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Bridgerton is set to return to Netflix with its highly anticipated third season in the summer of 2024, but fans are already looking toward the future of the series. While it doesn’t look likely we’ll get any more spin-offs on Netflix anytime soon, we can at least guess at what Bridgerton season four will look like by guessing which book it will be based on.

Bridgerton season three skipped ahead in the book series, adapting the fourth Julia Quinn novel rather than the third. This was to allow the story of Penelope and Colin to come to an earlier conclusion, avoiding overstaying their will-they-won’t-they dynamic. However, that leaves a big question – which book will season four of Bridgerton be based on?

The obvious answer – and one that has been hinted at by the showrunners – is that season four of Bridgerton will loop back around to adapt book three of the series, called An Offer from a Gentleman. This book focuses on the romance between Benedict and Sophie and sees the budding artist finally settle down. When revealing that they were adapting the books out of order, season three showrunner Jess Brownell said, “On the Benedict side, he’s such a fun character and such a fan favorite that we are really excited to play with him for a little bit more and let him have more fun before he settles down.”

The implication here is that Benedict will be settling down in the near future, but we don’t know exactly when that will be. Logically, Netflix will base Bridgerton season four on the third book in the series, but until we get official confirmation we won’t know for sure. The streamer has taken plenty of creative liberties with the books in the past, so there is nothing to stop them from taking a few more.

Whether its the bane of your existence or the object of all your desires (or both), Bridgerton is back. Read all our spoiler-y thoughts on Bridgerton season 3 here, and then delight at a guide to how to watch all of Bridgerton (and the spinoff), how to read the Bridgerton books (all 16 of them!), an our exclusive interview with the show's costume designer John Glaser, as well as some recommended reads for all Bridgerton fans.