Showrunner Jess Brownell defends the major change to Francesca’s romance in Bridgerton season 3. Each season of Netflix’s series, based on the best-selling books by Julia Quinn, follows a different sibling of the noble and powerful Bridgerton family as they navigate London high society in search of love. Bridgerton season 3 part 2, which was released on June 13, concludes the eagerly-awaited friends-to-lovers storyline between Colin and Penelope Featherington, and by gender-swapping a brand-new character, makes some major changes to Francesca’s future romance.

In an interview with Glamour, Brownell defended changing Michael Stirling to Michaela in Bridgerton season 3. The showrunner, who replaced Van Dusen for the third season, says the change will allow the show to provide representation for “queer audiences.” However, despite the major change, they still intend “to honor the themes of the book as much as possible.” Read Brownell’s full comments below:

I know for people who love the book When He Was Wicked, that for a lot of people Michael Stirling is one of their favorite characters. I understand that people are going to have feelings about the fact that this character won’t appear exactly as they expected. But first of all, we are going to try to honor the themes of the book as much as possible. Obviously, some changes will have to be made to the storyline, but there are ways to honor a lot of the book. I would also just say that the book still stands. Michael Stirling still exists in book world. Whereas, 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. 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.

What To Expect From Francesca’s Romance In Bridgerton 4 (Or Beyond)

Season 4’s Lead Is Still Unconfirmed.

While this may seem insignificant, in the sixth book When He Was Wicked , Francesca’s marriage to John ends unexpectedly, leading to her romance with Michael, who will instead be Michaela in the show.

Bridgerton season 4 has officially been renewed by Netflix, and Brownell has confirmed the lead will either be Benedict, Eloise, or Francesca. In season 3, Francesca emerges as a surprisingly strong candidate for season 4’s lead. She marries John Stirling and moves to Scotland. Meanwhile, Lord Kilmartin’s cousin, Michaela Stirling (played by Masali Baduza) is introduced, a major change from Michael in the book. While this may seem insignificant, in the sixth book When He Was Wicked, Francesca’s marriage to John ends unexpectedly, leading to her romance with Michael, who will instead be Michaela in the show.

By changing Michael to Michaela, Bridgeton will be able to tackle Francesca’s LGBTQ+ romance in season 4 or beyond, diverging from the books. Brownell urges understanding and empathy from viewers who may be disappointed with the change to Michael Sterling’s character, but also highlights the importance of representation, especially for queer audiences, who have been historically underrepresented. Despite these changes, the showrunner says they will strive to preserve the essence of the themes in the book as much as possible.

Francesca and Michaela might not be the only LGBTQ+ romance seen in a future season of Bridgerton. The show has long hinted at Benedict being bisexual and after season 3 saw his first on-screen kiss with a man, Brownell says he might be better described as “pansexual.” Bridgerton season 3 sets up LGBTQ+ romances for both Benedict and Francesca, breaking from the tradition of the books, but as Brownell argues, it’s for the sake of queer representation.

Bridgerton is streaming on Netflix.