Is Bridgerton Season 4 Worth Watching? Honest Review (2026)

TL;DR

Bridgerton Season 4 finally gives Benedict his moment, and it was worth the wait. His story brings a looser, more bohemian energy to the series that feels like a breath of fresh air after Penelope and Colin’s more conventional outing. The romance is swoon-worthy, the costumes are extraordinary, and the whole thing is so unashamedly lush that it practically demands to be watched with a glass of wine and zero guilt. It’s not reinventing the wheel, but the wheel is spinning beautifully.

What It’s About (No Spoilers)

It’s Benedict Bridgerton’s turn for love, and in true Bridgerton fashion, things get complicated quickly. The second eldest Bridgerton sibling has always been the family’s free spirit — more interested in art, experience, and questioning societal expectations than finding a wife. But when a mysterious woman enters his life at a masquerade, Benedict finds himself captivated in a way he never expected. The season leans into its Cinderella-inspired source material while adding enough modern twists and emotional complexity to keep it from feeling predictable. Meanwhile, the wider Bridgerton family continues to navigate love, duty, and the ruthless social machinery of Regency-era London.

What Works

Benedict is the most interesting Bridgerton lead yet. Where previous seasons’ leads have been defined by their romantic pursuits from the jump, Benedict brings a genuine internal conflict to the table. He’s a man caught between the expectations of his world and his desire to live authentically, and that tension gives the romance real emotional weight. His arc feels less like “will they get together” and more like “will he let himself be happy,” which is a subtler, more rewarding question.

The production design has never been better. Bridgerton has always been a visual feast, but Season 4 takes it up another notch. The masquerade sequences are breathtaking, the colour palette shifts beautifully to reflect Benedict’s artistic sensibility, and the costumes — particularly for the leading lady — are genuinely stunning. If you watch Bridgerton partly for the aesthetic pleasure of it all, this season delivers in spades.

The supporting cast gets more room to breathe. After some criticism that Season 3 sidelined the ensemble, this season does a much better job of balancing Benedict’s central romance with meaningful subplots for the rest of the family. Eloise’s continued evolution is a particular highlight, and the Violet Bridgerton storyline adds a welcome layer of emotional maturity to the proceedings.

What Doesn’t

The pacing wobbles in the second act. There’s a stretch of episodes where the central romance hits a “manufactured misunderstanding” phase that feels like the show is stalling for time. Long-time fans will recognise the pattern — the leads are kept apart for reasons that could be resolved with a single honest conversation. It’s a genre convention, but this season leans on it a bit too heavily before pushing through to the more satisfying final stretch.

The anachronistic pop music covers are starting to feel like a gimmick. This is admittedly a personal gripe, and plenty of fans adore them. But four seasons in, the orchestral covers of modern pop songs during key moments have lost their novelty and occasionally pull you out of otherwise emotionally resonant scenes. When the show trusts its original score, it’s far more effective.

Who Should Watch This

Bridgerton fans — this is Benedict’s season, and if you’ve been waiting for it, you won’t be disappointed. Romance lovers who want something lush, escapist, and emotionally satisfying. Anyone who needs a palate cleanser after too many gritty prestige dramas. Fans of period pieces like Sanditon, Emma, or Outlander. And honestly, anyone who just wants to feel something warm and lovely for eight hours — there’s absolutely no shame in that, and this show knows it.

Who Should Skip This

If you’ve watched previous Bridgerton seasons and it’s simply not your cup of tea, Season 4 won’t change your mind — it’s very much the same formula, executed well. If you need gritty realism in your period dramas, this isn’t it — Bridgerton has always been a fantasy version of Regency England and it leans into that harder than ever here. And if you haven’t watched any Bridgerton before, you could technically start here, but you’d miss a lot of the family dynamics that make the emotional beats land.

Where to Stream in Australia

Bridgerton Season 4 is a Netflix exclusive worldwide.

• Netflix Standard with Ads — $7.99/month (Full HD, 2 screens, limited downloads)
• Netflix Standard — $18.49/month (Full HD, 2 screens, downloads)
• Netflix Premium — $25.99/month (4K UHD, 4 screens, spatial audio)

The season dropped in two parts on Netflix, with the first four episodes available now and the remaining four arriving later in the month. If you’d rather binge the whole thing at once, it might be worth waiting a couple of weeks for the full season to land. Given this is Netflix, most Australians will already have access — making it essentially the easiest recommendation on this list from a pure convenience standpoint.

The Bottom Line

Bridgerton Season 4 is a gorgeous, heartfelt season of television that delivers exactly what fans want while pushing the series forward in meaningful ways. Benedict’s story brings a welcome depth and artistic sensibility to the franchise, the romance is genuinely affecting, and the whole package is wrapped in the most sumptuous production design on streaming. It’s comfort viewing elevated to an art form. For Australian Netflix subscribers, this is a no-brainer — pour yourself a drink, settle into the couch, and let the Ton work its magic. You deserve it.