'It can be overwhelming': Bridgerton's stars on taking the lead in the new season
Bridgerton stars Yerin Ha and Luke Thompson in Paris at one of the premiere screenings of the new series now on Netflix.
There are several moments in series four where our own Nicola Coughlan’s Penelope Featherington passes the floral, feathered baton to the new couple at the centre of the series.
Season three gave us the much-anticipated love story of Penelope and Colin Bridgerton and had the Galway star front and centre. The fourth season turns its focus to the naughty and bohemian second son Benedict (Luke Thompson).
Benedict hasn’t a notion of settling down - but when he meets a mysterious Lady in Silver at a masquerade ball, he is immediately intrigued. That lady, Sophie, is played by newcomer Yerin Ha, who speaks warmly of her Irish co-star’s welcoming nature when she joined the show.
“She’s beautiful, and she's always offered, if I want advice or anything, that she's always there for me,” says Ha. “She just navigates this whole thing so elegantly. She is a giver, and I really appreciate her support.”
Bringing audiences properly into the servants’ quarters and world for the first time, this shift in the show’s storytelling is partly driven by the focus on Benedict and Sophie, who works in a different world to her love interest.
“You see Sophie as the Lady in Silver at the beginning of the season,” says Ha. "And then, as the season unfolds, you pull back the mask and you really see her for who she is. You get her backstory, and she's a maid."
Despite declaring: “I will be at mother’s ball, avoiding debutantes like the plague,” Benedict has a meet-cute with Sophie early in the new series, as the pair click at a society event.
While established cast have had the opportunity to get used to the show’s global success, Ha joined the series knowing what a phenomenon it has become. “Sometimes you go on to things not knowing if it's going to be successful, but has such a fan base and it's done so well,” she said.
“There was a lot of pressure, but it wasn't my first job, and I think I try to bring as much of my experience that I've had working on other TV shows into this, but then with the pressure and responsibility of being the leading lady.
“Even though I was a newcomer, I always wanted to get a safe space and energy on set, because when you do, it creates a space where everyone can do their best work. I think that was what I really tried to focus on, and not think too much about the pressure and the whole: ‘millions of people are watching this thing’, because it will just eat you.”
has been a phenomenon for Netflix. Each of the first three seasons are among the streaming giant’s most popular and viewed shows, with one and three ranking as the sixth and eighth most-successful shows globally.
Igniting the imagination of fans, it has also become something of a cultural and lifestyle trend. There have been spinoffs such as live experiences including the Bridgerton Concerts By Candlelight series, and a growing collection of brands through home decor, fashion and beauty.
“Sometimes it can be overwhelming if you think about it,” says Luke Thompson. “Millions and millions of people are watching. You can't really make sense of those numbers - and actually, sometimes maybe it's best not to,” he says, adding that other emerging series struggle to resonate with audiences.
“It’s great in a way - it's so difficult for a show to break through. There are so many shows nowadays, so to be part of something that really does transport people is an amazing feeling.
"Maybe because I started in theatre, I sometimes look at the camera and think, oh, it's almost like a little wormhole. And through the wormhole you can see these millions and millions of people who are going to be watching it, just in a different time,” he says, adding that the response from viewers in the real world has been positive.
“Those interactions are lovely when you're walking down the street and someone says they really love . It's nice because they see — I think if you're able to keep that boundary and really know that what they're seeing is this, you can enjoy it for what it is.
"It's not intrusive, in my experience so far. I think it's partly to do with the nature of the show itself. It's such a positive show, and it's a show that people clearly really connect with and feel really warmly about.”
Thompson, too, feels that his Irish co-star Nicola Coughlan has navigated the attention that such a big show can bring. “What I love about Nicola is that she wears it all so lightly. She's just very friendly, very upfront, very easy to work with. The cast list on is so big, I think I had my first proper scene with Nicola this season. She's wonderful, great fun.”
He feels that building on the original series and cast while broadening it with new stories and arrivals is part of the key to its success with audiences. “It's a show that's constantly regenerating itself, but also feels like it's made its home,” he says.
“It’s such a particular aesthetic, and it's such a particular thing. I sometimes think back to when I first auditioned for before it was a thing, and thinking: ‘Oh this is a funny combination of things’. Now it's a phenomenon.
"It’s lovely to be around people who've been there since the beginning, and who know what it is, and who know what it requires, and how it works. But again, every year, having these new people that help us stretch it and develop it. The world is widening and deepening.”
Born in Australia, the series' newest star Ha credits her Korean grandparents with first igniting her interest in an acting career. She would watch the response from audiences to her grandmother performing on stage in awe.
“Watching my grandma do theatre in Korea was a big turning point in terms of: this is an occupation that you can do. Seeing how affected and moved the audiences were was a really big thing for me - that give and take energy in real time was so special. My grandpa always reminded me of how powerful art is in changing and shaping the world. He was such an artist at heart, and would break into Shakespeare monologues and soliloquies at the dinner table.”
- season 4 premieres in two batches on Netflix: Part 1 dropped on Thursday, January 29; and Part 2 is available from February 26
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