Hannah Dodd is all for Bridgerton‘s decision to gender-swap Francesca’s love interest from Michael to Michaela twist.
“I’m so proud to tell this story. It’s a show about people, and everyone deserves representation on screen,” Dodd, 29, told Harper’s Bazaar Australia in an article published on Thursday, July 25. “It’s amazing that my character can bring happiness to those who usually suffer. That makes me so happy.”
Dodd applauded Bridgerton for prioritizing inclusivity, adding, “It’s just so nice. I don’t think I can really get my head around it, but I know that characters do that for people.”
“I know that Bridgerton is a comfort show for people, and going on those press tours and meeting people and seeing how much they love the show is so beautiful,” she continued,” It’s crazy to me that my character would make somebody [who’s used to suffering] happy.”
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Season 3 of the hit Netflix series expanded on Francesca’s love story by having her meet her now-husband, John (Victor Alli), during her debut into society. By the end of part two, Francesca and John were making plans to move to his native Scotland with his cousin Michaela (Masali Baduza). The book about Francesca’s romance, however, actually followed her relationship with John’s cousin Michael, which upset certain readers.
Showrunner Jess Brownell has since revealed that it was always the plan to explore Francesca’s sexuality.
“The reveal of Michaela vs. Michael — from the books — is something that I’ve been pitching from season 1 of the show,” Brownell revealed to Teen Vogue in June. “My approach to telling a queer story on Bridgerton has been to look to the books for thematic cues. I didn’t want to just insert a queer character for queer character’s sake.”
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Brownell clarified that she received support from Julia Quinn — who penned the Bridgerton novels — before making it official.
“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,” she continued at the time. “In, for example, deciding to tell a queer story with Francesca, I spoke with Julia Quinn, I got her blessing.”
Brownell added: “We 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.”
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Quinn issued her own statement after certain book fans got frustrated with how her When He Was Wicked novel would be adapted.
“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,” she wrote via Instagram in June. “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.”
Bridgerton is currently streaming on Netflix.
