Bridgerton has cast Korean actress Yerin Ha as the lead for season 4, while revealing that a major change will be made to the show to honor her culture

Bridgerton has confirmed that Korean actress Yerin Ha will take on the lead role in the fourth season of the Netflix series.

She is set to star in the role of Sophie Baek as the upcoming drama focuses on bohemian second son Benedict (Luke Thompson) and his love story.

Sophie has been forced to spend much of her life working as a maid for the most demanding employer in high society.

But the resourceful maid always finds a way to persevere despite the circumstances—circumstances that will change drastically after she dresses up to attend Violet Bridgerton’s masquerade ball.

Even though his older and younger brothers are happily married, Benedict is reluctant to settle down – until he meets a captivating Silver Lady at the ball. What he doesn’t know is that she’s Sophie.

Yerin is a Korean actress from Australia and revealed her The character Sophie Baek was given a Korean surname out of respect for the actresses’ culture.

The character’s name in Julia Quinn’s original book series is Sophie Beckett.

Speaking about the decision, she shared: ‘A name is the first piece of identity you share with the world, and that’s why changing a name can be so powerful.

“To have Sophie’s name fit someone who looks like me is really empowering. All credit goes to Jess Brownell, our showrunner.

“It’s a really nice way to feel like the role is right for me, rather than having to fit into a certain mold. It’s amazing what it can do in a psychological sense. So it means a lot that Jess has done that for me.”

Announcing the news, Netflix released a trailer showing Sophie checking out costumes for the ball.

Yerin landed her breakthrough role as Kwan Ha in the sci-fi series Halo two years ago.

She will next be seen in the highly anticipated HBO series Dune: Prophecy.

Before and on stage, Yerin was part of the Sydney Theatre Company’s Lord of the Flies alongside Mia Wasikowska.

She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting, majoring in Musical Theatre from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney.

Before taking on the lead role this season, Luke said of his character: “Benedict has always been a little lost, or free, depending on how you want to look at it. But now he’s trying to find something a little more solid within himself.”

Creator Shonda Rhymes added: “He’s a lovely man who’s trying to find his way. He’s very charming and funny. I’m excited for everyone to see it.”

Netflix also released a short video when the announcement of Luke accepting Benedict’s prominent future was shared.

She is shown opening a door and receiving a costume to wear to a masquerade ball, a hint as to where her journey will begin in the series.

It has not yet been revealed when production on the fourth season will begin.

After being promised the “most gripping season yet,” Bridgerton fans were left somewhat disappointed by the lack of Regency scenes in the first part of season three.

However, the show’s directors have more than delivered with the second part of this period drama, with the fifth episode of the series featuring a six-minute-long sex scene between Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) and Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton).

Nicola previously revealed: ‘I think we’ve won the cheekiness of this series!’ as she joked that she and Luke had damaged the set with their on-screen games.

She told Entertainment Weekly: “We broke a piece of furniture while we were doing a scene. It’s a bit like a stunt where they say, ‘Okay, we’re going to do this, this and this.'”