Why It Was Important To Have (Spoiler’s) Death As Part Of Benedict And Sophie’s 'Bridgerton' Season

Major, and I mean MAJOR, spoilers for "Bridgerton" Season 4 are ahead! Read with caution, and stream the series with a Netflix subscription.

If you are familiar with the "Bridgerton" novels, you’ve likely been living with a pit in your stomach since John Stirling was introduced in the book-to-screen adaptation, because you knew he’d have a short and tragic story. If you are unfamiliar with Julia Quinn’s books, you were likely in a state of shock when Francesca’s husband unexpectedly died in the middle of Season 4. Now, the showrunner has opened up to CinemaBlend about why they decided to put this tragically vital piece of Fran’s story in Benedict and Sophie’s season.

While John’s death is a major part of Francesca’s book, it was prominently featured in Benedict’s season of the show that’s been airing on Netflix’s 2026 schedule. Since Season 3, the series has been slowly giving us pieces of Francesca’s story, despite her not being the primary focus. So, when John died, we asked showrunner Jess Brownell about the impact this loss had on the show as a whole.