After another incredible season of the hit period drama, fans couldn’t be more excited about the upcoming Bridgerton season 4. Obviously, the burning question on everyone’s mind is who will be the lead for the fourth season. While the show’s creative team is keeping hush-hush on this topic at the moment, fans are already speculating on which Bridgerton sibling it could be. The top picks are Benedict, Eloise, and Francesca. But honestly, it doesn’t matter to us at Netflix Life. We’ll be happy with whoever is chosen as the new lead.

However, something that we’d be sad about is if some of our favorite characters did not return. Yes, we’re talking about Anthony and Kate Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey and Simone Ashley). Their love story was already told in the second season, and while they did have screen time in the third season, it wasn’t much. Could this be the show’s way of slowly pushing them out? Could this mean that they won’t appear in Bridgerton season 4? Here’s what we know.

Bridgerton. (L to R) Daniel Francis as Lord Anderson, Simone Ashley as Kate Sharma, Jonathan Bailey as Anthony Bridgerton, Luke Thompson as Benedict Bridgerton in episode 307 of Bridgerton. Cr. Liam Daniel/Netflix © 2024 /

This is a fear that many fans have as well. I mean, think about season 1 couple, Daphne and Simon. Their love story was told in the first season, and then we never saw Simon again on-screen. However, it made sense why Simon didn’t return because the actor portraying him completely exited the series. Daphne, on the other hand, appeared a couple of times in the second season but didn’t show up in season 3 at all. Neither Daphne nor Simon was even mentioned in the third season, which was quite strange if you ask me.

This is why many people are concerned. We would hate for this to happen to Anthony and Kate. As of June 14, the official cast list for Bridgerton season 4 has not been revealed yet. So, it’s unknown if Anthony and Kate will return. However, the good news is that the show’s creative team hopes to see more of them.

Variety got the opportunity to speak with Bridgerton season 3 showrunner Jess Brownell, and she said that Anthony and Kate’s return in the fourth season is dependent on many factors. One factor is if there’s even room to write them in. Bridgerton season 4 will mainly focus on a new couple, so there might not be enough “story room” for Anthony and Kate. Another factor is whether the actors playing Anthony and Kate are available. Depending on Bailey and Ashley’s schedules, they may or may not get to come back for the highly anticipated fourth season.

Regarding Anthony and Kate’s return, Brownell told Variety, “So we’ll see what happens. But I love those two, and I would always be happy to see more from them.” We’re keeping our fingers crossed that everything works out and Bailey and Ashley get to reprise their roles in Bridgerton season 4. But for now, we’ll just have to wait and see.

All eight episodes of Bridgerton season 3 are streaming now on Netflix.