The new season of Bridgerton will be 'the best one yet'. The showrunner just told us everything.

Bridgerton is the fantastical television series where whimsy rules the day and Regency-era accuracy is but a mere suggestion. 

Smokey eyeshadow. Men who truly yearn. A string quartet rendition of Pitbull's 'Give Me Everything Tonight.' Bridgerton has it all. The goal is not to give us something steeped in reality. The show's purpose is to charm its audience and steal away with our hearts, forever marring us with unrealistic yet enviable depictions of romance. 

This has never been truer than it is right now, as the series returns with a new storyline that delivers Downton Abbey meets Cinderella for its fourth (and possibly, best) season.

Listen to what's in store for Bridgerton's steamiest season yet on The Quicky. Post continues below.

Charting the romance of Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) and Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha), this season explores the ultimate love story: a situationship. Well, a situationship of yore, where class is the ultimate divide and a forbidden liaison unfolds between a noble gentleman and a maid.

Fans who have read the book series by Julia Quinn will know all too well that this season of Bridgerton will lean heavily into Cinderella tropes: with an 'evil' stepmother, an enchanting ball, and one leading man's quest to find his missing mystery woman.

For the uninitiated, Netflix has teased that the story goes like this: Benedict briefly meets a captivating young lady at his mother's masquerade ball. With the reluctant help of his sister Eloise (Claudia Jessie), Benedict sets out in society to uncover the young lady's identity. But it turns out his dream girl is actually a resourceful maid named Sophie, working for the formidable Lady Araminta Gun (Katie Leung).

Benedict's search for his masked mystery woman will set the scene in Season 4. Image: Netflix.

Fate ensures their paths intertwine once more — which only leaves Benedict confused, as he wrestles with the reality of his affection for Sophie and the enduring fantasy of the mysterious Lady in Silver. And no, our boy Benny does not realise these two women are one and the same.

The novel, An Offer From A Gentleman, is a fan-favourite. And creator Shonda Rhimes has already called this her favourite season, meaning it's gearing up to be the best one yet. So, what is it about Bridgerton Season 4 that is going to set the pop culture world on fire and possibly ruin our hearts for modern men forever? We spoke with the series' showrunner, executive producer and writer Jess Brownell to find out.

For one thing, she says this is the most faithful book-to-screen adaptation they've yet to produce. For another, she says Sophie and Benedict's romance opens us up to a whole new world; one filled with higher stakes than we've seen before on this show (or many other period dramas, for that matter). 

Yes, Mr Darcy once famously proclaimed he would marry Elizabeth Bennett despite the inferiority of her birth. However, he didn't shove her aside and declare his love for one of the servants. We're in new territory with this one. And Benedict and Sophie's story gave Brownell the ultimate foundation for a captivating romance. 

"I do think the upstairs downstairs component brings a new richness and a new depth," Brownell told Mamamia. "It's a really real and juicy obstacle, you know. There are certain romantic obstacles where you're like, if these two people just got in a room and talked to each other, they'd be fine if they had therapy.

"But this obstacle… in Regency times, your class was a line that you did not cross and despite our [Bridgerton] world being more inclusive, racially, I think we've stuck to the fact that class is very much a barrier in that time period. 

"So, for Benedict and Sophie to be together requires an enormous amount of bravery. And it just gave us really great stakes for the season." 

Benedict and Sophie's love story will take us to a new place. Image: Netflix.

The season also has some of the most interesting tropes to play with, as the concept of servitude and the disparity of class between our key characters is woven throughout the season. Not just Benophie's love story. 

As the teaser trailers have revealed, the household staff will be key players this season. But in exploring this new frontier in a world that's filled with glamour and romance, Brownell says the production team worked hard to ensure the show maintained its magic.

"We talked a lot about how we wanted to portray the downstairs world, you know, there was a really fine line between wanting to be realistic about the fact that it's not as glamorous downstairs, but also not wanting to burst the fantasy bubble of the genre too much," Brownell told Mamamia.

"I think people do come to Bridgerton to enjoy themselves and have a nice time. So, I think you'll notice over the course of part one that there are slightly different versions of the downstairs. The Bridgerton Downstairs is kind of, you know, a nice world to live in. That Bridgerton kitchen is quite a lovely [place to work] and I think it really speaks to the kind of people the Bridgertons are and how they treat their servants. 

"Whereas when you go to places like Penwood House, and meet new characters that people will meet this season, you see a little bit of a difference in production design and in what circumstances are like."

Fans will meet an 'evil stepmother' and two 'stepsisters' this season, alongside leading lady Sophie. Image: Netflix.

While the exploration of class in the Regency-era promises to deliver us a more realistic depiction of society than any other season, there is one major element of Season 4 that will require viewers to suspend disbelief.

When the first trailer dropped, fans had just one question to ask of leading man Benedict Bridgerton.

Much like Austin Ames in the classic film A Cinderella Story, it seems Benedict will struggle with the age-old male-only dilemma of not being able to recognise a woman when fabric covers her face. The trailers make it clear the show will closely follow the plot of the book, in which Benedict stressfully searches for his masked mystery woman (all the while, she's standing right in front of him).

Given the chance to ask Brownell, we simply had to get her take on this common male affliction.

"Well it's a little, hopefully, willing suspension of disbelief. You know, we are in a fantasy world," Brownell said. "But, I think it hopefully does provide a commentary on the power of class in that era. And I think when Benedict re-meets Sophie, the fact that he doesn't recognise her… a big part of that is he would just never imagine that this masked woman, a lady, who he has been looking for the last few months, could possibly be a maid. The servant class were unfortunately so invisible to people in society at that point in time. So that's something we're relying on a bit."

And you know what? For the chance to enjoy a stunning love story, we're willing to bet most fans will be happy to play along just fine.

Watch the trailer for Bridgerton Season 4: Part One.

Bridgerton, Season 4: Part One premieres on Netflix on January 29 at 7pm in Australia.

Feature Image: Netflix.