Bridgerton unveils season 4 lead - and fans are ecstatic

Bridgerton has finally unveiled which sibling will be the focus of the upcoming fourth season: it's Benedict!

The show's official social media page shared the news in a post that read: "It has been brought to this author’s attention that perhaps it is time to unmask the newest suitor of the marriage mart… Benedict Bridgerton's story is coming next season."

Teasing the upcoming season, Netflix said: "Despite his elder and younger brothers both being happily married, Benedict is loath to settle down -- until he meets a captivating Lady in Silver at his mother's masquerade ball."

Fans were overjoyed with the news, with one person writing: "OH MY GOD BENOPHIE IS COMING HOME," while another added: "Oh we've been WAITING for this one."

The announcement won't come as a huge shock to fans, who were convinced that Benedict would be the focus of the new episodes following hints in season three.

Not only is Benedict the subject of the third novel, An Offer from a Gentleman, but at the end of series three, Eloise reveals that she's spending the year away from London but will return for her mother's masquerade ball – which is where Benedict meets his wife-to-be, Sophie, in the books.

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Showrunner Jess Brownell shared an update on season four in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, revealing that it could be two years before the new episodes arrive.

"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 added: "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."

Offering a glimpse into the writing process, she continued: "We're toward the end with the writers' room season, with the scripts. And 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."