’s third Bridgerton book An Offer From A Gentleman. The book tells a Cinderella-esque love story. Benedict meets Sophie at a masked ball. Sophie, it turns out, is actually a servant who works for her stepmother, Araminta. Araminta’s two daughters from another marriage are debutantes.

Of course, the Netflix series sometimes strays a little from the timeline laid out in the books and we’ll likely see some other side plots emerging, too. Chances are, we’ll see a little more of Francesca’s life with her new husband, John, as well as Eloise’s continued journey to find her place in society.

Who is in season 4 of Bridgerton?

Luke Thompson will, of course, be leading the season as Benedict Bridgerton, while Yerin Ha joins as his love interest, Sophie Baek.

“What drew me to Sophie was that she immediately has obstacles — something that she constantly has to overcome,” said Ha to Netflix’s Tudum. “Whether it’s this battle around social status or trying to hide her feelings from Benedict.”

Leung also joins as Sophie’s stepmother, Araminta. “Twice married and twice widowed, Araminta has two girls debuting on the marriage mart this season and is feeling the pressure to get at least one of them married off,” reads the official description. “Fabulous, discerning and blunt, Araminta does not respond well when anything – or anyone – threatens her standing in society.”

Sophie’s two stepsisters, Rosamund and Posy, will be played by Michelle Mao and Isabella Wei respectively.

“Beautiful, vain and eager to please her mother, Rosamund is Araminta’s eldest daughter and most prized possession. Rosamund sets her sights on Benedict Bridgerton this season and is determined to get what she wants,” according to the official description.

Meanwhile, “Rosamund’s younger sister, the much kinder Posy, is also debuting this year. But her mother rarely puts the spotlight on Posy, as her chatty, overly friendly demeanour often has her putting her foot in her mouth.”

Variety also confirmed that Hugh Sachs (Brimsley, Queen Charlotte’s sassy servant) and Emma Naomi (Alice Mondrich) will be returning. Luke Newton and Nicola Coughlan have also confirmed that they’ll both be appearing in the next season of Bridgerton as Colin and Penelope, with a new image confirming the pair have had their first child in the new season.

Of course, plenty of other fan-favourites from previous seasons are expected to return, too, including:

• Jonathan Bailey (Anthony Bridgerton)
• Victor Alli (John Stirling)
• Adjoa Andoh (Lady Danbury)
• Julie Andrews (Lady Whistledown)
• Lorraine Ashbourne (Mrs Varley)
• Hannah Dodd (Francesca Stirling)
• Daniel Francis (Lord Marcus Anderson)
• Ruth Gemmell (Violet Bridgerton)
• Florence Hunt (Hyacinth Bridgerton)
• Martins Imhangbe (Will Mondrich)
• Claudia Jessie (Eloise Bridgerton)
• Golda Rosheuvel (Queen Charlotte)
• Will Tilston (Gregory Bridgerton)
• Polly Walker (Portia Featherington)

And now, we also know that Simone Ashley is returning for the fourth season, too. Because there cannot be an Anthony without a Kate? Obviously.

What has been said about season 4 of Bridgerton so far?

Speaking at the UK premiere of the second part of Bridgerton’s third season, showrunner Jess Brownell said she’s “really excited about what we’re writing” for the upcoming season.

“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,” she added. She did say that there are “many different ships” leading the direction of the new season but that “one of the ships is going to be very, very happy”.

Brownell also said that they’re working to try to get seasons out more quickly but fans will still have to wait around two years for the fourth season to hit our screens.

According to Brownell, fans can expect a few tonal changes in the fourth season of Bridgerton. “I’ll tease this: you might be getting a different season from Bridgerton,” she said to the Los Angeles Times. “We always live in this perpetual spring in Bridgerton, but we’re playing around with the idea of fall for the first time.” In other words, season four is going to be our autumnal Bridgerton.

She went on, “Some of that is about the story and some of it is, honestly, just for practical reasons because we’re shooting in the fall. It’s still going to be just as lush and colourful, but just more in those warm fall colours instead of the pastels.”

Images: Netflix