The Future of Netflix's Bridgerton Officially Unmasked

Shondaland has officially announced that the next season of Bridgerton will centre around Benedict, with a compilation made up of the soft-launch clues sprinkled into season 3, noticed and celebrated by many over social media since, some moments that best showcase the dedicated, wholesome, comedic purity of the second Bridgerton brother and the beautifully subtle inclusion of something new to keep us jonesing for more.

Season 3 was a brilliant season for Luke Thompson and an excellent demonstration of the power held by those occupying the space of romantic lead, a clear reflection of the level Bridgerton has managed to reach as a series. A personalised gift to all the worlds hopeless romantics, with the help of a wonderfully written script, Luke Newton and Nicola Coughlan conjured up a love that is impossible to deny and, once again, Bridgerton managed to encompass entirely and beautifully the human experience of love, giving glowing depictions of each and every love language as well as shining representation of such important perspectives on the topic as family, sexuality and gender roles.

In a video with Vanity Fair, in which Nicola Coughlan, Luke Newton, Luke Thompson and Claudia Jessie compete to see how well they know each other, Luke Thompson gave the incredible answer that the actor that inspired him most in his endeavours of performance was himself. Watching his work in season 3, particularly part 2, you can completely understand why. In fact, some stunning similarities can be drawn between his performance here and in clips that have resurfaced and circulated social media once more of his first job in 2013, playing Lysander in Dominic Dromgoole's staging of A Midsummer Night's Dream at Shakespeare's Globe in London.

This latest season release was certainly the most romantic so far. In the way Pen and Colin each sit firm in their belief that their feelings were the first to stir, the fact that one kiss really changed everything for them, the fact that they both harbour such real fear of being unworthy of each other, that shows brilliantly how genuine and pure this love is, the all-or-nothing kind of love, just bubbling under the surface after years of knowing and admiring each other.

All good things were doubled in season 3 of Bridgerton, the most forefront examples of which being the stunning weddings and empowering female leads. Many of you have surely seen the iconic words of Nicola Coughlan on how this year’s Polin-focused season has showcased a refreshing focus on storylines lending their representation to helping wallflowers feel seen and varied body types feel accepted, something Coughlan clearly feels passionate about. However, there was another Ms. Bridgerton who took some impressive strides.

Hannah Dodd made a wonderful impression in her series debut as Francesca Bridgerton. Recasting’s like this can often be jarring and difficult to get over but in this case, I would venture to say we were all so engrossed in her performance that everything flowed incredibly smoothly. Francesca’s storyline saw a very purposeful step towards queer representation and, even before this admirable creative license to the original text, showed acceptance of almost all shapes of love including a distance from the more intense level of sexuality, that has largely been the draw to the series and threatens to cheapen the production and isolate audiences, to showcase, for example, simple compatibility to the point of sitting comfortably together in silence.

These new outlooks bring a new softness to the show, subtle, sensual and sacred, which also bleeds into the wardrobe this season with vivid hair and a slightly modernised, more muted, sophisticated colour palette. Whilst this distinction has seemed to leave some missing the spice, this season has unlocked a new depth and goes a long way to prove just how much this show is able to achieve beyond the allure and erotica, venturing into a deeper level of intimacy.

Luke Newton plays the male lead of the season with a captivating confident ease, delivering, on par with the typical Bridgerton hubby experience, a beautifully layered performance. The handpicked cherry on the top -  a moment  at the start of the final dance of the final ball of the series, where Newton, playing Colin Bridgerton, on leading Penelope onto her position on the dancefloor and stepping back to take his own, bows and rises again with an entirely new attitude, confidence and general aura, holding his body with a purpose that tells you he is ready to unleash something of undeniable wonder, a moment so brief and passing but that brings such a smile to my face because it is absolutely the purest example of a true performer stepping up to a stage. Go ahead, rewatch!