London, 26 June 2024 – Many had guessed it: a scene lasting a few seconds at the end of the third series was enough for suspicions to arouse. And now the rumors about the gay twist in the next season are starting to take shape “Bridgerton”, the popular TV series of Netflix produced by Shonda Rhimes and adapted by Jess Brownell from Julia Quinn’s novels set in the world of London high society during the Regency. It was Quinn herself who explained what she noticed in a 50-second scene posted at the end of the third season finale, when recently married Francesca Bridgerton (Hannah Dodd) meets her husband John’s cousin, Michaela (Masali Baduza), and the two women discover an immediate romantic attraction.
For the fanatics of Quinn’s novels there was an anomaly: in “When He Was Wicked”, Francesca actually meets a cousin of John, Michael, who then becomes her second husband when the first tragically dies after five chapters from a brain aneurysm. The change of gender has caused the “frustration” of some fans and here the author has decided to explain the mystery: “Those who know me know how I am committed to making the world of Bridgerton more diverse and inclusive in the transition from the written page to the small screen”, Quinn wrote admitting on her social profiles that “changing the gender of a character is a huge change”, and that therefore, when Jess Brownell approached her proposing to transform Michael into Michaela, she herself hesitated, ultimately deciding to accept.
“When the story between Francesca and Michaela sees the light in Bridgerton, it will be the most emotional and heartbreaking episode of the new season”, just like in her novel when Michael and Francesca fall in love amid guilt after John’s death, Quinn said. Brownell in turn said she decided to change Francesca’s love interest to a woman after reading the book carefully from the perspective of a queer woman: “There will be changes but we will remain faithful to the text,” he explained to the “Hollywood Reporter” after the release of season three. They will still spend at least two years before the fans of Bridgerton can see the new love story blossom on the small screen: the fourth chapter of the series will not arrive on Netflix before 2026, Brownell indicated a few days ago: even if the screenwriters’ work is almost finished, filming will take eight months, then time is needed for editing and dubbing in all languages.
