Bridgerton season 4 parents guide: Male nudity more than earns the season its TV-MA rating

Bridgerton season 4 has finally arrived, and it's time to dive right into Benedict and Sophie's love story. It's the moment fans have been waiting for — two years of waiting, to be exact — and surely, no one will waste a moment to start binge-watching the season immediately. But as with any new season of television, sometimes you want to know how racy the content is before watching.

Like with season 3, Netflix opted to drop Bridgerton season 4 in two parts, with the first arrive on Jan. 29 and the second on Feb. 26. However, after viewing only half of the season, it's clear that nothing has changed when it comes to the beloved romance drama's formula for steamy scenes and nudity that make it one of the most thrilling (in a different sense) shows on television.

If you're looking to start your binge-watch but you don't want to be caught by surprise by any of the mature content, we're sharing a spoiler-free guide to what you can expect to see in Bridgerton season 4. For the most part, male nudity earns the episodes its TV-MA age rating, but let's dive into a breakdown of the content as an advance warning to viewers and parents!

Bridgerton season 4 part 1 earns TV-MA rating for nudity

As always, Bridgerton has been given a TV-MA age rating from Netflix for sex, nudity, language, and smoking. Since the series is in its fourth season, fans should pretty much know what to expect from the show by now and likely aren't watching the show while children are present. Given its content, the series is for mature audiences only. Let's take a closer look at the specifics of season 4 so far!

Sex and nudity

While season 4 part 1 doesn't contain as many sex scenes that are nearly as graphic as in previous scenes, there's still at least one sex scene contained in each episode. Each instance of sex is between members of the opposite sex, though a male main character kisses another man while attending a party. The sex scenes each contain varied degrees of nudity.

In an early scene in the first episode, a male main character is woken up in his bedroom, and when his comforter is removed to reveal his body, his bare butt is shown as he was sleeping naked. Two women are sleeping elsewhere in the room to reveal they had a threesome, though no sex is shown and no female nudity is shown in this scene either.

Other instances of sex scenes mostly involve a male and female character having sex in bed, though these scenes aren't drawn out. For the most part, they are brief scenes that typically pick up after the act has finished and don't feature much revealing nudity. One sex scene involving a male and female character takes place in a carriage and features no nudity but contains moans.

Another sex scene later on in season 4 part 1 finds a male and female character finally acting on their attraction. While they kiss, the male character licks his fingers and places them under the woman's dress. Again, there's no nudity shown in this particular moment, but other scenes either contain graphic male rear nudity or have implied female nudity.

In one particularly vulnerable scene, a female character undresses herself in front of a mirror to look at her naked body. No nudity is shown. Throughout the four episodes, multiple male characters are seen naked from behind, with some of the male rear nudity happening in closeup. There's also a scene of a male character skinny dipping, but there's no full frontal nudity.

Apart from sex and nudity, Bridgerton season 4 part 1 also features a lot of the same instances of heightened language, drinking, and smoking that have become part of the show's world. Some of the language, of course, are words like "rake" or "pinnacle" that are slang for other words that aren't appropriate for children. Overall, make sure little eyes and ears aren't around and enjoy the show!

Watch Bridgerton only on Netflix.