Bridgerton Showrunner Explained Season 4’s Big Whistledown Twist

Spoilers ahead for Bridgerton Season 4. “A very different author” shook up the ton in the final moments of Bridgerton Season 4. Not even book readers were prepared to see a new Lady Whistledown announce herself to society. It marked a major departure from Julia Quinn’s source material, which is just what the Netflix series’ writers wanted.

Keeping Fans Guessing

Bridgerton stayed true to the book series by having Penelope (Nicola Coughlan) serve as its original Lady Whistledown. Her identity remains a mystery until the fourth book, Romancing Mister Bridgerton, when the reveal brings about the end of her famous scandal sheet. Knowing that information was out there for viewers to find, showrunner Jess Brownell and the writers came up with a surprise.

“Penelope was Julia Quinn’s Whistledown, so we knew we couldn’t really play with that reveal for too long because people could just Google it,” Brownell recently told Netflix’s Tudum. “But now, we get to play with audience expectations.”

And do expect the writers to have fun toying with viewers in the seasons to come. Speaking to Business Insider about the twist, Brownell teased “a genuine mystery with red herrings and clues and whatnot about who Whistledown might be.”

Although the show could have moved on without a new Lady Whistledown, Brownell told Tudum that she enjoys being able to “explore the lives of these women who do work” in a society that limited women’s opportunities. “Showing that there were women who didn’t just settle for what was handed to them, but tried their very best to make more of their station, it broadens the female experience in the show,” she added.

Taking A Lesson From Gossip Girl

Fans already have theories about the new Lady Whistledown, and they can rest assured that Brownell and the writers will keep feeding them hints. “I think there are some incredibly subtle clues that I wouldn’t necessarily expect people to pick up on,” she told Business Insider.

The goal is for the hints to eventually lead to a surprising but satisfying conclusion to the Whistledown mystery. Brownell addressed Gossip Girl’s controversial reveal of its titular blogger in 2012 and indicated she wants Bridgerton’s to play out differently.

“I don’t want to speak ill of our predecessors,” she said, “but I know that there were some feelings around like, ‘Wait, what, Dan?’ So, I do think it is important to have clarity of suspect.”