Bridgerton Season 4 Won’t Arrive Until 2026 — Here’s Why
You’ll have to bask in the “Polin” afterglow for a while longer.
The next Bridgerton love story won’t arrive for another few years, according to showrunner Jess Brownell. The Season 4 writers’ room is nearing the end, but as the EP explained, it takes a village to make those episodes available for streaming on Netflix.
“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 told The Hollywood Reporter. “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.”
Fans of the steamy period drama should be familiar with the delay. After all, Season 2 didn’t arrive until 2022 — two years after Season 1’s 2020 debut. Similarly, Season 3, Part 1 premiered in May of this year after a two-year wait between seasons. However, the wait for those episodes didn’t feel as long because of the prequel series Queen Charlotte, which premiered in 2023.
Season 3, Part 2 will arrive tomorrow, June 13, and there’s plenty to address, including how Penelope continues to navigate her Lady Whistledown secret now that she’s with Colin.
Part 1, meanwhile, focused on Penelope’s efforts to get over her crush on Colin, who returned from his summer travels with newfound swagger. Privately, he grappled with his own conflicted feels while helping her find a suitable husband. But all of that went out the window with a steamy carriage ride that took their relationship to an entirely new level in Episode 4. (Read our breakdown of that scene here.)
Has it been announced yet whether the season will focus on Benedict or Eloise? Pity we have to wait so long again!
Based on dialogue at the end of episode 8 mentioning Violet’s masquerade ball being next year, I think it’s a safe bet that next season will at least focus on Benedict.
It’s crazy how almost all these shows take about two years now to come out. Back in days shows didn’t take more than a year and with more episodes being produced
True- But one of the reason mentioned is multiple language dubbing. Back in the day, shows were released in one country. Streaming has made shows global phenoms. This is why networks still can crank out more shows faster.
Still no reason for why it should take more than 2 years to create so few episodes. Networks at one time did more the 22 episodes, and even more back in the 70s, 80’s. I understand the model of binging, so you need to complete the season. But even this season was done in two installments. Makes no sense why it should take so long.
Networks are still filming when episodes are released. Streamers like to have them all banked and ready for rapid release.
Yes, I know that. But still does not mean it should take that long. Even if it’s Netflix policy to wait. Networks are also known to have filmed in advance, and wait. Waiting years for a season is stupid. Yes, last year was unique, so there is some valid reasons for recent delays. But waiting to 2026 and beyond for the next season of Bridgeton is stupid. Actors get older. New shows come, and long waits make you lose your love for a show.
Not sure what your argument is? A season is 8 episodes. What exactly is the point you’re trying to make Elle? Do you always make it a habit of carrying water for overpaid Hollywood Producers?
A norm in British TV.
I feel like these are lame excuses. A decade ago big shows Downton Abbey and the first 6 seasons of Game of Thrones were able to have 8-10 episodes on a consistent yearly schedule.
Apples and oranges.
You can say that, but in this case it should actually be harder to get Game of Thrones with extensive CGI and huge battle scenes on a consistent schedule of premiering in spring 6 years in a row. Yet they did it.
This is more akin to the difference between a Granny Smith and a Gala, not 2 separate fruit. The only difference here is that series “need” to be dubbed and subbed into many more languages for initial release than before. While this takes time, it sure as heck doesn’t take as much time as say… creating the special effects for a dragon in Game of Thrones… A show like GoT was fully in the can before it was released. At most… the effects for episodes 7 and 8 were being finished when the premiere dropped. While the arugment that “network shows continue production after the season premieres” is a valid one, The reality is, series often premiere with 6-8 episodes in the can when a new season begins. I honestly dont have a problem with Netflix wanting to wait 2 years between seasons if they want to build a level of hype and people wanting the new season more and more, but be honest and say that, don’t blow smoke up our collective rear ends, because you have a “policy”…
Ahem. That’s why there should have been a second season of Queen Charlotte. Or anything, really, that gave us more of India Amarteifio and Adjoa Andoh.
I loved Queen Charlotte. But, I think they covered so much and the way it ended leaves very little for future seasons.
This is a little disingenuous. Many series (with far higher episode counts and similar production values) manage yearly output. What they haven’t mentioned in this article is that Netflix’s policy is that dramas should have two to four years between them. It reduces their financial outlay and so far hasn’t affected churn, so to them it’s win win.
And yet, we get new seasons of “All Creatures Great and Small” yearly. High quality television and well on the way to being globally loved.
My concern about the two year wait is how much taller/older both Gregory and Hyacinth will be by the time we get to their seasons. Honestly everyone is aging and it’s not going to be realistic that these folks are teenagers/early 20s much longer
I think I remember hearing they finished filming season one RIGHT before COVID in Feb 2020, then it came out in December 2020, so that was actually a quick turnaround. they finished filming season 3 around March 2023 (per my instagram sleuthing), so it had been almost a year anyway when they started promoting it (Feb 2024). seeing the actors who play Gregory & Hyacinth on the carpet, they look SO much older than they do on the show. i think season 4 is about to start filming, so if we look at the same timeline (end filming in Feb 2025), editing thru most of 2025 and release early 2026? i wonder if they’ll fudge the time jump any to account for the characters aging. I think this break felt particularly long because of the strike, I figured season 3 would have been released earlier this year otherwise.
This is supposed to be a five or six year jump in book four that they havent done yet. This should address your concerns.
oh that’s right! There is a time jump, I forgot about that. It wasn’t at the top of my mind since Colin/Pen are older in their book than they are in the show. if season 4 does end up being Benedict, I’m quite curious as to what adjustments they’d look to make given so much of the book occurs with him + Sophie at the cottage and those aren’t sections I think I’d mess with.
Please stop with the excuses. Don’t tell me about a time gap the author included in the original work. I get being a fan. Nonsensical excuses don’t cut it. Two years is beyond ridiculous. Special effect laden shows have quicker turn times than this mess. Next we’ll hear that the clearances for the songs used are very difficult to secure and an additional year is required. Meanwhile Netflix will hit us with 3 rate hikes in the interim.
Eric, to be clear, this is not me agreeing with these crazy long gaps or making excuses for showrunner. I was simply acknowledging there is a time jump in the books and commenting on how much older the young actors already look. If they turned around season 1 in 8 months during a pandemic, seems wild it supposedly takes THAT much longer now.
Gregory Bridgerton is 27 in his book. Currently the character is 14 and the actor is 17. So if the show takes 8 years to get to Season 7 then the age is just about right.
Julie Andrews will be long dead in 10 years. The fact that this entire series will take 16 years is absolutely WILD.
Spoiler Alert!!!!!!!
@@@@@@@@
I hate break it to you but there is not need for Julie Andrews after this season if they stick to the book.
Don’t worry AI is available. The estate can approve the the use of her voice in perpetuity. As long as they collect that $200K per episode they won’t complain. 🤣
The turnaround comment strikes me as a bit odd because season 2 premiered about 15 months after season 1. Season 3 (part 1) premiered about 26 months after season 2. I understand there are a lot of moving parts and they want the whole season wrapped and everything before any of it is released, the fact that the period of time for the turnaround between seasons increased by nearly a year is frustrating as a viewer.
I really don’t get it tbh… Filming of S3 wrapped in march 2023. The writers surely don’t have to be involved with editing and dubbing etc. Why didn’t they start writing that stuff shortly after S3 wrapped filming? They had already been renewed for S4. They can’t tell me they need over a year to write 8 episodes… (yes, the writers strike happened, but then they still had like a year to write already). By the time it takes them to produce this, we won’t get 8 seasons. It’s taking too long. And they would probably need to recast Gregory and Hyacinth too.
I am not happy with the Bennett story line.
Not happy about that!!
This is kind of laughable. Downton Abbey had a new season every year between 2010 and 2015 and every episode was written by Julian Fellowes (two episodes with a co-writer)! Things took a bit longer between Season 1 and 2 of The Gilded Age, probably because of the strike, but it still had seasons in consecutive years.
They will if we stop watching!
I’m not quite buying the excuse of writing the episodes takes so much time that it would be a huge contributing factor for why there’s a two year gap. I know writing takes time, but they are working with source material that should be giving them a very good framework of how the season is set up. I know they are not following the books exactly, and have been adding in their own little plot lines; but it is not as though they are trying to write 8 episodes each season just using their imagination, Julia Quinn literally wrote the book and gave voice to these characters already. The writers’ job is to translate that to the screen.
I loved it I can’t wait for season 4…but season3 part 2 could have been more about Colin and Penelope’s romance before they got married.
I seriously dont buy this, and think its a cop out…
Its one thing for a show to take 2 years when its stars are in extreme demand and/or the series requires special effects that take time.
But if Shondaland can produce not 1 but 2 22 episode seasons of linear network tv every year, I dont see why it takes that much time to produce 10 episodes of a period drama. Bridgerton stars are not exactly the cast of Stranger Things. A show that will show up 2.5 year after its last season. That show has an MCU star, and 2 kids that seemingly cant say no to a project. It also has an effects requirement that most tv series that dont have Game ot Thrones or Star Wars in its name. Toss in the strike and its 6-8 month delay is reasonable, bur Bridgerton? Im just a a bit at a loss.
I really enjoy Bridgeton. And I hope it will return . It is very watched. by the English and loved too.
I was on tenterhooks with the Penelope and Colin relationship , will they . Won’t they ….
Very exciting . Poor Penelope has been overlooked by her family and others .
I’d like to see Penelope and Eloise become friends again . Well done to you all ….
Just brilliantly written and acted. I am complete fan of this series. Bravo! Keep writing. Susan Hutchins, Carefree, AZ