Bridgerton creator Shonda Rhimes makes huge announcement about future of Netflix series

Shonda Rhimes, the creator of Netflix's hit period drama Bridgerton, has offered fans an exciting update ahead of season 4.

She made a major announcement about her beloved Recency era series while speaking at the Edinburgh Film Festival today (August 20), which was attended by Reach Screen Time.

The Netflix show, which achieved over 100 million views in its first season alone, centres around the Bridgerton siblings and their romantic lives. In an on-stage interview with British journalist Mishal Husain, Rhimes opened up about the future of Bridgerton.

"How many seasons do you think it will run for?" Husain asked, as Rhimes confirmed: "Exactly eight."

Husain then quizzed the award-winning Shondaland founder on whether she "would let her imagination run wild beyond that".

This prompted her to reveal: "The Bridgerton series is eight children. Violet Bridgerton and all eight of her children married. So every season is a child."

The excitement didn't stop there however, as Rhimes also teased there is "a possibility for spin-offs", as Bridgerton author Julia Quinn has written other books that are off-shoots of the story.

It comes after Netflix's successful prequel series, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, which follows the younger versions of Queen Charlotte and Lady Danbury.

Meanwhile, fans are eagerly anticipating Bridgerton's return for season 4, which will see Luke Thompson take centre stage as Benedict Bridgerton, who is finally ready to find true love.

Sophie Baek is set to play love interest Yerin Ha, the mysterious Lady in Silver at Lady Bridgerton's famed masquerade ball.

Netflix previously released a teaser showing various clips of people in the Ton enjoying the latest Lady Whistledown, while the caption reads: "Next season's most compelling match will be unmasked. Welcome to the marriage mart, Benedict."

Viewers will also be thrilled to see best friends Penelope (Nicola Coughlan) and Eloise (Claudia Jessie) reunited and "more bonded than ever".

Speaking about his larger role in season 4 to Netflix's Tudum, Thompson admitted he can't wait for the star-crossed lovers' story to be brought to life.

"The scripts that Jess [Brownell] and her team have come up with are dynamite. They're really, really, really exciting," he said.

"The storyline is a bit of a twist on 'Cinderella.' You remember being told those stories as a child - the magic and the romance of them. It's really exciting to have that weaved into the world that we know of Bridgerton... It's such a great story, but it's also, I hope, really relatable."

The first three seasons of Bridgerton focused on siblings Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor), Anthony (Jonathan Bailey) and Colin (Luke Newton) respectively, with the third season also giving air time to Francesca's (Hannah Dodd) developing romance arc.

While Benedict is next and Francesca's story remains unfinished, fans are still expecting to see future seasons revolve around Eloise (Claudia Jessie) and their younger siblings Hyacinth (Florence Hunt) and Gregory (Will Tilston).

Bridgerton season 4 arrives in 2026. Seasons 1-3 are available to stream now, exclusively on Netflix.