The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco
| Fandom | |
|---|---|
| Name: | The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco |
| Abbreviation(s): | |
| Creator: | Guy Burt |
| Date(s): | 25 July – 12 September 2018 |
| Medium: | Live Action Television |
| Country of Origin: | United Kingdom, Canada |
| External Links: | Wikipedia IMDb |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
This article or section needs expansion. |
The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco is a British-Canadian TV drama which picks up sometime after the events of The Bletchley Circle ended, following Millie Harcourt and Jean McBrian to San Francisco in pursuit of solving the murder of another woman who was at Bletchley Park with them during World War II.
Canon
After the events of The Bletchley Circle, the group splintered, leaving Millie and Jean finding themselves at loose ends once more. When Millie sees details of a murder in America that matches the details of how another woman at Bletchley was killed during the war, she takes the story to Jean. Eventually agreeing, Jean suggests they contact an American code-breaker she communicated with regularly.
When they track down the other code-breaker, they meet Iris Bearden and, shortly after, Hailey Yarner. As the murders get closer to home for Iris with the murder of one of her son's friends, the four work together to solve crimes that have been ignored for too long. Millie decides to stay in America, reasoning that there's nothing left for in England anyway, and, after some self-reflection, Jean stays with her. The four women go on to work on four cases in total in the single season run of the show.
While a second series commission was confirmed in an interview by Rachael Stirling and Julie Graham, no further news has been forthcoming since 2019. So, while no confirmation of cancellation has been forthcoming, at the moment it seems likely that the show will remain a single season show.
Fandom
The fandom around The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco is small, possibly smaller than the fandom for the original series, though the series was again well-received and reviewed by viewers. Archive of Our Own has 75 works tagged with The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco, and there continues to be a small fandom on Tumblr, with the pairing of Millie Harcourt/Jean McBrian becoming increasingly popular compared to its presence during the original show's run. It continues to appear in fan vids and during femslash events and Yuletide.
The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco had a more diverse cast and community settings for the show than the original, including both Black characters and setting story-lines within the Black community in San Francisco, and introducing LGBTQ+ story-lines and characters. Fans who had previously interpreted some of the dialogue and tension between Millie and Susan Gray in The Bletchley Circle as indicative of a past relationship were particularly pleased when Millie's character was canonically confirmed to be bisexual.
Fan Commentary
like also oh, I've loved Millie and Jean hugely from the start but IRIS BEARDEN the other character type of my heart #never over Hailey callilng her Sarge #or the scenes with her kids#there are a few interesting things with how they set up the original four too #like #it's very easy to pose Iris/Susan and Lucy/Hailey as foils #it would be a disservice to them all to reduce them to that #but it is still VERY interesting #especially the juxtaposition of Iris's family with Susan's #and even more especially the ways in which the group gathers at Iris's house #anyway yes hello I love librarians and women with great lipstick who try to have a brave life and also mothers #especially when they all are such brilliant steely sharp humans #the bletchley circlemsfangirlface [1]
I'm rewatching The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco whilst I'm resting up with Covid. Observations so far:-Hailey's a gem (but she's not right for Jean!)
-Jean and Millie are SO MARRIED OMG, honestly it's so gay and apparently not gay in a way which can only have been produced by straight people
-WHAT IS THE POINT OF BILL BRYCE?????
-I bloody love Dennis
-Iris and Millie have a really nice relationship, I had forgotten about thatvoulez-vous-a-ha [2]
Connections with Other Fandoms
In addition to the connections discussed on The Bletchley Circle page, Crystal Baltint, who played Iris, has made 1-3 episode appearances in a number of shows, including The L Word, The 100, Supernatural, Supergirl, and Prison Break, as well as playing a supporting role in The Fall of the House of Usher more recently. Chanelle Peloso, who played Hailey, also had a single episode appearance in Supernatural and voiced a small side-character in My Little Pony: Pony Life.
Shipping
The fandom on AO3 leans mostly sapphic, with 72 of the 75 works marked as F/F and Millie Harcourt/Jean McBrian is the most popular pairing, 51 works are tagged with this pairing as of November 2023. The only other pairing with 10+ works is Jean McBrian/Hailey Yarner.
Example Fanworks
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
Fanfiction
- solace by Bluebluebaby - Bridging the time between the end of The Bletchley Circle and the San Francisco spin-off. “Have you ever wondered what you and I would be like, together?" She says it so casually that it takes Jean an extra beat to catch her meaning. Then, the response is instantaneous. “I should think we would bite one another’s heads off. You can’t dance with two leads, dear.” (Millie/Jean)
- To Tame Your Wild, Wild Heart by MsFangirlFace - When a listless Millie unexpectedly bumps into Jean a few years after the end of the War, she finds out that healing can take unexpected forms. (Millie/Jean)
Fan vids
- Light Me Up by llintrek - A beautifully edited ship vid, using scenes from both the original and San Francisco spin-off, of the relationship between Millie and Jean.
Archives and Communities
References
- ^ "msfangirlface at Tumblr". Archived from the original on 2023-11-11.
- ^ "voulez-vous-a-ha post at Tumblr". Archived from the original on 2023-11-10.