Spoiler alert: This story includes details about season 3 of Netflix’s “Bridgerton” (now streaming).
Even though this season’s couples on ‘Bridgerton’ – Colin and Penelope, and Francesca and John – may have had happy endings, fans of the show aren’t happy with how things ended with Francesca , especially with showrunner Jess Brownell’s decision to swap the sexes. a fan-favorite character from the books.
Shortly after the end of season 3, Brownell, in several interviews, shared that the main story of Francesca Bridgerton (played by Hannah Dodd) would deviate from the book “When He Was Mean” and feature a version of the protagonist with sex exchange. Michael Stirling from the book being replaced by Michaela Stirling (played by Masali Baduza), who made a brief appearance at the end of season 3. Michaela’s introduction also marks the first queer lead couple in the “Bridgerton” series.
The announcement was not well received by fans of the book, and many expressed their concerns on social media. A Change.org petition demanding the cancellation of this “parody” and the return of Michael Stirling’s original character Kilmartin from the “Bridgerton” books has also been launched with a goal of 50,000 signatures. As of Tuesday afternoon, the petition had more than 36,000 signatures.
Dramatic twist in “Bridgerton”:Is this a sign of a queer romance to come?
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The author of ‘The Bridgerton Chronicles’ asks for fans’ trust
While production company Shondaland and Netflix have yet to respond to the debate over Francesca’s romantic future, “Bridgerton” book author Julia Quinn, in a lengthy statement on Facebook, asked fans who said surprised and disappointed to “give him” and the Shondaland team “a little confidence as we move forward.”
“Many fans of “The Bridgertons” have expressed their surprise, and for some, their disappointment at the twist at the end of season 3 of “The Bridgertons”: Michael Stirling, with whom Francesca ends up falling in love in “When he was mean, be Michaela instead,” Quinn said in her statement.
Quinn said that while she is “deeply committed to the world of Bridgerton becoming more diverse and inclusive as the stories move from book to screen”, changing a major character was a “huge change”. The author added that when Brownell approached her with the idea of turning Michael into Michaela, she needed more information so the story could “stay true to the spirit of the book and the characters.”
As Brownell mentioned in his interviews, Quinn said the two discussed the change at length before making the move. The author said she wanted to make sure Francesca’s “undying love for John was shown on screen”, and that she had to fight for this when she wrote “When He Was Mean because her editor “feared that writing about Fran’s love for John would remove Michael’s role as a possible romance novel hero.” Quinn said it was important to her to show that Francesca and Michael had a deep love for John and how guilty they felt about falling in love with each other after John’s death, adding that it was important to include this in their own story.
“I am convinced now that when Francesca has her season of Bridgertons, it will be the most emotional and heartbreaking story of the series, just as ‘When He Was Mean’ has always been the truly heartbreaking story of ‘Bridgerton’. of books,” Quinn said. “Honestly, this could be even more impactful, since John spends way more time on screen than he ever did on the page, and I think it’s fair to say that we all fell one little in love with him.
Thanking readers and fans for their comments, Quinn said she was “grateful” for their understanding and “touched” by their commitment to “Bridgerton.”
“I think we’re going to end up with two stories, one on paper and one on screen, and they’ll both be beautiful and moving,” Quinn said.
Who is Michaela Stirling?
At the end of season 3, viewers are introduced to a new character, Michaela Stirling, who is the cousin of the Earl of Kilmartin, Lord John. Michaela, who will accompany Eloise, John and Francesca to Scotland, leaves Francesca slightly flustered as she introduces herself.
Brownell, in an interview with Glamor earlier this month, confirmed that Michaela would play Francesca’s love interest and that they had planned a queer romance for the character.
The showrunner, in her interview, said that when she first read Francesca’s book “When He Was Mean,” she “really identified with it as a queer woman,” explaining that the book ” talks a lot about how she feels different.”
“I think Julia Quinn’s intention in the book is just to make Fran feel different because she’s an introvert. But for a lot of us in the queer community, that sense of feeling different is part of our stories,” Brownell said in the interview, adding that she felt like there was “fertile ground theme in his book to nod to the telling of a queer story” with a happy ending. The showrunner also said that she received Quinn’s blessing for the change and that everyone behind the series was on the same page.
“It was important to me, in telling a core queer story, to be able to give them a happily ever after, like we did with all the other couples,” Brownell previously said.
In the books, Francesca and her husband, Lord John Killmartin (played by Victor Alli in the series) enjoy a happy marriage, until John dies of a brain aneurysm. His best friend, Michael, secretly in love with his wife, becomes an earl and takes over the domain. However, devastated by his friend’s death, Michael fled to India to grieve. However, upon her return years later, Francesca seeks a second husband to start a family and the two eventually fall in love and marry.
Release, casting, main couple, more:What we know so far about ‘Bridgerton’ season 4
“The Bridgerton Chronicles” Season 4
“Bridgerton” producers have yet to announce any details for season 4, except that fans may have to wait up to two years for its release, according to Brownell. It’s unclear which book the next season will be based on and which Bridgerton brother will direct it, although hints (masquerade ball) point to Bridgerton’s second brother, Benedict Bridgerton.
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Contact her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X @saman_shafiq7.