Who Is Emily In Bridgerton? All We Know About The New Major Season 4 Casting So Far (2024)

Bridgerton season 4 is casting a major role, "Emily," an East Asian female aged 24-30, hinted as Benedict's love interest.

Bridgerton (PC: IMDb)

Netflix has renewed Bridgerton season 4, following a family in Regency-era London. The series, based on Julia Quinn's books, follows each member of the family as they find love. Season 3 focused on the friendship-turned-romance between Colin and Penelope Featherington. The upcoming episodes are yet to be revealed, with little information about the lead character and central romance.

According to Collider, Bridgerton season 4 is currently casting a major recurring role, Emily, a character who is an East Asian female between the ages of 24-30 and described as "plucky, endlessly resourceful, and having trouble trusting others." The role will involve nudity and sexual scenes, suggesting the character may be a love interest for one of the Bridgerton siblings.

Who is Emily?

The casting information suggests that Emily could be the primary love interest for Benedict Bridgerton, who is speculated to be the next season's lead. If Benedict is the next lead, it may be safe to speculate that "Emily" could be the casting code name for Sophie Beckett, his love interest in the Bridgerton book series.

The specificity of an East Asian ethnicity and the nature of an important recurring part implies that Bridgerton is resuming pairing couples of mixed races. Bridgerton has paired almost all Bridgerton siblings with persons of color, except for Colin Bridgerton and Penelope Featherington in Season 3.

The casting call for Emily in the Netflix adaptation of Bridgerton does not guarantee that it is Benedict's love interest, Sophie Beckett. This could be a new character, similar to Lord Debling and Theo Sharpe, who were original characters as suitors for Penelope and Eloise. Benedict is confirmed to be pansexual, but his love interest is not confirmed to be female. This pattern of altering a book character's love interest could continue into Season 4 and beyond.

Emily could expand the story of Bridgerton

Emily, possibly Sophie Beckett, is portrayed as brave, resourceful, and cheeky in An Offer From a Gentleman. Sophie is the Bridgerton version of Cinderella, abused by her stepmother and disguised as a "lady in silver." She struggles with trust and reliance after years of neglect. She meets Benedict, who falls in love with her at first sight. They later reunite in the country, where Benedict meets Sophie as she is, but remains enamored with his mysterious lady in silver.

Bridgerton has been praised for the past three seasons for their inclusivity in regards to POC and LGBTQ+ characters inhabiting this fictional regency world. Despite this, the world of Bridgerton has remained within the bubble of high society. If Emily is indeed Sophie Beckett, then she could be the character who will provide valuable commentary on class dynamics from a working class perspective.

Plus, Bridgerton has yet to feature of an actress of East Asian decent in a major role before, in fact, there hasn’t been an East Asian actress portray Cinderella in a movie or series made for Western audiences. This specific casting call is evidence that the creative minds behind Bridgerton are continuing to expand the series’ scope in regards to representation in the regency romance genre.

The wait between Bridgerton seasons 3 and 4 allows fans to theorize and speculate. As production begins on season 4, more answers are expected. As we await confirmation of the new Bridgerton lead and Emily cast, it's likely that Bridgerton is aiming to provide the same level of care and representation as previous seasons. Stay tuned to Collider for the latest updates.

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