Bridgerton begins

Bridgerton season four premieres on January 29 with the first installment, followed by the second on February 26, as Netflix hopes to win back some of the horny women demographic from Heated Rivalry. Sarah is our resident Bridgerton expert since she knows the books so well so we’ll leave it to her in the coming days to analyse where they’re taking the story but for now, let’s talk about the press tour kicking off in Paris tonight with Yerin Ha and Luke Thompson in the spotlight as this season’s feature couple.

Luke of course is Benedict Bridgerton who falls in love with the Lady in Silver, Sophie Baek, played by Yerin. And this is a Cinderella story, because Sophie is a maid. The most gorgeous maid with the most gorgeous skin. Look at this glow!

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This is personal for me, since the series’ main girl this season is East Asian, cleverly adapted from Sophie Beckett in the books to Baek in the show, a not-uncommon Korean last name (sometimes spelled Paek or Paik) which means, ironically, “white”. The Chinese counterpart is “Bai” in Mandarin, or “Pak” in Cantonese with the same meaning.

Over the last three previous seasons, Bridgerton’s feature couple has always become pop culture mainstream, and it’s thrilling to anticipate that this will happen for Yerin, who is from Australia and plays Sophie with a British accent, reflecting the diversity of the Korean diaspora and especially during this moment in pop culture with Kpop Demon Hunters and No Other Choice contending during award season, BTS’s imminent comeback, plus Hudson Williams on Heated Rivalry, and the growing library of Korean content on so many streaming platforms in the west. Oh and a new season of Singles Inferno about to drop!

Bridgerton press tours are extensive. So your timeline is about to get “Benofied”, which is the fandom’s nickname for this couple. You will see it out there on socials but you can expect a lot of it here at LaineyGossip too.

What else happened today…

The National Board of Review gala happened last night and I am obsessed with Rose Byrne’s black suit. The velvet bow, the sheer top underneath, how beautifully tailored the jacket and the pants are – soooooo good. (Go Fug Yourself)

Was anybody asking about or missing Chris Noth? Not me. Maybe that’s his biggest problem and why he decided to tell on himself. (Pajiba)

Jason Bateman did an interview talking about how soft he is and how much he loves nesting. That’s great for him. But then he had to go and ruin it by talking about the LA Dodgers, predicting a third World Series. Remember, I’m from Toronto, home of the Blue Jays, aka the BFF baseball players. Our pain has not receded.  (Celebitchy)

I did the junket a few weeks ago for the new Star Trek series, Starfleet Academy. I’m not a Trekkie, I know almost nothing about this world, but I really, really liked the pilot. The cast is wondering, including Holly Hunter and Paul Giammatti. But also… this is one of my favourite tropes: school and school rules, cadets meeting each other and learning together, faculty relationships, grumpy professors, growing pains and adventures, and the bond that happens in a study space. This show has so much potential. (The Mary Sue)

Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights is coming soon, and then Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey will take over the summer – which, as Helena Hunt notes in her new piece for The Ringer, means that the discourse will be all about faithfully or unfaithfully adapting classics. Can’t wait! (The Ringer)