You’ll Burn for Bridgerton Star Nicola Coughlan’s Update on Season 4

Dearest Gentle Reader...

While fans are mourning the lack of Bridgerton on their screens, star of season three Nicola Coughlan says the show’s upcoming fourth installment—helmed by Luke Thompson (Benedict Bridgerton) and series newcomer Yerin Ha (playing his love interest Sophie Baek)—will be well worth the wait.

“It’s gonna be amazing,” Nicola told E! News at the Time Next 100 event Oct. 9 in New York City. “Luke and Yerin are hard at work now. They’re having such a good time.”

And for the 37-year-old, whose character Penelope Featherington had her moment in the spotlight in season three alongside Luke Newton's Colin Bridgerton, she’s enjoyed taking more of a backseat role in this next installment.

“It’s quite nice to take a step back and can let them like do it all,” she admitted. “We’ve been filming for about a month now. But I get to pop in and out, so I get to come to New York which I couldn’t have done last year, so it’s quite nice.”

But on her future on the series, she teased, “I’m sure the show will go on forever, there’s lots more love stories to be told.” (For more Time’s Next 100 event, tune into E! News tonight, Oct. 10 at 11 p.m.)

And indeed, season four promises to be as moving a love story as any the series has portrayed so far, bringing to life author Julia Quinn’s Cinderella-inspired novel An Offer From a Gentleman.

Just take it from the season’s two leading players.

As Luke, 36, told Netflix’s Tudum, “What's striking about season four is that it's the struggle between a proper old-school fairy tale. The romance of it, and the actual reality of the world."

He continued, "And both are true. You have to hold both of them—the romance and the reality—in your hand. In its best version, ‘true love' happens in the middle of that."

Meanwhile Yerin, while she admitted to feeling nerves before joining the series, said they melted away after meeting her costar for the first time.

“I remember Luke stood there with arms wide open, just ready for an embrace," she told Tudum. "That was the moment I was like, ‘Ah, OK, I don't need to stress about these little things now. I can just genuinely focus on the on-screen connection with him.'"

And much of that on-screen time will be dedicated to her character navigating the challenging road ahead—but for Yerin, it’s only made the role all the more exciting.

"What drew me to Sophie was that she immediately has obstacles," she added. "Whether it's this battle around social status or trying to hide her feelings from Benedict."  

--Reporting by Emily Curl