Bridgerton author Julia Quinn gave the TV show her 'blessing' to gender-swap Michael

Now that the remaining four episodes of Bridgerton season 3 are finally streaming on Netflix, fans haven't stopped talking about what all happened in them. As expected, one of the main topics of discussion concerns a new character that's introduced at the very end of the season 3 finale. We're talking about Michaela Stirling (Masali Baduza), who book fans might recognize to be the gender-swapped version of the beloved character Michael Stirling.

Spoilers ahead from Bridgerton season 3 and the When He Was Wicked book!

Viewers are introduced to the Michaela character at Prudence and Phillipa's ball in the season 3 finale. As Eloise talks to Francesca about joining her and John on their trip to John's Scotland estate, John approaches them with his female cousin. Francesca informs John that Eloise will be tagging along on their trip and then John tells her that his cousin will be joining them as well. That cousin introduces herself as Michaela Stirling, and Francesca is instantly flustered by her.

Book fans know that in the When He Was Wicked book, Francesca eventually ends up with John's male cousin, Michael, after John passes away, but with him being gender-swapped in the series, this will surely switch things around. While this big change has been met with much praise, it has also been met with fan backlash with some fans arguing that the gender-swap is "ruining" the Michael character.

However, I personally welcome this divergence from the books and can't wait to see a queer love story explored in Bridgerton, especially with it taking center stage instead of as a side storyline. And it looks like Bridgerton author Julia Quinn is okay with it as well seeing as though she reportedly gave the approval for making the change.

Bridgerton season 3 showrunner Jess Brownell spoke with Teen Vogue in June 2024 and shared that Quinn actually gave her her "blessing" in telling a queer love story for Francesca. She said that she and Quinn had talks about fan reactions to this change and ultimately came to the conclusion that they're not going to be able to make every fan happy.

"The fact of the matter is, the fan base is not a monolith, and you're never going to please every single side of the fan base."

- Jess Brownell

She tells Teen Vogue, "We [Brownell and Quinn] talked about the fact that with almost any single book, there would be a side of the fandom that would be disheartened to see their favorite characters changed. I don't think that there is any book that wouldn't happen with, so for me, again, it came back to story, and it came back to character. Because Francesca's book resonated [with me] in the way that it did, it felt like a natural adaptation."

Brownell also states in the interview that she had been pitching this gender-swap of Michael to Michaela since the very first season of the period drama. She explained to Teen Vogue that she didn't want to include a queer character in the show for just inclusion purposes. She explained how important it is to her that she "accurately reflects a queer experience" in the show.

"I think it was important for me in planning a queer story to think about how we might be able to tell a happily ever after and show queer joy, which we don't always get to see in period pieces. "

- Jess Brownell

Bridgerton takes place during the 19th century, a time when queer romance was looked down on. However, it looks like Brownell and the rest of the writers intend to still tell a beautiful queer love story regardless. I mean, the period drama is known for not completely following real history, so anything is possible.

Bridgerton season 3 is streaming now only on Netflix. Also, make sure to stay tuned to Netflix Life for any new updates on the upcoming Bridgerton season 4!