Dearest gentle-readers, I must confess this article has hella Bridgerton Season 3 and 4 spoilers, in case you wish to conceal your eyes. You have been warned xx
Francesca Bridgerton (Hannah Dodd) was supposed to be the quiet one. She played her piano, married the nice Scottish man, moved to the countryside and minded her business. Then season three dropped a surprise cousin named Michaela Stirling (Masali Baduza) into the Bridgerton finale, season four killed off John (Victor Alli), and suddenly Fran is at the centre of one of the messiest fandom debates the show has ever had.
If you’re not into the book lore and/or touch more grass than me, here’s the context people are fighting about. In Julia Quinn’s book, When He Was Wicked, Francesca’s endgame love interest is Michael Stirling, John’s cousin and best friend, who spends years quietly in love with her while she’s married to John.
After John’s sudden death, the book follows Fran’s long, messy journey through grief and guilt into eventually falling for Michael.
The show has taken that blueprint and gender‑swapped Michael into Michaela, turning Francesca’s second great love into a queer romance rather than another straight coupling. For some fans, that’s an exciting update; for others, it feels like the show is “changing” a beloved dynamic in a way they didn’t sign up for. But mostly people were being homophobic and racist with their responses to a change in a fictional story.
When PEDESTRIAN.TV spoke to Bridgerton showrunner Jess Brownell and Francesca herself, aka Hannah Dodd, ahead of season four, the mood from inside the Bridgerton machine was less “panic at the Ton” and more quiet confidence that they know exactly what they’re doing with this storyline.
“You know, I think part of the reason [Bridgerton is] so beloved is because it’s an inclusive romantic fantasy. And to have sexuality be inclusive as well was really important to me. So, I’m really excited to have one of our main lead storylines be a queer storyline in the future,” said Brownell.
Quinn weighed in on the discourse in 2024 with a statement acknowledging the gender switch of a major character is a huge change.
“Anyone who has seen an interview with me from the past four years knows that I am deeply committed to the Bridgerton world becoming more diverse and inclusive as the stories move from book to screen,” Quinn wrote.
“But switching the gender of a major character is a huge change, and so when Jess Brownell first approached me with the idea of turning Michael into Michaela for the show, I needed more information before conferring my agreement.
“I trust Shondaland’s vision for Bridgerton, but I wanted to be sure that we could remain true to the spirit of the book and of the characters.”
She went on to say, “I’m confident now that when Francesca has her Bridgerton season, it will be the most emotional and heart-wrenching story of the show, just like When He Was Wicked has always been the true tear-jerker of the Bridgerton book series.
“Honestly, it may pack even more of a punch, since John is getting a lot more time on the screen than he ever did on the page, and I think it’s fair to say we’ve all fallen a little bit in love with him.”
So basically, she said you freaks need to calm down and wait to see it play out…. Respectfully.
On the cast side, the energy is very different from the more toxic corners of socials. When P.TV asked Hannah Dodd directly about the online noise around the gender swap, she lit up.
“It’s so important to tell this story. I just think Bridgerton is a show that celebrates people and love, and everybody deserves the chance to see their love story on screen. So we’re so excited. I’m so honoured to get to tell that story at some point,” she shared.
“Over here it’s all celebrations.”
Structurally, season four has laid the tracks: John is gone, Francesca has been emotionally cracked open, and Michaela is positioned as the unresolved, confusing presence in her life.
All of that makes it pretty likely that Francesca’s storyline with Michaela will be the main focus of season five. However, if they choose to hold her back a little longer, it will almost certainly become the emotional centre of season six instead, since the show has already been renewed that far.
Either way, the set‑up is there for Fran and Michaela’s love story to finally take centre stage after one of the roughest journeys of any Bridgerton sibling. She’s been the quiet girl, the side character, the grieving widow. At this point, the least the show can do is let Francesca Bridgerton (and viewers) have some queer joy.
Lead image: Bridgerton
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