“Bridgerton” author Julia Quinn encourages fans to look at the bright side of Benedict’s love story being pushed back for Colin and Penelope’s in the next season.
Season 3 of the Netflix drama series will adapt the fourth book in Quinn’s series, “Romancing Mister Bridgerton” which features Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlin) and Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) instead of the storyline from the third book, “An Offer from a Gentleman.”
“I think they had just felt they had laid down so much groundwork because we already know Penelope,” Quinn told Business Insider of the shift in narrative.
Benedict has previously had romantic flings with both the Modiste Genevieve (Kathryn Drysdale) and a male artist Henry Granville, leading fans to wonder if he could be bisexual.
Showrunner Chris Van Dusen clarified those Season 1 scenes in an interview with TVLine.
“I’ve seen a lot of discussion about Benedict’s sexuality in Season 1, but the storyline [of him befriending] Henry was really about tolerance in a really intolerant time, and showing Benedict in that world,” he said. “I love the story in Season 1 and would love to continue it into the future.”
In the books, Benedict ends up with a woman, Sophie Beckett.
“We haven’t met Benedict’s love interest. I suppose people are gonna say they could have introduced her, but the fact of the matter is, we haven’t. So, I think they felt it was time,” Quinn said. “What I try to tell people is, look, once a character has their season, we don’t see them as much, right? So, if you love Benedict, you want him to wait as long as possible.”
Following Colin and Penelope in Quinn’s series, the order picks up with Eloise and Sir Phillip, Francesca and Michael, Hyacinth and Gareth and Gregory and Lucy.
“I don’t know if he could go after Hyacinth and Gregory because they’re so little but still push him back so we get more Benedict this way,” Quinn added.
Shonda Rhimes also changed up the narrative by inserting the “Queen Charlotte” prequel series, co-authoring a tie-in book with Julia Quinn that released Tuesday. According to Buzzfeed, Golda Rosheuvel, who plays the version of Queen Charlotte present in both “Bridgerton” and “Queen Charlotte” revealed that she filmed the next season of “Bridgerton” concurrently with her parts in “Queen Charlotte.”
