*Warning: This article contains full spoilers for Bridgerton season 4.*
Not only do we now know who will be leading the new season of Bridgerton, but we also have good news on the horizon as it’s been confirmed that the wait time between seasons has now been shortened.
It’s the first time in the franchise’s history where new episodes will come just one year after the last season, which will come as a welcome surprise to many fans.
While the fourth season’s love story focused on Benedict (Luke Thompson) and Sophie (Yerin Ha), season 5 will centre on Francesca (Hannah Dodd) and Michaela’s (Masali Baduza) blossoming romance. The new season is currently in production and along with some first-look pictures of the pair and a teaser, fans are waiting patiently for more news on this exciting new story.
We’ve also got some exciting new cast additions, with Tega Alexander being cast as “Regency-era Casanova” Christopher Anderson, while Gemma Knight Jones joins as Lady Elizabeth Ashworth and Jacqueline Boatswain will star as Michaela’s mother, Helen Stirling.
With that, read on for everything we know so far about Bridgerton season 5.
Bridgerton season 5 release date speculation
It’s been confirmed that Bridgerton season 5 will premiere in 2027, with production on the series currently underway.
This marks the first time that Bridgerton has deviated from its usual release pattern, which has seen a couple of years go past between seasons.
While many fans were left saddened by the prospect of season 5 landing on our screens some time in 2028, showrunner Jess Brownell previously revealed to Radio Times that she had a desire to get that turnaround even quicker than before.
When asked about the negative fan reaction to her previous comments about the show taking two-year gaps between seasons, Brownell revealed: “We’re never planning for a two year gap and I will say, I knew when I said that that I was under promising with the hope of overdelivering.
“I think we have done that with season 4, I think there’s only been a year and a half actually between season 3 and 4. And we are on track with season 5 so far, fingers crossed, to either meet or match that year and a half mark. So, we’re always trying to keep the trains going faster and faster.”
Who will be the Bridgerton season 5 lead?
It has been confirmed that Francesca (Hannah Dodd) and Michaela (Masali Baduza) will be the season 5 leads of Bridgerton.
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Brownell previously revealed that it would be one of the Bridgerton daughters – either Francesca or or Eloise (Claudia Jessie) – at season 4’s premiere in Paris, telling Deadline: “Both characters with the initials on my pocket squares will get seasons in five in six. In what order? I can’t say.”
This isn’t the first time that the Netflix series has switched up the book order, having done so for Colin and Benedict’s stories.
“[We’re] super grateful and excited!” Baduza told Tudum on the announcement of her leading season 5 role. Dodd agreed, saying: “When you spend so much time with a character, you genuinely do want them to be happy. So I am really looking forward to [Francesca] feeling like she deserves love.”
Showrunner Brownell also said: “It feels groundbreaking. Obviously, there are a lot of great shows that have depicted queer love. We’re not the first by any means. But to make an entire Bridgerton season about a sapphic relationship feels huge.”
Who will star in Bridgerton season 5?
With Dodd and Baduza heading up the fifth season, there are also some new characters confirmed to join the series.
Tega Alexander (MobLand) has been cast as “Regency-era Casanova” Christopher Anderson, who “could give the Bridgerton bachelors a run for their money”. Fans will note his last name, with Christopher actually being Lord Marcus Anderson’s son so we would certainly expect further exploration of Marcus and Violet’s relationship – or so we hope.
It’s also been confirmed that Gemma Knight Jones (MobLand) as Michaela’s longtime friend and confidante Lady Elizabeth Ashworth, who is described as a “grounded realist wise to the unspoken rules of society”.
Jacqueline Boatswain (Carnival Row) also joins the cast as Helen Stirling, Michaela’s mother, who is described as “the very source of her bold daughter’s spirit”.
Whilst season 4 saw the unexpected exit of Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh), showrunner Jess Brownell dispelled any fears and confirmed she’s not going anywhere.
She revealed in an exclusive chat with Radio Times: “Absolutely not, you will be seeing much more of Lady Danbury, she has a major role to play in season 5. But it felt important to us to shake up the dynamic and allow Alice to now step into more of the service role with the Queen and to allow Lady Danbury to be the Queen’s peer, at least in a friendship sense.
“I think with that storyline, these two have so many years of history, as we established on the spin-off. I think there are a lot of beautiful big speeches this season, including between the two of them. But what I really wanted to see from them at the end was just for them to laugh and to remember that at the end of the day, they’re just girls, we’re just girls!
“They have that love and acceptance for each other and laughter is the most equalising medicine, when we can laugh together it takes away the lines that divide us. So, I thought that’d be the perfect ending for their story.”
From that, we can also imagine that we’ll be seeing plenty more of Alice (Emma Naomi) as she settles into her role as the Queen’s lady-in-waiting more. As for people we likely won’t be seeing in season 5, we can hazard a guess that we won’t be seeing Lady Araminta (Katie Leung) or her daughter Rosamund (Michelle Mao) again but could expect to possibly explore Posy’s (Isabella Wei) blossoming love story and friendship with Eloise (Claudia Jessie) that we saw in the season 4 finale.
We obviously won’t be seeing anymore of Lord John (Victor Alli) after his tragic death in season 4 part 2.
As is usually the case, we’ll likely continue seeing the former series leads float in and out of the series so can expect to see Benedict (Luke Thompson) and Sophie (Yerin Ha) as they settle into married life, as well as Colin (Luke Newton) and Penelope (Nicola Coughlan), who we last saw drafting a novel but was shocked to find someone else writing as Whistledown.
The cast we’d expect to see return for Bridgerton season 5 are as follows.
- Hannah Dodd as Francesca Bridgerton
- Masali Baduza as Michaela Stirling
- Claudia Jessie as Eloise Bridgerton
- Luke Thompson as Benedict Bridgerton
- Yerin Ha as Sophie Baek
- Nicola Coughlan as Penelope Featherington
- Luke Newton as Colin Bridgerton
- Jonathan Bailey as Anthony, Viscount Bridgerton
- Simone Ashley as Kate Bridgerton
- Martins Imhangbe as Will Mondrich
- Ruth Gemmell as Violet, Dowager Viscountess Bridgerton
- Daniel Francis as Lord Marcus Anderson
- Will Tilston as Gregory Bridgerton
- Florence Hunt as Hyacinth Bridgerton
- Golda Rosheuvel as Queen Charlotte of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
- Adjoa Andoh as Agatha, Lady Danbury
- Polly Walker as Portia, Dowager Baroness Featherington
- Emma Naomi as Alice Mondrich
- Hugh Sachs as Brimsley
- Isabella Wei as Posy Li
- Julie Andrews as Lady Whistledown
- Lorraine Ashbourne as Mrs Varley
- Tega Alexander as Christopher Anderson
- Gemma Knight Jones as Lady Elizabeth Ashworth
- Jacqueline Boatswain as Helen Stirling
What will Bridgerton season 5 be about?
Focusing on widowed Francesca and grieving cousin of John, Michaela, we can anticipate the series picking up after both characters have had time to process the death of John.
Dodd told Tudum: “They grieve very differently. I don’t think grieving is something that you get over. John’s going to be with Fran, and the impact of John will be with Fran forever.”
Baduza adds: “[Michaela] is used to having all these walls up. I’m excited to tear down those walls and have her let Francesca in. I’m excited for people to see Michaela yearn for Francesca.”
Speaking about the importance of representation in their love story, Dodd also said: “[Queer love stories] have traditionally been excluded from things like period dramas — and queer people did exist, have always existed, and will always exist.”
Baduza says: “It’s been really special to have Jess guide us on this journey, because she’s very excited about this story. What we really want to achieve is giving a realistic view of queer love onscreen and [giving them] a happily ever after.”
There were plenty of original book threads running throughout Bridgerton season 4, with Michaela having been gender-flipped from the book, When He Was Wicked. That whole novel is about how Micheal loves Francesca but obviously keeps his feelings a secret when she marries his cousin.
In the series, we’ve already seen that John sadly dies and the pair are united in their grief. Speaking to Radio Times about their dynamic going forward, Brownell said: “Obviously, there’s this little moment of frisson when Michaela and Fran first meet but I think for Fran, she doesn’t really have a frame of reference to know what that meant. She’s also not a character who’s very self-aware or who looks deeply internally. So, it really is for these two about developing a platonic friendship.”
Is there a trailer for Bridgerton season 5?
No! Seeing as Bridgerton season 5 is currently in production, there’s no trailer just yet. However, the official announcement teaser video was released a couple of months ago, giving us a glimpse at Fran and Michaela as they look to be enjoying a stay in the countryside together.
You can watch that below.
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