Netflix hit Bridgerton series has made bonafide stars out of its lead actors, and the next one is likely to hail from Australia.

Each season of the show mainly revolves around the love story of a Bridgerton sibling; season four will focus on the love story of Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson).

Variety reports Sydney-born Korean-Australian actor Yerin Ha has been selected to play his leading lady, Sophie Beckett.

The official hook for Bridgerton season four indicates the show will generally follow the Cinderella-esque storyline of the third novel in Julia Quinn’s original Bridgerton series, An Offer From A Gentleman.

“The fourth season of Bridgerton turns its focus to bohemian second son Benedict. 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 overjoyed

Representatives for Netflix, production company Shondaland and Ha have yet to respond to the reports.

But Bridgerton fans were overjoyed with the reported casting.

Another wrote, “we wanted SOPHIE AND WE GOT HER (sic).”

Ha’s work in Bad Behaviour won her a 2023 Logie nomination for most outstanding supporting actress; prior to that, she was named a “rising star” by the Casting Guild of Australia.

Her reported casting in Bridgerton continues the production’s push for diversity.

Diversity win

The series has garnered praise and criticism for its depiction of an ethnically-diverse fictional upper-class community set in the Regency England.

With a black Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel), black duke (Regé-Jean Page), and Indian viscountess (Simone Ashley), the series has taken a deliberate departure from traditional portrayals of Regency England, and from the all-white characters in Quinn’s novels.

Quinn supported the changes, and Shondaland boss Shonda Rhimes has said some of the casting choices reflected the real erased history of different ethnicities in the UK.

For many viewers, the diverse cast offers a rare opportunity to see themselves reflected in historical romance stories – something for which Ha has been a vocal supporter long before the first season of Bridgerton was released in 2020.

“Hopefully there’s a time where we can actually see [people of multiple backgrounds] playing the girlfriend, the romantic lead, but in my opinion, audiences are still not used to seeing that amount of diversity on screen or stage,” she told Vogue Australia in 2019.

 

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Family tradition

Acting is practically in Ha’s blood; her grandmother is an actor (reportedly award-winning South Korean actor Son Sook), and her parents met in acting school.

She was raised in Australia, but decided to go to performing arts school in South Korea at 15 to pursue her acting career and improve her Korean language skills.

“It was three years of intense training – from 7am to 12am most days,” Ha told Vogue Australia.

“Just learning about teamwork and who I am and everything like that.”

She went on to graduate from Sydney’s National Institute of Dramatic Art in 2018, and has worked in theatre, TV and film since.

Ha’s acting profile lists her skills in singing (she’s a soprano), stage combat and various dancing styles – the latter is sure to come in handy for what will likely be several ballroom dance scenes in Bridgerton.

But it will be a long time until she makes her Bridgerton debut, as season four is not expected to be released until 2026.