Bridgerton showrunner Jess Brownell spoke out after the decision to make Francesca and Michaela the season 5 leads received backlash from some viewers.
“I’m very happy for people to discuss and debate the show and our approach to adapting the books. But I want to state really plainly, there is no place for homophobia or racism or any form of bigotry in the Bridgerton world,” Brownell told Tudum on Tuesday, March 24. “Bridgerton is about love and inclusivity.”
Brownell specifically defended actors Masali Baduza and Hannah Dodd, whose characters will be the central focus of the upcoming season.
“Masali and Hannah and all of our cast and crew deserve nothing but positivity and love,” she continued. “It’s been beautiful to see the way fans have already started rallying around them, and I can’t wait to watch that love grow.”
Netflix confirmed on Tuesday that season 5 — which is already in production — will put Francesca’s (Dodd) love story with Michaela (Baduza) in the spotlight.
“I’ve said from the beginning that this show, in so many ways, is about allowing people to see themselves represented, allowing themselves to dream, and imagine themselves in these fantastical roles,” Brownell shared. “It never felt right to not be inclusive of queer love as well within that fantasy.”
Brownell reflected on the project’s “groundbreaking” storytelling, adding, “Obviously, there are a lot of great shows that have depicted queer love. We’re not the first by any means. But to make an entire Bridgerton season about a sapphic relationship feels huge.”
Bridgerton has been known to prompt strong reactions from viewers since it premiered in 2020. While fans have been upset about the order of the seasons not following the books, there was a larger backlash when season 3 of the hit Netflix series introduced Francesca to her husband, John (Victor Alli).
Francesca and John’s blissful marriage was short-lived when he ultimately died one season later. The detail that received negative responses, however, had to do with John’s cousin Michaela — who is written as Michael in Julia Quinn’s book about Francesca’s romance,When He Was Wicked.
“What is most exciting about season 5 is that it is going to be a season about queer joy. It is not going to be a season about queer trauma,” Brownell noted to Tudum. “There are going to be difficulties for the characters and conflict in the same way there is for every Bridgerton character. But we are still always grounding our love stories in the fact that this series is about joy. It’s about humor.”
She continued: “And, if there’s anything really specific about this season, it is the yearning. It’s big time yearning. Those of us who know what it’s like to be in a sapphic relationship or have a sapphic crush understand that’s so baked into the experience. We had a lot of fun in the writers room for season 5 talking about what is really specific to women-loving-women relationships. Like the moment where you think, like, ‘Oh gosh, are we just friends? Or is this more?’ You know, the gay panic. We’re having so much fun with it this season!”
Bridgerton is currently streaming on Netflix.
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