This article contains spoilers for Season 4, Part 2 of Netflix’s “Bridgerton.”
Hannah Dodd remembers auditioning “quite intensely” for the first season of “Bridgerton.” The English actress, 30, was up for the role of Daphne Bridgerton, one of the protagonists in Season 1 of the period romance series. But it was fated that Dodd lost the role to Phoebe Dynevor because a few years later Dodd was invited to film a self-tape for a “very secretive” project.
“I had no idea it was ‘Bridgerton’ again,” Dodd says, speaking at London’s 180 House in mid-February. We’ve selected a remote table at the members club to avoid anyone overhearing spoilers, but everyone is too wrapped up in their own conversations to notice what Dodd is disclosing about Part 2 of Season 4, which debuted on Netflix on Thursday.
Several months went by before Dodd learned the project was, in fact, “Bridgerton.” “Part of me was like, ‘Oh, do I want to go through that again?’” she says. “But I genuinely loved the material. A few days later I met with the team at Shondaland and a week after that I was at piano lessons.”
“We had seen hundreds of people and no one had felt quite right,” explains showrunner Jess Brownell, speaking later over Zoom from Los Angeles. “We saw Hannah really late in the process and we instantly knew. She is such a subtle actor. She’s able to play shyness without seeming weak and you sense she has an inner strength that’s waiting to blossom, which was really necessary for a character who starts out in Season 3 as quite shy and reserved. But from this season and beyond, she’s a character who goes through quite a bit and is going to have a fierceness to her to survive it.”
Dodd was cast as Francesca Bridgerton for its third season, replacing Ruby Stokes, who had played the role in the first two seasons and departed due to scheduling issues. Dodd felt some pressure sliding into the already existing Bridgerton family.
“Their chemistry was incredible and I could see from interviews that they seemed to absolutely love each other,” Dodd says. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, how do I join that and make sure that I have that chemistry?’ But the cast are so lovely and made me feel at home straight away.”
The events surrounding Francesca in the first four seasons largely exist before those in Julia Quinn’s novel “When He Was Wicked,” known among fans as “Francesca’s book.” In Season 3, Francesca made her debut into the Ton and eventually found an unexpected connection with John Stirling, the Earl of Kilmartin (Victor Alli). By the beginning of Season 4, the couple have married and settled down in his London home. In Part 2, John tragically dies. Almost all of Francesca’s story so far has been imagined by the show’s writers.
“People who have read the books understand that none of what they’ve seen so far happens in the books,” Dodd says. “You don’t get to see her on the marriage mart. In Chapter 1 of her book, John dies and her story starts after that.”
“John’s alive for about 10 pages of the book and then there’s a time jump, so we’re not spending a ton of time in what her immediate grief feels like,” Brownell adds. “But it’s enough that we had some clues from Julia Quinn about how she might react.”
Dodd and her fellow cast members were anticipating John’s death, but they didn’t quite know how it would unfold until they received the scripts for Episodes 6 and 7. By that time in the “Bridgerton” production schedule, Dodd was simultaneously filming Season 4 and in rehearsals to play Sally Bowles in a West End production of “Cabaret.” She remembers it as a “very intense” time.
“It was two very big productions and I was working six or seven days a week filming and rehearsing,” she recalls. “I shot the funeral scene and went into tech rehearsals the next day. They’re such polar opposite characters, too.”
In Episode 7, Francesca is faced with the reality of John’s death. The episode brings her family together for the funeral alongside John’s cousin Michaela Stirling (Masali Baduza), who has been staying with them in London. Brownell wanted the funeral to occur later in the season to ensure there was enough time for Francesca’s relationships with both John and Michaela to evolve. She also didn’t want to draw focus from Benedict and Sophie, the season’s primary couple.
“Episode 7 is also the place in the story where Benedict and Sophie would naturally be apart,” Brownell says. “The funeral became really helpful story-wise to add external pressure that allows Benedict and Sophie some perspective on their situation.”
Dodd found the funeral especially tricky. While the actor is an emotional person at heart, Francesca is not. The character tends to repress her feelings, and her initial reaction to John’s death is stoic and reserved. Dodd was worried fans might assume Francesca didn’t love John.
“I had to stop myself from crying a lot,” Dodd says. “It felt really bizarre being the only one in the room not crying. But she holds everything in. Francesca feels so vulnerable day to day, and John is someone who makes her feel safe. When there is that kind of wall up, there’s eventually going to be a big breakdown.”
Today’s audiences might see Francesca as cold, but Brownell says in that era, you weren’t supposed to cry at funerals.
“In fact, for someone like Michaela to be weeping openly at a funeral was incredibly taboo,” she says. “And sometimes when I see people really locked into their emotions in a big way immediately after a death on TV, it doesn’t feel real to me. So, actually, Regency rules are representative of the way some people respond to grief.”
Francesca later breaks down to her mother, Violet (Ruth Gemmell). The emotional outpouring comes after Francesca realizes she’s not pregnant — a hopeful assumption that leads to a traumatizing and invasive examination. Although she and Violet now share something in common, having both lost their husbands; Violet was left with eight children, whereas Francesca has none.
“They’ve experienced the same thing,” Dodd says. “I love that scene because Francesca turns around and says, ‘We’re not the same.’ But they are the same, just in very different positions. It was a tough day because we did it a lot and that can be quite exhausting. It felt like a big scene that I really wanted to get right.”
Over the course of Part 2, Francesca develops a connection with Michaela, John’s much more outgoing cousin who will later become her romantic interest. In the book, Michaela is Michael. Brownell, who took over as showrunner for Season 3, always knew she wanted to tell a queer love story.
“That was the first conversation I ever had with Shonda Rhimes,” Brownell says. “It’s already mattered so much to so many people to see themselves on-screen with the show in other ways and it’s only right for queer people to also get to see themselves in a show touted as being an inclusive fantasy.”
The show’s intention became apparent at the end of Season 3, when Michaela was introduced. There was a wave of excitement from many fans, but also some online backlash.
“It’s definitely been a lesson in getting some distance from the internet,” Dodd says. “What I always want to add to the conversation is how happy people are and that there are a lot of people who are so excited and feel so represented and included. And how special it is that it is a lead storyline. Francesca’s story is a book of grief. It’s a book of self-discovery and guilt and confusion and love.”
Dodd did chemistry reads with the actors brought in to play John and Michaela before Season 3 started filming. “It was really weird being on that side of the audition process,” she says. “I didn’t get a final say, but Masali was incredible. She had just gotten off a plane from South Africa and it was a real lesson in auditioning for me.”
Initially, Francesca doesn’t like Michaela. But they soon find a middle ground. Michaela’s verve for life helps to enliven Francesca, especially after John’s death. Michaela is emotionally open and unguided by societal rules, which makes Francesca uncomfortable.
“It’s quite relatable to have somebody who lives life very differently to you,” Dodd says. “You’re like, ‘Why do you get to be late? Why don’t the rules apply to you?’ Michaela gets to show up whenever she wants. People don’t always follow those rules of society and that bothers Francesca, because she’s always lived her life that way. It’s a really interesting dynamic and there’s a lot to explore there.”
Brownell wanted the characters to end the season as pals. But there is a glimmer of something else there.
“We wanted to see how these two become friends,” she says. “They genuinely find a beautiful platonic friendship between them before John’s death. But then Michaela makes the decision to leave in Episode 8.”
Brownell says we’ll understand Michaela’s decision more in future seasons.
“Her leaving is yet another blow to Francesca, who has been through so much,” Dodd adds. “It’s devastating.”
It’s not yet confirmed which book will be adapted for Season 5, but Brownell is already in the writing process and knows where she wants the narrative to go. “Grief is not a one and done nor is it a linear process,” she says. “We feel tremendous love and respect for the relationship that Francesca and John had, so we’re not done processing that grief.”
Being part of “Bridgerton” has been life-changing for Dodd, who started her career as a professional dancer. She made her TV debut in 2018 on “Find Me in Paris” and was subsequently cast in “Harlots” and “Anatomy of a Scandal.” She admits to still having imposter syndrome as an actor. But instead of succumbing to the pressure, she lets it motivate her.
“Finding the next job is always so stressful,” she says. “I remember the time when I was like, ‘I want acting to be my job. I don’t really care what that looks like.’ That’s ultimately come true and ‘Bridgerton’ has done that for me. Now it really does feel like going home every season.”
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