There are a lot of romances I’m yearning for in 2026; however, one of my most highly anticipated has to be Season 4 of Bridgerton. That’s because Benedict Bridgerton is my favorite sibling, and his love story with Sophie sounds utterly divine. I’m also a sucker for a Cinderella story, so I’ve been counting down the days since to this season before there were days to count down. However, now I’m even more excited for what we’re about to see after hearing Shonda Rhimes speak about how emotional these new episodes made her.
Overall, Season 4 of Bridgerton, which is a book-to-screen adaptation of Julia Quinn’s novel, An Offer from a Gentleman, is set to be quite different from its predecessors. That’s because it will tell an upstairs/downstairs story as Benedict falls for Sophie, a servant. While on The Jennifer Hudson Show, Shonda Rhimes praised the upcoming episodes because of that big difference, too, saying:
Every season is different, but this season has just this beautiful quality of being upstairs, downstairs. We get to see what happens on the other side of the house with the staff, but also the love story — the upstairs, downstairs love story — and I think that’s really good. The chemistry they have is amazing.
From the trailers they’ve released ahead of Bridgerton’s premiere on Netflix’s 2026 schedule, I can already tell that Luke Thompson and Yerin Ha, who play Benedict and Sophie, respectively, have crackling chemistry. I also cannot wait to see how they fall in love. It really seems like we're about to experience a grand romance, and I expect emotions to be high.
According to Shonda Rhimes, emotions certainly will be high, and they already have been for her. Explaining what it’s been like to do final edits on Season 4, she noted that there’s one episode that’s made her tear up every time:
For me, this is the first season where – I do the final edits. This is the first season I’ve cried every time I’ve edited a certain episode. It’s emotional, and it’s romantic, and it feels good.
You know something has to be epic and emotional when super producer Shonda Rhimes said it made her well up. Yes, the woman behind Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder and Bridgerton, a woman who has done so much, said that out of all her time working on this beloved period romance, Season 4 was the first one to make her cry every time she watched a certain episode. Talk about high praise!
This statement, mixed with showrunner Jess Brownell saying that Season 4 has been the “easiest” to “adapt,” has me beaming. To be clear, I’ve loved every season of Bridgerton; however, Benedict’s has been the one I’ve been waiting for. So, to have it receive such high and enthusiastic praise from the people who make it is exhilarating.
Now, that January 29 release date can’t come soon enough! However, you better believe I’ll have my Netflix subscription ready for that day, because I’ll be bingeing the first part of Benedict and Sophie’s story the second I’m able to, I’ll also probably be crying on many occasions (hopefully including the moment Shonda Rhimes referred to here).
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