Where are the Smythe-Smiths in Netflix’s ‘Bridgerton’? Showrunner Jess Brownell Teases “We Don’t Want To Just Have Them There as Minor Side Characters”

Ever since Netflix‘s Bridgerton boldly introduced a “Miss Marina Thompson” (Ruby Barker) — a character who only appears in the fifth Bridgerton novel, To Sir Phillip, With Love — all the way back in the series premiere, fans of Julia Quinn’s massive oeuvre of romance novels have been on the lookout for Easter eggs, character cameos, and clues that signal a larger universe for the Shondaland show. Bridgerton Season 3 continues this tradition of seeding future storylines by introducing us to Book 6 character John Stirling, Earl of Kilmartin (Victor Alli), but what about the book characters left on the page? What about…the Smythe-Smiths?

The Smythe-Smiths hold a unique place in Julia Quinn’s bibliography. They were invented as a joke for a scene in one of her early non-Bridgerton Regency romances, Minx. Quinn then peppered the family, notorious for their terrible musicales, throughout her writing. In Bridgerton Book 4, Romancing Mister Bridgerton, aka the source material for Bridgerton Season 3, Penelope and Lady Danbury and Colin all find themselves at one of their terrible recitals, and Pen and Lady D bond over feeling sympathy for one of the girls. Later, they open Hyacinth Bridgerton’s book, It’s In His Kiss. Eventually Quinn wrote an entire four book spin-off series about them called The Smythe-Smith Quartet, which conveniently feature cameos from several Bridgerton characters!

Adding to the intrigue surrounding the Smythe-Smiths is the fact that they’ve popped up in the Bridgerton spin-off series, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. They are one of the newly ennobled families of the ton, anxious — alongside the original Duke of Hastings — about the future of their family lines.

So if the Smythe-Smiths have appeared in Queen Charlotte, a series created by none other than Shonda Rhimes herself, what are the plans for them in the main Bridgerton series? Where are they (and their comically bad musicales)? Will the Smythe-Smiths ever be in Bridgerton again?

“I would love that. I love the Smythe-Smiths,” Bridgerton showrunner Jess Brownell told Decider this week. “I think the only reason they haven’t been more included up to this point is because we love them so much as characters that we want to do them justice. If we’re going to use them in the show, we want to use them appropriately and make a meal of it. So I think we’re waiting for the right opportunity.”

Intriguingly, Brownell went on to say, “We don’t want to just have them there as minor side characters who have a minute of screen time. So it’s in talks. But how that will play out is yet to be seen.”

So what does that mean? Will they join the main cast as chums or love interests for perhaps the younger Bridgerton siblings, on the cusp of entering society? Could The Smythe-Smith Quartet inspire a second Bridgerton spin-off series, focused on a family of color in this Regency world?

Anything is possible. After all, when we asked Brownell if the reason why Cressida Cowper’s role was expanded in Season 3 was because she and actress Jessica Madsen were personal favorites, she teased, “I mean, if I made decisions for storylines based on who I like, I would be in an impossible situation because I love all of them and I would love for each of them to have a big spin-off.”

For now, let’s just hope for a taste of some hilariously bad Mozart in a future season of Bridgerton, but like Brownell, we’d love some Julia Quinn characters to get their own “big spin-off[s],” too.

Bridgerton Season 3 Part 2 premieres on Netflix on June 13.