Bridgerton creators address speculation about queer love stories in season 4

So much to look forward to

Bridgerton's Hannah Dodd
(Image credit: Courtesy of Netflix)

This article contains season 3 spoilers.

Bridgerton season 4 has many exciting surprises in store for us, as you might imagine.

Firstly, if you've read the book series, you've probably already noticed that the character of Michael Stirling — Francesca Bridgerton's future husband — became Michaela Stirling in the season 3 finale, pointing to a future queer romance for the sixth Bridgerton sibling.

Then there was of course Benedict Bridgerton's throuple storyline with Lady Tilley Arnold and Paul Suarez.

Speaking to TVLine about Benedict, Bridgerton showrunner Jess Brownell said that the series' writers "talk about him as being pansexual [and] the idea that for him, gender is not that important when he is finding attraction."

She continued: "And while his throuple chapter with Tilley and Paul seems to have come to a close at the end of the season, we’re certainly not done exploring that part of his personality. As all queer people know, your queerness is always a part of you, no matter who you end up with."

In the interview, Jess also addressed the matter of Eloise Bridgerton, who many viewers believe might be queer, and stressed that for the moment, they don't want to focus on romance for that character at all. "We felt it’s really important to hold space in this show where everyone is obsessed with romance for there to be a character — specifically a female character — for whom that is not the priority," Jess explained.

Part 2 of season 3 was released on 13 June, and unfortunately we'd advise not holding your breath for the next season. According to previous comments from the showrunner, we can probably expect the next season to land on Netflix in 2026, though there's no official release date for the moment.

Still, if Jess' comments are anything to go by, it'll be more than worth the wait.

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Iris Goldsztajn
Iris Goldsztajn is a celebrity and royal news writer for Marie Claire. As a London-based freelance journalist, she writes about wellness, relationships, pop culture, beauty and more for the likes of InStyle, Women's Health, Bustle, Stylist and Red. Aside from her quasi-personal investment in celebs' comings and goings, Iris is especially interested in debunking diet culture and destigmatising mental health struggles. Previously, she was the associate editor for Her Campus, where she oversaw the style and beauty news sections, as well as producing gift guides, personal essays and celebrity interviews. There, she worked remotely from Los Angeles, after returning from a three-month stint as an editorial intern for Cosmopolitan.com in New York. As an undergraduate at the University of California, Los Angeles, she interned at goop and C California Style and served as Her Campus' national style and LGBTQ+ editor. Iris was born and raised in France by a French father and an English mother. Her Spotify Wrapped is riddled with country music and One Direction, and she can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.