Bridgerton showrunner Jess Brownell has shared her take on Benedict’s sexuality and hinted at what his character arc might look going forward.
While the second eldest Bridgerton brother (played by Luke Thompson) was not the primary focus of season three, the character still underwent some pretty big transformations of his own over the course of its eight episode.
In the second half of the new season, Benedict’s relationship with Tilley Arnold develops further, when he accepts the offer of a threesome with Paul Suarez, allowing him to explore his sexuality.
Speaking to Teen Vogue, Jess said that Benedict’s sexuality is “not a fixed belief for him”, and clarified that “in modern terms he might be described as pansexual, someone for whom gender doesn’t really matter”.
She added that the season ended with some “clues” about where things are heading with Benedict, and that “there’s a lot more to come from his storyline”.
“We’ll continue exploring his fluidity, and we’re continuing to explore his relationship to what he wants out of life,” she explained.
Jess revealed that she believes Benedict has “real commitment issues”, and hinted that they plan to explore him in more “depth” in the future.
In a separate interview with Variety, the Bridgerton boss said that it “made sense to me” that Benedict would be queer.
“He’s not just open-minded, it’s that he seems like the type of person who wouldn’t be as concerned with gender – someone who might be more fluid and pansexual,” she said. “He’s really attracted to someone’s spirit.”
Elsewhere in her interview with Teen Vogue, Jess opened up about one of season three’s biggest talking points – when Francesca was introduced to Michaela, who is a gender-swapped version of Michael, her love interest from the original book series.
“I didn’t want to just insert a queer character for queer character’s sake. I want to tell a story that accurately reflects a queer experience, and the first time I read Francesca’s book, I really identified with it as a queer woman,” she told Teen Vogue.
Bridgerton fans were disappointed to find out last week that they might be waiting until 2026 for any new episodes.
In the meantime, all three seasons of Bridgerton are available to stream now on Netflix.