Each magical season of Bridgerton follows one of the family’s eight siblings on their path to finding love. Season 4, now streaming on Netflix, centers on free-spirited Benedict (Luke Thompson), who falls for the beguiling Lady in Silver at a masquerade ball — only to discover she’s a ward of nobility-turned-maid at a neighboring estate named Sophie (Yerin Ha).
Though each season’s love story is distinct, what remains consistent across the series is the close-knit cast and crew who bring these epic romances to life. “We’re very lucky to have a kind group of people,” Thompson says. “I’m not just talking about the cast — I’m talking across the board.” Each chapter reunites frequent above- and below-the-line collaborators, while also welcoming fresh faces into the mix. As series newcomer Ha describes, “It really was like slotting into a family.”
“To me, they have a chemistry like no other,” says executive producer Shonda Rhimes.
Season 4 takes Benedict and Sophie from Mayfair’s ballrooms to My Cottage, a highly anticipated trip for fans of Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton book series, while also pulling back the curtain on the people who keep these stately homes so magnificent — down to the perfectly poured cups of tea. And thanks to the production designers who craft the sumptuous sets, the costume designers who dress the drama, hair and make-up teams, music teams, producers, and so many more, every lush scene of Bridgerton is a feat of creativity and collaboration.
“It’s been almost eight years now that I’ve been in Bridgerton world,” says showrunner Jess Brownell. “If you have to live in one world [for that long], let it be this one. This is a good one.”
Here, the on- and offscreen family takes us behind the scenes of the latest Bridgerton love story.
UNMASK THE MASQUERADE BALL
“I’ve never seen an actress quite like Yerin,” says Brownell. “She has an old soul, but also a real playfulness. You can feel her sense of childlike wonder radiating out of her.”
“I remember my first fitting [for the masquerade ball],” says actor Claudia Jessie, who plays Eloise Bridgerton. “There was a skeleton version of this unbelievable armor that Eloise wears as Joan of Arc. I had this really short, Kill Bill–style wig.” Brownell adds, “That was just the perfect call from Julia Quinn, in terms of Eloise being a Regency feminist.”
Queen Charlotte’s (Golda Rosheuvel) coiffure pays tribute to her husband, King George (James Fleet). Her gray locks form a heart-shaped cage that houses a replica of the crown he gave her. The cage also resembles a constellation, and George is an avid stargazer.
As a maid, the glamour of the ton is usually beyond Sophie’s grasp. So, for the masquerade ball, “We wanted to feel like she got a moment to feel beautiful and to feel like a princess,” says Brownell. Six people worked on the piece at once, layering Italian silver lamé chiffon and hand-layered sequins and frills for maximum onscreen sparkle.
“When we were dancing, you could actually see the dress sparkle under the moonlight.”
Yerin Ha
WELCOME TO MAYFAIR
Queen Charlotte wears 19 different wigs over the course of Season 4. When asked whether she has a favorite, Rosheuvel says, “I can’t pick one. They are all my children. The Victoria and Albert Museum should have an exhibition for QC’s wigs.”
Even alum Regé-Jean Page couldn’t help but celebrate Isabella Wei’s casting as Posy Li. Wei says, “My friend was working at a party Regé was at and she blurted out, ‘My friend booked Bridgerton Season 4.’ He said, ‘Let’s send her a selfie!’ It made me feel like the show is a family from Season 1 to 4.”
Two of the show’s sweetest bonds are the ones that Brimsley (Hugh Sachs) and Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh) have with Queen Charlotte. “It’s one of the big love stories,” says Sachs.
“This particular storyline has an element of fairy tale about it. It makes you like a little kid again.”
Luke Thompson
Violet (Ruth Gemmell) and her favorite “tea” partner, Lord Marcus Anderson (Daniel Francis). “There’s something really lovely about representing a demographic that is quite a large part of our audience,” says Gemmell. “We don’t die after a certain age.”
Bridgerton baby sister Hyacinth (Florence Hunt) dips her toe into society. “Hyacinth’s been ready to debut from day one,” says Brownell.
MY COTTAGE
Fans of Julia Quinn’s books know just how important My Cottage is to Benedict and Sophie’s love story. “It’s one of those sequences in the novel that I feel is so closely followed and replicated in the series,” Thompson said at the Season 4 Premiere Masquerade in Paris. Just as the cottage is where Benedict and Sophie start to fall in love, it’s also where Thompson and Ha got to know each other: “It’s quite a nice parallel because that’s where I really got to know Luke as a person and we got to connect,” says Ha.
The early scenes at My Cottage find Benedict taking a memorable swim au naturel. His placid expression might lead you to believe otherwise, but “it was absolutely freezing,” Thompson laughs. Benedict isn’t the only Bridgerton who has braved the chilly climes: Anthony (Jonathan Bailey) took a dip in that same body of water in Season 2.
BRIDGERTON HOUSE
“They’re back, baby,” says Brownell of Kate (Simone Ashley) and Anthony. “They’ve been away in India having their first child.” The aforementioned baby, Edmund, meets the rest of his sprawling family in Part 2.
Anthony dishes out some tough love advice to Benedict throughout Season 4, continuing in his role as the head of the family.
“This season, Violet is pairing Eloise up with Hyacinth because Hyacinth is the dreamy, romantic sibling, and Violet is really hoping that Hyacinth might rub off on Eloise a little bit,” says Bridgerton matriarch Gemmell.
“As soon as we’re back on set, it’s as bonkers as always,” says Jessie of her fictional siblings. “By 11:15, we’re shattered because we’ve been laughing so much. Where I feel my happiest is on the ‘Bridgerton’ set.”
Brownell notes that having a baby has not slowed down Season 3 newlyweds Penelope (Nicola Coughlan) and Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton). “If the Featherington carriage is a-rockin’, do not go a-knockin’,” the showrunner laughs. “I warn you.”
BRIDGERTON BETWEEN TAKES
“We wanted to build a world where you understood everything that went on behind the scenes of the glamorous life that you’ve always seen,” says Rhimes of turning the lens on the characters who work in homes across Mayfair.
As fans of the previous three seasons, newcomers Wei and Michelle Mao, who plays Rosamund Li, each manifested scene partners. “My dream was Eloise, she’s so hilarious and one of my favorite characters of the show,” says Wei. “I really wanted to share a scene with Lady Whistledown, obviously,” says Mao. “Nicola’s such a hero of mine.” Both onscreen sisters accomplished their goals by the end of Season 4 filming.
“If you have to live in one world [for eight years], let it be this one.”
Showrunner Jess Brownell
Much to her surprise, Alice Mondrich (Emma Naomi) becomes one of the queen’s ladies-in-waiting. “[Martins Imhangbe and I] can never predict where our characters are going because we’re not in the book,” says Naomi. “Everything that will surprise you surprised us just as much when we were reading the script.”
When asked how Violet would react to Benedict asking Sophie to be his mistress, Gemmell says, “She’d be appalled!” Clearly, Violet is much happier to see Sophie as Benedict’s fiancée — and wife by the close of Season 4.
Best friends Lady Danbury and Lady Bridgerton take a break to snack on some licorice. “Adjoa and I,” says Gemmell, “we always laugh a lot, counsel each other, and reminisce about the ’70s. That’s basically what we do.”
Alfie (David Moorst), another Season 4 newcomer, is a listening ear for Sophie throughout the ups and downs of her relationship. “We’ve grown to love the characters [who work in the houses] over so many years,” says executive producer Betsy Beers. “To actually get their point of view for the first time is a gigantic surprise treat.”
“Hannah [Dodd, who plays Francesca Stirling] is the most supportive person. During this whole experience, she’s written me so many lovely letters welcoming me into this crazy world,” says Masali Baduza, who plays Michaela Stirling. “She and [Claudia Jessie] gave me this key chain that has a bee on it. I see it every day, and it reminds me of the wonderful people that I get to work with.”
The actors who make up the Gun family were welcomed into the franchise in classic Bridgerton style. “I remember they had a whole spread for us at this fancy hotel. We had a big cake,” laughs Katie Leung, who plays Lady Araminta
