As the dust settles on the third season of Bridgerton, all eyes have turned to future series of the Regency romp, and most notably the storyline that closed the show's third outing between Francesca Bridgerton and Michaela Stirling (who is Michael Stirling in the Bridgerton books.)
While Jess Brownell, the series' showrunner, has always expressed her desire to incorporate queer storylines into the show, it was only when fans began to question whether Julia Quinn, the author of the Bridgerton novels, approved of them that she lent her voice to the conversation.
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In a screenshot of a Facebook comment that has since gone viral on TikTok, Quinn responds to a fan's question when asked whether Netflix will 'stay with the couples as they are in the books?'
Her reply? 'I have seen many online rumours that it is in my contract that they must keep the book couples. I'm not sure where this came from, as I have never said anything to that effect. That said, I am confident that Shondaland is going to do an amazing job!'
This isn't the first time that Quinn, who is responsible for the octet of Bridgerton novels, has expressed her support for Brownell's vision for the Netflix series. 'I am very hands off', she told Town & Country in May 2022 ahead of the premiere of the second season. 'My attitude is that the people at Shondaland are incredibly smart and they know what they're doing and I'm gonna let them work their magic.'
In a June 2024 interview with Glamour, Brownell said, 'The reveal of Michaela versus Michael, from the books, is something that I've been pitching from season one of the show.'
'My approach to telling a queer story on Bridgerton has been to look to the books for thematic cues. I didn't want to just insert a queer character for queer character's sake,' she added. 'I want to tell a story that accurately reflects a queer experience, and the first time I read Francesca's book, I really identified with it as a queer woman. Maybe not in the way Julia Quinn intended.'
As for gaining Quinn's approval though, Brownell confirmed to Teen Vogue in June 2024 that she had, indeed, spoken with the author. When 'deciding to tell a queer story with Francesca, I spoke with Julia Quinn, I got her blessing.'
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Naomi May is a seasoned culture journalist and editor with over ten years’ worth of experience in shaping stories and building digital communities. After graduating with a First Class Honours from City University's prestigious Journalism course, Naomi joined the Evening Standard, where she worked across both the newspaper and website. She is now the Digital Editor at ELLE Magazine and has written features for the likes of The Guardian, Vogue, Vice and Refinery29, among many others. Naomi is also the host of the ELLE Collective book club.
