Why Bridgerton’s gender swap romance is a good thing

Julia Quinn has spoken out in favour of Bridgerton showrunner Jess Brownell's decision to change the gender of a key character from her books: Michael Stirling.

The character serves as a love interest for Francesca Bridgerton (Hannah Dodd) in When He Was Wicked, Michael is the cousin of Francesca's husband John Stirling (played by Victor Alli) whom she first meets when she is about to marry and later connects with after becoming widowed. The Netflix show's third season made a bold move in swapping the character's gender, introducing Francesca instead to Michaela (Masali Budaza) in the finale.

Michaela's introduction has drawn some criticism from fans of the book, with some claiming that the storyline won't work if the character is female and that making the change is "forced inclusion". This is why Quinn has chosen to defend the decision, sharing a statement on social media to say that viewers should "grant [her] and Shondaland team some faith".

She wrote: "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.

"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. Jess and I talked for a long time about it."

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The author went on: "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."

The decision may have caused some ire for certain fans of the franchise, but it may well prove to be Shondaland's best gamble yet. Why? Because it takes the series into a bold and interesting new direction that it hasn't had the chance to explore in detail yet.

Bridgerton's TV adaptation has championed diverse storytelling since the beginning, with Quinn's regency era novels being recreated with a modern worldview — Simon Basset was not depicted in the first season as a white man as he is in The Duke and I, he was played by British-Zimbabwean actor Regé-Jean Page.

The decision was celebrated at the time for doing something new and exciting with the period drama genre, and it was soon followed in the second season by the decision to change Kate Sheffield to Kate Sharma. Simone Ashley played the character, and Kate's Indian heritage became an important part in her story with Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) in seasons 2 and 3.

The casting was a success, and wasn't even the biggest change made to the adaptation of the second Bridgerton book, The Viscount Who Loved Me, so why should making Michael Michaela be such an issue?

For some book fans the decision to genderswap Michael comes down to the storyline of When He Was Wicked, which, amongst other things, sees Francesca struggle with conceiving. The argument is that if she faces this with Michaela rather than Michael then it won't make sense, but it seems perfectly plausible for two women to share in the struggle of infertility together.

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If anything, it might make the story even more relatable if done through two female characters, and it'd also be compelling to see Francesca be supported through this with another woman. If it is explored sensitively then audiences will get to understand a different point of view on the subject to, say, Daphne's desire and struggle to have a child (though that was difficult for an entirely different reason).

Being queer in the regency era also feels challenging enough but to want children together as a queer couple will be even more so. It'd be intriguing to see what Bridgerton can do with a narrative like this, and it's exciting to be given something fresh and interesting too in a franchise that has already begun to be seen as formulaic for critics.

In order to reflect the modern world it seems only fair that the show begins to explore queer romances in some way, and Season 3 delivered on the promise of this in two ways — firstly through Francesca and Michaela, and secondly through Benedict's bisexuality. For the show to have a meaningful exploration of what it means to be queer and the different types of relationships that can encompass it then having two storylines seems like the right move.

Like Quinn said in her statement, maybe viewers should trust in the vision that she and Shondaland have for Francesca and Michaela. It may not seem like it'll work on paper, but it could well be the best decision yet for the series.

Bridgerton seasons 1 to 3 are available on Netflix now.