After three seasons of adapting Julia Quinn’s romance novels with their heterosexual pairings intact, Netflix’s “Bridgerton” is finally delivering on the queer storyline the franchise has been dancing around since its debut.
The Season 3 finale’s gender-swap of Francesca’s love interest from Michael to Michaela wasn’t just a casting choice; it was a course correction. While fans had speculated about potential queer arcs for Benedict or Eloise, the show chose the quietest Bridgerton sibling for its first sapphic romance, catching viewers off guard and generating an outpouring of response from queer fans who finally saw themselves reflected in the show’s elaborate Regency fantasy.
“It’s been beautiful getting to meet fans and for them to share their direct stories has been incredible. It’s been such an honor,” Hannah Dodd, who plays Francesca, told TheWrap. “It’s only fair that everybody gets to see themselves and their love story as part of this show, so I’m super proud.”
Season 4 Part 1, now streaming, finds Francesca navigating married life with John Stirling while exploring her own sexuality—a storyline that sees the character awkwardly asking her mother about “pinnacles” (the Regency term for orgasm). The queer love story itself remains on the horizon, but Michaela’s arrival at the end of Part 1 sets up what Dodd describes as a “tornado” that “messes things up in the best way possible.”
“Michaela is someone that challenges her and pulls out a slightly different energy to her,” Dodd said, noting that Francesca doesn’t understand why this particular personality bothers her so much—classic compulsory heterosexuality coded into period drama.
The timing of Francesca’s full story remains unclear. Showrunner Jess Brownell has confirmed that Gregory and Hyacinth’s books will come last, leaving either Francesca or Eloise next in the rotation. Since their novels take place within the same week, there’s potential for a combined season—something Dodd called “a massive honor to tell at some point.”
Four seasons in, Netflix’s biggest romance franchise is finally treating queer love as worthy of the same lavish treatment it’s given every straight couple. Whether that becomes a model for prestige romance or remains an isolated gesture depends entirely on what comes next.
