'Bridgerton' season 4 shooting begins

Los Angeles [US]: Lights, Camera, Action! The shooting for the fourth season of 'Bridgerton' has officially started. On Monday, streaming giant Netflix took to Instagram and shared the first look of the cast.

"Please rise for Sophie Baek & Benedict Bridgerton!!! Here's your first official photo of Yerin Ha and Luke Thompson on the set of Bridgerton Season 4. Now OFFICIALLY in production," the post read.

Halo's Yerin Ha will play Sophie Baek, a maid whose mask -- both literal and figurative -- hides a mysterious history. Luke Thompson will be seen essaying the role of Benedict.

On coming on board for the show, Ha said, "What drew me to Sophie was that she immediately has obstacles -- something that she constantly has to overcome. Whether it's this battle around social status or trying to hide her feelings from Benedict."

Benedict, the second-eldest Bridgerton brother, is loath to settle down -- until he meets a captivating Lady in Silver (or -- spoiler alert! -- as book fans will know her, Sophie) at his mother's masquerade ball, as per The Hollywood Reporter.

Season three of the show, which aired this summer and was led by Coughlan and Newton's "Polin," as it is known among the stans, smashed records as one of the streaming service's most watched shows.

Showrunner Jess Brownell told The Hollywood Reporter in June that it'll be a two-year wait before season four airs. "We are working to try and put the seasons out more quickly, but they do take eight months to film and then they have to be edited, and then they have to be dubbed into every language," she said. "And the writing takes a very long time as well, so we're kind of on a two-year pace, we're trying to speed up, but somewhere in that range."

Season 4 of Bridgerton is set to have eight episodes. The drama, adapted from Julia Quinn's books and produced by Shonda Rhimes' master company Shondaland, also stars Claudia Jessie, Golda Rosheuvel, Adjoa Andoh and Ruth Gemmell.

(ANI)