Bridgerton Has Recast The Role Of Francesca For Season 3

When "Bridgerton" first arrived on Netflix in December 2020, the streaming service probably had no idea that it would quickly become a pop culture phenomenon. The period drama is based on the series of romance novels by Julia Quinn, and it follows the titular family in the Regency era as the various Bridgerton children try and find love. Season 1 was hugely successful thanks to its raunchy storylines, which propelled the likes of Regé-Jean Page to international stardom (via IndieWire). Although there was a long wait for the show's second outing, Netflix subscribers racked up an unbelievable amount of hours watching Season 2 when it premiered back in March 2022.

The show's incredible popularity means that more installments are on the way, including a prequel series following Queen Charlotte's (Golda Rosheuvel) history. Season 3 is currently in development and will start filming later in the summer, so it should hopefully arrive in mid-2023 (via Variety). But in a surprising casting announcement, "Bridgerton" has recast the role of Francesca, who's played by Ruby Stokes in the first two seasons.

Yes, fans are getting a new version of Francesca when "Bridgerton" Season 3 eventually arrives on our screens. So far, the third-youngest member of the family has only appeared in five episodes altogether across both seasons, and since Ruby Stokes has a leading role on Netflix's upcoming supernatural thriller series, "Lockwood & Co.," it isn't so surprising that "Bridgerton" has recast the role.

Hannah Dodd is set to join the family as Francesca in Season 3 (via Variety) and the news suggests that she'll have a much bigger part to play this time around. Dodd has previously appeared in "Harlots" and "Anatomy of a Scandal" — but she'll also join "Stranger Things" star Millie Bobby Brown for "Enola Holmes 2."

Francesca gets the spotlight in Julia Quinn's sixth "Bridgerton" book, "When He Was Wicked," so it's entirely possible that Season 3 will borrow some plot points from the 2004 novel. The story sees Francesca fall for Michael Stirling, even though she's due to marry his cousin — so there's clearly enough drama there to last an entire season.