Bridgerton star confirms exit (and they might not be the only one leaving)

Bridgerton might be coming back for a fourth season; however, it seems there is at least one member of the original season 1 cast who will not be returning for the next season. 

In an Instagram post shared on June 19, Lorn Macdonald, who has played the role of Albion Finch since the first season of Bridgerton, seemed to confirm he will not be coming back for the show’s fourth season. 

“Albion Finch. What started off with cheese and a sneeze became a character I deeply care about. Huge thanks to everyone who made this a job I'll never forget and to all the fans showing your love for this weird little dude. It means a lot. And to my Philippa. [Harriet Cains]. My partner in crime. It's been real,” Macdonald wrote in a post accompanied by a series of behind-the-scenes photos from over the course of the show’s three seasons. 

While Netflix has not commented on the status of the cast heading into season 4, Macdonald’s Instagram tribute reads very much as a goodbye that hints we’ve seen the last of Albion in the series. It also seems to hint that further cast exits could be coming in what could end up potentially being one of the biggest cast purges between seasons of Bridgerton in the show’s history! 

The Featheringtons might not return for Bridgerton season 4

With Lorn Macdonald seemingly saying goodbye to Bridgerton, speculation is running rampant that the show might be about to say goodbye to the Featherington family now that Penelope’s story has been told. Current speculation suggests that in addition to the departure of Macdonald’s Albion Finch, we might also be saying goodbye to Bessie Carter (Prudence Dankworth), Harriet Cains (Philipa Finch), James Phoon (Harry Dankworth), Rosa Hesmondhalgh (Rae), and Polly Walker (Lady Portia Featherington). 

Now, it’s important to note that Netflix has not confirmed the cast for season 4; however, fans might want to start preparing for a major cast exodus and there is a good reason for that. 

The Featherington family members have primarily been involved in storylines revolving around and building up to Penelope’s season of Bridgerton. Now that her story has been told, we’re expecting that Penelope and Colin will both be back in a more limited capacity next season; however, there isn’t necessarily a need for the rest of the Featherington family to return as the show shifts its attention to the next Bridgerton love story. 

Prudence and Harry as well as Philipa and Albion both got their happy endings in season 3 having each started a family with the birth of their first children. Prudence and Philipa also seemed to finally make amends with their sister, so their journeys have reached what would be a fitting conclusion.

While we’d love to see the four characters back, Bridgerton’s ensemble cast is only going to continue to grow as new characters are introduced to help tell future Bridgerton siblings’ love stories, so the show is eventually going to have to start bidding farewell to side characters such as the Feathering sisters and their husbands. 

It also seems unlikely that we’ll see the Featherington maid, Rae, back given that the focus is expected to shift away from the family and we’re not likely to see many, if any at all, scenes set against the Featherington home. 

The only member of the family that we would be shocked not to see back for season 4 would be Lady Portia Featherington. Portia has long been a favorite secondary character and while the Featherington family might no longer be needed for the central storylines, the loss of Portia would definitely be the biggest blow. 

Portia’s story has reached a closing point in part given that she has finally reconciled with Penelope and the mother-daughter duo has turned over a new leaf, but that doesn’t mean Portia shouldn’t still be a part of the show’s narrative. The Feathertingtons are a named family in the ton and we’d love to see Portia interact more with Violet Bridgerton now that they’re officially family. 

Still, it would make sense for the show to write the character of Portia out of the show as well given we will be shifting away from a focus on Penelope. 

It’s going to be interesting to see when the official cast is announced for Bridgerton season 4, but it seems highly unlikely that the Featheringtons will be back in the mix for season 4 which means we could be saying goodbye to half a dozen characters in the process. 

Bridgerton is streaming now on Netflix!