Dear Reader, the world of Bridgerton has always been inclusive, but season 4 promises to be queerer than ever.
That’s due in large part to Bridgerton sibling Francesca’s bisexual panic moment at the end of season 3, when she came face to face with her husband John’s magnetic cousin, Michaela. And though the new season finds Bridgerton brother Benedict entranced by a mysterious woman he meets at a masquerade ball that’s part Cinderella story, part Romeo and Juliet, who can forget his dalliances with men and women?
“It's hugely important to me to be able to tell queer stories in Bridgerton,” says out showrunner Jess Brownell.
“I feel like Bridgerton made its name in many ways on being an inclusive universe, and for queer stories to be left out of that would not feel right,” she adds. “So, to be getting to tell Benedict and Francesca's stories over the next couple of seasons is really thrilling.”
Netflix’s Bridgerton series is based on Julia Quinn’s series of books, though the show's story has occasionally veered a bit.
Spoiler alert if you’ve not read the books or Francesca’s story!
Hannah Dodd as Francesca BridgertonCourtesy Netflix
The latest season finds Francesca (Hannah Dodd) and Lord John Stirling (Victor Alli) off to Scotland following their nuptials, where Michaela (Masali Baduza) has joined them.
Several months later, and with the implication that Francesca needs breathing room from the living arrangement, the newlyweds are back at Bridgerton House for the start of “the season.” There, Francesca begins exploring sexual agency with her husband, asking for what she needs. Meanwhile, the question lingers: What may eventually become of Francesca and Michaela?
“It's tricky with Francesca's story because we don't know what our writers are going to do,” Dodd tells Out. “The series is based on a series of books, and so people who have read the books have an idea of what might happen.”
“We've had our writers really change things up. I never want to confirm or deny anything because I don’t [know],” she adds. “But if that does ever happen, I'd be really, really grateful and honored to tell that story.”
Brownell is tight-lipped about what’s in store for Francesca’s future, but she guarantees there will be drama. “We know Michaela is going to be in this season. I think we are going to continue to explore Francesca's marriage to John,” Brownell offers.
“We've just dipped our toe into that relationship, so I think it needs a little more time to breathe, but when Michaela does show up, she's someone who brings with her quite a lot of chaos,” she adds. “And I think for better or worse, she'll shake up the dynamics between Fran and John.”
Benedict (Luke Thompson) and Sophie (Yerin Ha) in Bridgerton season 4.Courtesy Netflix
This season explores a great romance between the sexually fluid Benedict and Sophie (Yerin Ha), the woman he searches for following a love-at-first-encounter moment while she’s masked at a ball. The love story will explore strictures and taboos around class differences.
As for Benedict's identity, Luke Thompson, who plays the middle Bridgerton brother, loves the idea that his sexuality is allowed just to exist.
“What's nice about [Benedict] on the page is that he seems to be someone who, refreshingly, maybe for a man, doesn't have a very sort of categorizing brain in terms of his sexuality. He lets it be this sort of mysterious force that's just sort of like moving him through the world," Thompson says. “I think that's really lovely because I think that's not often portrayed.”
"He has angst, and he has problems with categorizing, as we find out in the season later on," he says. “But sexuality or sex, more specifically, is not one of them, and I think that's quite a positive, different thing to see."
Part 1 of Bridgerton season 4 drops January 29 on Netflix.
