After three seasons of classical Ariana Grande covers and Regency-era glittery eyeshadow, Bridgerton has finally added some long overdue queerness to its fantasy world.
Although the hit Netflix show’s 2023 spin-off series Queen Charlotte introduced a secret romance between two butlers, this is somehow the first time that the main show has featured any canonical LGBTQ+ representation among its central cast since premiering in 2020. But hey, at least the show’s writers are finally doubling down!
In a welcome change from the original books — which, mind you, were published in the early aughts — the final few episodes of Bridgerton season 3 confirmed that not one, but two of the main family’s eight children are queer, which makes sense. Statistically, are we really supposed to believe that, out of that many kids, all of them would be Kinsey Scale zeroes?! Grow up!
Bridgerton fans have been speculating that second eldest son Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) was bisexual ever since his pretty obvious flirtations with a gay artist back in the show’s first season. The penultimate episode of season 3 finally confirmed that long-held theory, as Benedict entered into a threesome with his season-long love interest, widow and noted woman in STEM Tilley Arnold (Hannah New), and her lover, Paul (Lucas Aurelio).
“There is so much in society that is unnatural,” Tilley tells Benedict at one point. “But a feeling between two people, whatever their sex, is the most natural thing in the world.”
Many fans have been hoping for a canonically queer Benedict for years, yet the show’s second major LGBTQ+ reveal was much more of a surprise. While there’s been plenty of theorizing that the fiercely independent Eloise Bridgerton (Claudia Jessie) would find love with her new best friend Cressida Cowper (Jessica Madsen) after three seasons of shunning the marriage mart, it’s actually younger sister Francesca Bridgerton (Hannah Dodd) who appears to be getting a queer storyline.
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If you haven’t read the Bridgerton books, a bit of (spoiler-y) context for the source material: Like in the show, Francesca marries sweet fellow introvert John Sterling (Victor Ali). However, after John unexpectedly dies years into their marriage, Francesca eventually falls in love with John’s cousin and best friend, Michael Sterling. So imagine viewers’ surprise when that character was introduced in the season 3 finale not as Michael, but as Michaela (played by newcomer Masali Baduza).
This welcome twist left plenty of viewers overjoyed, even if a vocal subset of the fandom complained that the change would fundamentally alter Michael/Michaela’s character and erase Francesca’s struggles with infertility from the book. I’d like to remind those viewers that queer people can (gasp!) also deal with fertility issues, and in the fantasy world of the show, still have satisfying romances. Plus, this line from the book is already gay as hell: “This thing between them wasn't just passion, and it wasn’t wicked — it was love, and it was divine.”
In a recent interview with Glamour, showrunner Jess Brownell shared that the inspiration for these tweaks to Francesca’s story came from relating to her book as a queer woman herself.
“[Francesca’s book] talks a lot about how different she feels… For many of us in the queer community, that sense of feeling different is part of our stores,” Brownell said. “[...] There are also some elements of her story that allow us to make sure we can tell a pretty happy ending for Francesca and Michaela. It was important for me in telling a main queer story for us to be able to give them a happily ever after, as we have with every couple.”
Brownell added to Harper’s Bazaar that, in the future, she’d like to tell an “origin story” about how the Bridgerton world becomes more queer-friendly, similar to the way in which Queen Charlotte showed how the original series’ racial diversity came to be.
“I just felt like I couldn’t change the rules suddenly,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean that I don’t want to work toward a more inclusive fantasy.”
The implicit yearning and search for love amid restrictive societal norms present in Regency romances have made them resonate with queer audiences for years, but it’s only in recent years that the subgenre has started to return the favor in the mainstream. The latest season of Doctor Who recently aired a Regency-era episode in which Ncuti Gatwa’s titular character shared an intimate dance and a smooch with a suave gentleman played by Jonathan Groff. While the Apple series The Buccaneers technically takes place decades later in the 1870s, it delivered a similar queer historical romance, telling a central love story between two young women (one of whom is played by trans actress Josie Totah).
It’s nice that Hollywood is finally starting to recognize that tension-filled finger brushes and bodice-ripping are also, in fact, for the queers.
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