'Bridgerton' Showrunner Defends Gender-Swapped Character: 'Fertile Ground to Tell a Queer Story'

Spoiler alert: This story includes details Season 3 of Netflix's "Bridgerton".

Fans of "Bridgerton" are not happy with showrunner Jess Brownell's decision to gender-swap a fan-favorite character from the books, with a Change.org petition against the change gaining over 36,000 signatures.

Soon after Season 3 wrapped, Brownell revealed that Francesca Bridgerton's story will deviate from the book "When He Was Wicked," with the male protagonist Michael Stirling replaced by Michaela Stirling, a queer character who made a brief appearance at the end of Season 3.

The backlash:

A petition demanding the original character be brought back calls the change a "travesty."

"Bridgerton" author Julia Quinn responded to the controversy on Facebook, asking fans to "grant us some faith as we move forward." While acknowledging the change as a "huge shift," Quinn said she and Brownell discussed it at length, ensuring Francesca's love for John was shown on screen, and feeling confident that "it will be the most emotional and heart-wrenching story of the show."

The Queer Romance Twist:

Brownell, in an interview with Glamour, confirmed that Michaela will be Francesca's love interest, saying:

"I really related to ['When He Was Wicked'] as a queer woman because it talks a lot about how different [Francesca] feels...I felt like there was fertile ground thematically in her book to nod towards telling a queer story."

She added that it was important to give the couple a happy ending, as with every other pairing on the show.

What's next: Michaela and Francesca's story will likely be explored in Season 4, but no details have been released yet, except that fans may have to wait up to two years.