The talk of the ton is the upcoming season of Netflix’s Bridgerton. Like all the seasons before it, a new love will take center stage for a member of the Bridgerton family. This time around, Benedict Bridgerton will be swept off his feet by Sophie Baek, who he meets at a ball Cinderella-style.
For Latine fans like myself who grew up watching telenovelas, Bridgerton Season 4 is the height of drama but also a modern-day telenovela. We grew up with rags-to-riches stories like María la del Barrio or Teresa. And the thought of Benedict falling for Sophie at the ball and then when she’s working as a maid means he’s in a love triangle with the same woman. Peak telenovela drama.
Remezcla welcomed Yerin Ha, Luke Thompson, and Hannah Dodd to our offices to talk about this modern-day telenovela, their favorite Latine artists, Benophie and more. And right off the bat, Thompson showed that he has an understanding as to why people love tropes like rags-to-riches, forbidden love, and even love triangles.
“It’s brilliant because it’s reassuring to be in a trope because you know that people will respond to it because the reason why tropes exist is because people already love them, otherwise they wouldn’t be a trope,” Thompson said, while also taking into account that his TV version is different from the books. “The TV series Benedict has developed in a certain way for the last few seasons. So it’s a really interesting challenge to bring this sort of like trope and then try and make it true or real to that character.”
The other half of this love triangle, or two thirds, is Yerin Ha’s Sophie Baek. Her story is the heart of this Cinderella-esque tale. But like every season before it, it’s important to note that Bridgerton is breaking barriers when it comes to representation. And Ha’s Sophie is the first East Asian lead of the series.
“I remember when Bridgerton came on […] for the first time, even seeing a poster of a Black duke and I was like, hang on a second. Because period dramas wasn’t something I usually gravitated towards because like you said, I didn’t really quite relate to it,” Baek said. She also shared how the fan reaction has been to her casting, “The amount of people that have already said that they feel seen. They’re just so happy that Sophie is an Asian woman and it’s like yes, when you give us these platforms and you give us these roles and spaces, people will relate to them.”
You can watch our full interview with the Season 4 cast of Bridgerton where they talk more about Benophie, Ha’s love for Bad Bunny, and how things are looking for Dodd’s Francesca in Season 4 below:
Bridgerton Season 4 Part 1 premieres January 29th on Netflix.
