The historical drama series Bridgerton deviated further and further from the book with the recently released third season. Therefore, there is now speculation about how things might continue in the future. Who will the main character be?
When is season 4 coming? Unfortunately, it may still be a while before we see the next season of Bridgerton. Producer Jess Brownell revealed that it will only be in two years, i.e. in Summer 2026the sequel could be expected (via Hollywood Reporter).
What is season 4 about? It has not yet been officially confirmed what the fourth season will be about. However, since the series is based on the book series of the same name by Julia Quinn, we can at least speculate about what will happen to the characters.
A look at the current season also helps. The producer says (via tvinsider): “I won’t give anything away, but I think at the end of the third season there are some clues as to which direction it will go.”
Bridgerton Season 3 – Trailer for the Netflix series about British high society
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Who will be the new main character?
One of the biggest questions fans are asking themselves now is who will play the lead role in season four. To answer this question, it helps to first take a look at the novel.
Author Julia Quinn dedicated a book to each Bridgerton child. The order with the respective protagonist is as follows:
What does this mean for the series? Seasons 1 and 2 stuck quite strictly to the order of the books. In season 1 we saw the love story between Daphne and Simon, in season 2 that of Anthony and Kate.
Season 3, however, deviated from this idea. The story of Colin and Penelope was, in a sense, brought forward one season. In return, the events surrounding Benedict have only been touched upon.
Francesca’s story was also introduced in the third season. The events of the sixth book would tie in remarkably well with the end of the third season.
Maybe it will be a combination of both?
Danger: Spoilers for Bridgerton season 3 and the books follow.
1. What happens to Benedict?
What happened in season 3? In the current season, we saw Benedict rediscover his sexual orientation. An important role in this was played by the widow Tilley Arnold, who was newly created for the series.
What happens in the book? In the novel, Benedict experiences a real Cinderella story. At a masked ball, he meets a masked woman named Sophie Beckett, with whom he falls in love at first sight. Sophie is the daughter of a count, but after her father’s death she has to work as a maid for her evil stepmother.
When Benedict sees her again in everyday life, he doesn’t recognize her, but is fascinated by her. Now he has to choose between the two women, even though in reality both are Sophie.
What could come in season 4? In the last episode of season 3, we actually hear about an ominous masked ball. So it could well be that Benedict will have his fateful encounter with his future great love here.
However, given the events of Season 3, it is also likely that there will be some changes to the story.
Producer Jess Brownell gives an interesting insight into how she perceives the role of Benedict (via vanityfair):
A lot of us in the writers’ room have seen Benedict as queer for a long time, as have the audience I think. I think he just reads that way. […] There’s this moment at the end of season 3 where Tilley Arnold says to him, ‘It felt good to want to commit to someone for once.’ And that, to me, is the line that gives a glimpse of Benedict’s possible future – the idea that deep down he knows that while he can love many people, he hasn’t been capable of true depth yet. And that’s going to make him feel very lonely at some point, I think.
Does this fit with the oh-so-lovesick Benedict from the novel? Or will Benedict be so lonely because he can’t find his great love from the masked ball? Will Sophie perhaps even be a man?
2. What happens to Francesca?
What happened in season 3? In the third season, Francesca, the sixth of the Bridgerton children, was introduced into society. The search for a husband was successful – in the end, Francesca marries the quiet Sir John Stirling and plans to move to Scotland with him.
But whether this is really true love remains doubtful. Francesca seems all the more fascinated by John’s cousin Michaela Stirling.
What happens in the book? In the novel, John Stirling is not Francesca’s great love either, although the two get married. Just two years after the wedding, John dies, leaving Francesca a widow.
Francesca then finds happiness with John’s cousin, Michael Stirling. He had been in love with Francesca since their first meeting, shortly before her wedding to John. The two find each other when Francesca decides to have children a few years after John’s death and is looking for a new husband.
What’s coming in season 4? The biggest difference to the original is the gender of Michael, or rather Michaela. Nevertheless, it seems quite obvious that the story will follow a similar course, only that Francesca will now find happiness in a queer relationship.
Since the relationship with Michael develops slowly in the original, it is quite possible that the story in the series will be spread over several seasons – similar to Penelope and Colin.
But will Michaela’s gender influence the course of the story? Will Francesca also want to have children in the series? We will probably only find out all of this when the fourth season of Bridgerton actually comes out. Until then, there is still plenty of time to watch other series. If you liked Bridgerton, you should try these five series: 5 series like Bridgerton