Opinion | Bridgerton season 4’s casting of Yerin Ha as Sophie does not mean it’s ‘ruined’ at all
The casting of Yerin Ha to play Sophie in Bridgerton season 4 helps more people visually identify with characters in the world they love
A month after US entertainment site Variety leaked the news, Korean-Australian actress Yerin Ha was officially announced as the female lead for the next season of Netflix’s hit Regency-period drama, Bridgerton.
For many fans (including yours truly), the September 11 announcement was one long in the making. Rumours had swirled for months that those in charge of casting on the show were looking for an actress of East Asian or Southeast Asian heritage to play Sophie, the plucky, Cinderella-like heroine of An Offer from a Gentleman, the Julia Quinn novel on which the fourth season of Bridgerton is based.
Each book in the series focuses on the romantic story of one of the eight Bridgerton siblings.
Eagle-eyed fans on Reddit, X and beyond kept tabs on who the series’ actors, actresses, make-up artists, costume designers and other crew members were following on Instagram.
Potential candidate lists for Sophie were drawn up and discussed – among them Japanese actress Haruka Abe, American actress Kirstin Louie and Hong Kong-born British actress Jemma Moore – and hotly contested.
