Dearest readers, it has come to our attention that the Ton is severely lacking in centering queer relationships in Bridgerton despite the show’s reputation forchampioning diversity – even in the realms of its fantastical regency era setting. With LGBTQ+ representation on screen reportedly down for a second year in a row, though, Bridgerton’s new showrunner Jess Brownwell has alluded to including more queer love stories in future seasons of Bridgerton – and fans have a theory about which two characters we could see this story come to fruition for.
Taking over from Chris Van Dusen for Bridgerton Season 3, in an interview with Refinery29 Australia Brownwell said:
This is a show about the many ways in which people love, and it only feels right to [include] queer love, so we are exploring queer love stories across the next couple of seasons.
A lot of fans are still not pumped about the delay on Bridgerton Season 3, and unfortunately it sounds like this could be another waiting game. In fact, we won’t find out which characters could be involved in this specific storyline until the next season or beyond.
Still, fans have hope for one particular union. While the theory, much to my dismay, doesn’t revolve around Benedict Bridgerton who I, along with many other fans, crowned our Bi-King (after Season 1 alluded heavily to the second eldest’s particular proclivities), it does center on another of the siblings: Eloise.
From the word go, she has been resistant to the marriage mart, with many fans speculating whether Eloise might be gay, or even asexual. However, with the introduction of the printing shop apprentice, Theo, who Eloise had an, albeit brief, romantic storyline with, it seemed like dreams of a queer Bridgerton in the family might have been well and truly dashed.
However, fans think Eloise’s blossoming friendship with ex-arch nemesis Cressida Cowper, as seen so far in Season 3 Part 1, could be paving the foundations for something more.
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When CinemaBlend spoke to Claudia Jessie (Eloise), Jessica Madsen (Cressida), and Hannah Dodd (Francesca Bridgerton) about what’s next for their Bridgerton characters, Madsen reflected that Eloise is the first character Cressida can really talk to and be challenged by, concluding she’s one of few people in Cressida’s life that really shows her love, though she was quick to add “in the sense of friendship love”.
Still, it’s fair to say the scripts for the later Bridgerton seasons might still be in the works. That, and neither the cast nor the rest of the team behind Bridgerton will want to let slip future focal points until the rest of Season 3 is out, as per the 2024 TV schedule.
As Brownwell continued:
I don’t want to say exactly how that plays out, but it was, you know, important for me to foreground queer love and queer stories, and just to tell stories about queer joy as well. Because we have the privilege of living in this fantasy world, which means we can push back against some of the reality of what happened in the 1800s.
One thing is for sure: Brownwell may be keeping tightlipped about any real details of what we can expect from any future queer Bridgerton storylines, but it’s obvious that representation does matter to her.
And while we loved the Brimsley and Reynolds storyline in the prequel series Queen Charlotte, I’m hoping we’ll see an LGBTQ+ couple front and center in a future season of the show, whether it happens to be a Bridgerton sibling or not. If they can all but eradicate racism and are taking the care to explore a second-chance love story, why not celebrate the queer community in the ton?
While we’ll be hoping for new seasons to make haste, excitingly what Brownwell also appears to have revealed is the hope for more seasons beyond the already green-lit Season 4. Currently Bridgerton has only been renewed for a fourth season, but this comment from the showrunner certainly implies hope it won’t be the show’s last.