It’s official – September belongs to Benedict Bridgerton and Sophie Baek. Netflix and Shondaland confirm as much with the rollout of Bridgerton Season 4 news over the last few weeks. From Yerin Ha being cast as Sophie to the announcement of production beginning, it is a whirlwind time for Bridgerton fans, especially those who favor Benedict and Sophie’s romance. Excitingly, it seems like Shondaland doesn’t want to let September end without one more surprise – a video of Luke Thompson and Yerin Ha’s first joint interview. It’s not a new interview, but it’s certainly worthy of all the buzz it’s creating online
The new video is the visual counterpart to Valentina Valentini’s exclusive interview with Thompson and Ha for Shondaland. It is also clear that the interview was filmed on the same day as the video announcement of Ha’s casting. Valentini asks excellent questions that make it easy to read into Thompson and Ha’s chemistry and appreciate their understanding of the characters. However, it’s another thing entirely to see Thompson and Ha respond to the questions and bounce off of each other’s answers.
Both versions of the interview have an excited energy that’s contagious. Even so, there’s something undeniably special about seeing Thomspon and Ha discuss the Cinderella retelling elements of Benedict and Sophie’s story.
It’s impactful to see Yerin Ha discuss what it means to her to star in a Regency drama and wear Bridgerton’s acclaimed costumes, “I feel honored to be able to wear those clothes.” It’s fascinating to see Luke Thompson discuss what’s next for Benedict as a lead after a few seasons of being “a man of many interests” but having “a sense of being lost or a little bit restless.”
Whether someone enjoys Bridgerton alone or has read Julia Quinn’s An Offer from a Gentleman, this interview leaves no question about whether Luke Thompson and Yerin Ha care about the characters they portray and their stories. They deliver articulate and respectful answers highlighting their overall connections to the material. In fairness, this interview could be what some TV show-only Bridgerton fans need to turn to the book or vice versa.
This interview proves that Thompson and Ha’s care for Benedict and Sophie, as well as their romance, will spark interest in Benophie’s season long before it ever streams on Netflix. That momentum may work in Bridgerton’s favor. After all, it will likely be a few years until Season 4 premieres.
At the Bridgerton Season 3 Part 2 premiere in London, showrunner Jess Brownell told The Hollywood Reporter, “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. 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.”
Even with that timeline, conversations are already swirling about Benedict and Sophie–affectionally penned Benophie by fans–because of Ha’s casting, Thomspon and Ha’s first photoshoot, and now their first video interview.
It’s exciting to imagine what else Netflix and Shondaland may release between now and (potentially) 2026. Eventually, Avon Books will likely release a Netflix tie-in cover of Quinn’s An Offer from a Gentleman. There will probably be a few Netflix TUDUM events between now and when Bridgerton Season 4 premieres. Could the next interview fans see be similar to the first one with Charithra Chandran, Simone Ashley, and Jonathan Bailey?
Then again, the promotion around and release of Kate and Anthony’s season unrolled much faster. Netflix renewed Bridgerton for Season 2 in January 2021, confirming Bailey’s Anthony Bridgerton as the male lead. Ashley joined the series as Kate Sharma in February 2021, with Chandran joining the series as Edwina Sharma in April 2021. The cast’s promotional rollout of Bridgerton Season 2 continued while filming was in production in September 2021. The season premiered on Netflix only a few months later, in March 2022.
It’s hard to know if the promotional rollout for Benedict and Sophie’s season will be similar. The timeline changed drastically with Bridgerton Season 3.
Netflix and Shondaland confirmed that the third season would be about Colin Bridgerton and Penelope Featherington in May 2022. A sneak peek of Season 3’s first script came during Netflix’s TUDUM event in September 2022. Netflix released the season’s first batch of first-look photos over a year later, in June 2023. The streamer didn’t set a premiere date for Polin’s season until December 2023. From there, the promotional rollout occurred more consistently throughout Bridgerton Season 3’s two-part premiere in May and June 2024.
Ultimately, Bridgerton doesn’t have a tried and true promotional pattern. This Luke Thompson and Yerin Ha interview could be the last one fans see for a while. It could also be the continuation of a more consistent promo during and after the season’s production. Netflix and Shondaland could also surprise everyone with another unique promotional rollout specific to this season.
Either way, Bridgerton fans are already falling for Benedict Bridgerton and Sophie Baek’s romance. Not to mention, this video interview underscores that the characters are in the best hands with Luke Thompson and Yerin Ha. All of that is more than enough to tide fans over until the next bit of news is released – whenever that may be. Until then, Benophie fans will always have September.
