“Francesca was already the IT girl and now she’s gay??? Ohhh I’m seated #bridgerton.

” While another enthusiastically: “WELCOME MASALI BADUZA AS MICHAELA STIRLING WE ARE SO SO SO HAPPY AND DELIGHTED TO SEE HOW YOUR BEAUTIFUL LOVE STORY WITH FRANCESCA WILL PLAY OUT.

”Speaking to the press in April, Bronwell said, “This is a show about love in its many forms, and I think that it’s only right for us to foreground queer love and to tell queer stories.

I want to see more queer joy on my screens, and that was definitely a priority for me when I stepped into the showrunner role.

” She further elaborated during a recent interview, emphasizing the need for a gender-bending approach to the source material of the hit series.

“Queer audiences haven’t gotten the chance to see themselves represented in a major way on the show, which is a show that is in so many other ways so inclusive,” Brownell explained.

“So I would just ask people to channel some empathy for those viewers, and to understand the importance of us allowing those viewers to see themselves represented.

”Meanwhile, some have questioned whether Eloise may also find romance with another woman—especially given her chemistry with Cressida this season.

But Brownell seems to hint that path would be unlikely, as the intention was more about highlighting the validity of women who don’t prioritize romance.

“When we talked about it in the room, we felt like it was powerful actually that Eloise’s resistance to romance isn’t about her not having discovered the right gender so much as it is an authentic representation of the fact that she’s more interested in cerebral pursuits at this stage of her life,” Brownell explained.

“I wanted to hold space for that because not every young woman is solely interested in romance.

That’s not to say that Eloise won’t open up to love in the future, but for now, that’s I think, where she’s at.

”We hate to be the bearer of bad news, but season four is likely a few years away.

Observing previous seasons, there has been a two-year gap between each season: season one was released in December 2020, season two was released in March 2022, and season three in May 2024.

Showrunner Jess Brownell told the press that while they’re trying to speed things up between seasons, there’s a lot to factor in with such a high-level production.

“We are working to try and put the seasons out more quickly, but they do take eight months to film and then they have to be edited, and then they have to be dubbed into every language,” she shared.

“And the writing takes a very long time as well, so we’re kind of on a two-year pace, we’re trying to speed up but somewhere in that range.

” At this point in time, it seems likely season four will, at the earliest, hit Netflix in the latter half of 2025, or possibly early 2026.

Rest assured though, it’ll be well worth the wait.

Brownell, who also revealed that show writers have just about finished writing the script, shared it’s the franchise’s “best” work to date.

“I’m really excited about what we’re writing.

We’re towards the end with the writers' room season, with the scripts,” she shared.

“And I feel like it’s some of my best work and my writers' room’s best work.

We’ve just really gelled our collaboration, and we’re firing on all cylinders, so I can’t wait for fans to see what we have.

”For those who have forgotten, Bridgerton season three was all about the long-awaited friends-to-lovers arc of Polin—Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton, that is.

For a quick recap, during the final episodes of season three, we see Penelope and Colin finally achieve their happily-ever-after, though not without a little drama.

Just before the big day, Colin discovers that his fiancée is the audacious gossip columnist, Lady Whistledown.

Though he feels betrayed by her secret, and even after Penelope selflessly tells him to call off their engagement, Colin commits to marrying her—but it’s clear he still has some reservations about their impending marital union.

After a blackmail bid by Cressida, Penelope funds an opulent ball for her sisters, where she reveals to the rest of the Ton that she is Lady Whistledown, and begs for everyone’s forgiveness for how her gossip column affected many of them.

The Queen accepts her apology, and offers permission for Penelope to continue writing as Lady Whistledown—albeit, “more responsibly.

” So no, dearest reader, it’s not the end of Whistledown’s words, but the start of a new era of truth—“into the light,” as the episode title hints.

Fast-forward a year, and Colin and Penelope are now living their best lives.

They welcome a son, who becomes the heir to the Featherington dynasty, and it’s all happily-ever-after at last for the new family.

Also in the finale, Francesca Bridgerton (the sixth Bridgerton child, played by Hannah Dodd) ties the knot with John Stirling (Victor Alli), after making her society debut earlier in the season.

The pair leave for the Scottish Highlands, where he reigns as the Earl of Kilmartin.

Excited at the prospect of new adventures, independent older sister Eloise Bridgerton (Claudia Jessie) asks to join the couple at their new home—which suits John rather well, as he was also planning on asking his cousin to live there too.

Ahead of their big move, he introduces Francesca to Michaela Stirling (Masali Baduza)—an introduction which tingles with a faint touch of electricity, it seems.