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As Brownell's reply above indicates, it hasn't yet been decided yet how Bridgerton season 4 will treat the voice of Lady Whistledown, the narrator of the show. While Lady Whistledown's identity has been a major narrative component in all three seasons so far, it takes front stage in season three as Penelope tries to combine her alter ego with her love life and friendships. Future seasons clearly present a difficult challenge with the season 3 ending having Penelope come open about her alter personality and basically retire the Lady Whistledown persona.
Brownell recently disclosed that although Bridgerton season 4 is now under screenplay stage, it could be two years away from premiere. From a character point of view, Penelope becoming the new Bridgerton narrator makes perfect sense today. Lady Whistledown is no more needed as a fictitious character since her story over season 3 sees her embrace her gossip writing and her new sureness with her identity. Given such significant events and periods of character development, Andrews's continuous voicing of Lady Whistledown could be perplexing.
Showrunner Jess Brownell discusses Julie Andrews' future as Lady Whistledown following the season 3 closing events. Based on Julia Quinn's novel series, Bridgerton debuted on Netflix in 2020 following the life of the several lords and ladies of the titular family during England's Regency. Recently returning for season 3, part 2, the show picked up Penelope (Nicola Coughlan's narrative). Though Andrews has spoken Lady Whistledown from the beginning of the episode, Penelope eventually embraces her identity as the gossip columnist in the Bridgerton season 3 finale.
Brownell discusses in a recent interview with TheWrap if Andrews will continue to voice Lady Whistledown following the end of Bridgerton season 3. Although the showrunner offers no definite response one way or another, she obviously values Andrews' narration highly. Check the remarks made by Brownell below:
Though it is yet unknown which Bridgerton child would be the hero of the next season, each sibling in season 3 ended up on a different road. While the past seasons of the show have brought success and praise, the upcoming one will have to have a compelling narrative to captivate viewers. This is particularly valid considering the finish of the show. Seeing how the showrunners spin the next chapter of the Bridgerton family will be fascinating.
From Shondaland and producer Chris Van Dusen, Netflix's Bridgerton is based on Julia Quinn's same-named romantic books. The eight Bridgerton siblings—Anthony, Benedict, Colin, Daphne, Eloise, Francesca, Gregory, and Hyacinth—search for love during the social season and negotiate life in Regency-era England.
Having said that, from a viewer's point of view, Andrews' narration is really crucial. She brought viewers through the highs and lows of seasons 2 and 3 and helped expose them to the Bridgerton family and the world of the show in season 1. Losing Andrews' voice might seriously affect season 4 and beyond. Future Bridgerton seasons may approach this new Lady Whistledown conundrum differently, but Brownell clearly understands Andrews' significance to the program.
Source: The Wrapper
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"It's Julie Andrews; I get so fixated on her. Losing her from the show would make me miserable.
"Although she is, in many respects Penelope's voice when she was trying to hide herself, I also find Lady Whistledown to have grown very legendary. In Season 4, we are experimenting with several concepts, hence folks have to wait and see where we lead with those.
Jess Brownell created the show, hence her opinions are very significant. Her remarks about Julie Andrews's performance on the programme indicate the weight and significance of the character. Another item to pay attention to is the showrunner's view on its future.