The Soho Hotel in London recently hosted a gathering that felt like a shift in the British television landscape. MilkTea, a group dedicated to East and Southeast Asian (ESEA) stories, held a preview for the second part of Bridgerton season four. The evening focused on the introduction of the Gun family. This is the first time the hit Netflix show has featured an East Asian family in a central role.
Bridgerton changed how people think about period dramas when it first aired. It reimagined 19th-century London as a diverse society. While previous seasons featured Black and South Asian leads, this new chapter introduces Yerin Ha as Sophie Baek. She plays the romantic lead opposite Benedict Bridgerton. She is joined by Katie Leung, who plays the formidable Lady Araminta Gun, and Isabella Wei as Posey Gun.
The significance of this moment is hard to overstate. For years, period dramas in the UK rarely included Asian faces unless they were in the background. This season changes that. It places an ESEA family at the heart of the social season. The event at Soho Hotel allowed the cast to speak openly about what this shift means for them and the audience.
Seeing Yourself in the Regency Era
Yerin Ha understands the weight of being the first East Asian romantic lead in the series. She grew up in Australia and rarely saw people who looked like her in these types of stories.
“I always think, especially with period pieces, how do you make it modern and relevant to today?” Ha told the crowd. She believes it is vital to show a society that looks like the one we see on the streets now. “Growing up, I never saw myself in roles that were seen as desirable or lovable. To be in that position and play a character like that so that people can project themselves into those characters is a gift and it’s everything that I’ve dreamed of.”
Ha admitted she didn’t always enjoy watching Regency dramas. She felt she couldn’t relate to them. Being on set changed her perspective. The production team asked for her input on small details, like her eyeliner and brow shape. These small gestures made her feel she belonged in the room.
Isabella Wei plays Posey Gun. For her, the most impactful part of the process was the scale of the casting. It wasn’t about one token role. The production was looking for an entire family.
“That first audition or getting note that this was happening was a really special moment for me because you weren’t just auditioning to play this one Asian woman or one Asian character, East Asian character in the show, but they were casting for four roles for it,” Wei explained.
She met Katie Leung during the audition process. Seeing so many Asian women in the room together felt powerful. Wei noted that the family dynamic on screen feels familiar to many Asian households. The script captures the specific ways these families communicate or, sometimes, fail to communicate.
Katie Leung is a familiar face to British audiences. She has worked in the industry longer than her co-stars and has seen the highs and lows of representation. Her audition for Lady Araminta Gun happened to fall on her birthday.
“It was really funny because it was on my birthday that I auditioned for it,” Leung said. She felt a sense of excitement being in a room with so many different Asian women. “I was just really excited that there was this kind of new generation of Asian women auditioning for these massive roles.”
Read more: Katie Leung On ‘Harry Potter’ Fame And Her New ‘Bridgerton’ Role
Leung spoke honestly about the current state of the industry. She mentioned that representation on screen in the UK is currently at a low point according to some statistics. But she sees hope in the community. “People have found a voice and they’re saying like, this is not good enough. And that’s so, I don’t know, I just get really emotional about it because there’s a fight that’s happening out there and a proper, real struggle.”
Advice for Future Talent
The panel ended with advice for those looking to enter the industry. Ha shared a lesson she learned from Korean actor Hwang Jung-min. He taught her to always know her “why.”
“If you know your why, then you will either pursue this career or you won’t,” Ha said. “If you know it really deep down, that is the thing that’s going to keep you going.” She believes vulnerability is a strength in this business, rather than having thick skin.
Leung encouraged actors to trust their own perspective. “Your version of the truth is enough,” she told the audience. She spent years trying to copy what she saw on screen because she thought that was what people wanted. Now, she focuses on being comfortable with who she is. She also advocated for personal wellbeing, telling the room to “get therapy guys.”
The evening concluded with a celebration of what this season represents. It is a step toward a version of history where more people can see themselves as the hero of the story.
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