Thought Bridgerton S4 Main Character Was Benedict? Fans Are Sure It's a Female Newcomer Instead

Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder, Private Practice. Is there a showrunner with a higher number of long-running successful shows than Shonda Rhimes? Hardly so. That's why her 2017 deal with Netflix came as such a shock, after spending more than a decade under ABC's wing.

As fans know, Shonda's Netflix project, Bridgerton, is based on a series of pseudo-historical romance novels by Julia Quinn that tell the story of early 19th-century British high society. There are a total of eight books about the Bridgerton family, the first of which was published in 2000.

All feature the romantic liaisons of Lady Bridgerton's children, and there are (surprise!) eight of them: Anthony, Benedict, Colin, Daphne, Eloise, Francesca, Gregory, and Hyacinth. Shonda Rhimes would not be Shonda Rhimes if she did not create interest in all aspects of her brainchild – now, with the long-awaited third season of Colin and Penelope just a few days away, fans are already speculating about who will be the main couple in the fourth season.

Who Will Be the Main Character in Season 4?

Most fans felt that the focus would be on Benedict – he has been one of the minor characters who has received the most attention since the first season, and viewers are already eager to find out about his personal love story.

A minority of fans were confident that Eloise would be the main character of the new chapter – in chronological order, her story comes immediately after Colin's.

However, before the start of the third season, viewers learned unexpected news – the actress who played the role of Francesca Bridgerton, Ruby Stokes, left the series due to being busy with another project, and Hannah Dodd took her place. And immediately made her fans fall in love with her.

There's a Strong Possibility That Season 4 Will Focus on Francesca

Now many believe that perhaps the stories of Benedict and Eloise will be moved forward, and the place of the main character of the fourth season will be taken by Francesca.

“I think she really could be a season 4 front runner. [...] I’m not quite sure if the showrunners would want 3 brothers getting married in a row. Also to get the show renewed for seasons 5-6, Shondaland would want to use the already built in anticipation for Benedict and Eloise,” Reddit user pinkxyyellow wrote.

Such a decision would be in the spirit of Shondaland – the show's creators can bring a less-expected story to the forefront to generate interest in Season 5 not only among viewers, but also among Netflix bosses.

It remains to be seen whether the show will be renewed for a fifth season, and a fourth season dedicated to Francesca could make waves among fans who have waited many years to see the stories of Benedict and Eloise, who have been in the forefront all this time, unlike Francesca.