Francesca and Michaela To Star As Romantic Leads In Bridgerton Season 5

Bridgerton Season 5 is officially in production in the UK, with Hannah Dodd and Masali Baduza confirmed as the romantic leads, making Francesca and Michaela the show's first same-gender lead couple.

Netflix announced the news alongside a first-look teaser, revealing that the new season will pick up two years after the death of Francesca's husband, Lord John Stirling. Now a young widow, Francesca decides to re-enter the marriage mart for practical reasons, but when John's cousin Michaela returns to London to manage the Kilmartin estate, her feelings become considerably more complicated. The eight-episode season is based on Julia Quinn's novel When He Was Wicked, with Michaela being a gender-swapped version of the book's male love interest, Michael.

Both leads are visibly excited and, in Dodd's words, "panicked." "I'm panicked and excited!" she said, laughing. Baduza's response: "We got this!"

Showrunner Jess Brownell said Season 5 will be defined by what she called "big-time yearning." "Like magnets, they're just drawn to each other," Baduza said of the central pair. Brownell heaped praise on both actors: "They're actors who are able to say so much with just an expression, with just their faces."

Fans last saw the two at an emotionally charged moment in the Season 4 finale, when Francesca, who was still grieving John's sudden death, asked Michaela to stop travelling and stay with her. Instead, Michaela fled London entirely. 

"It's just too much for Michaela. With intense emotions like that, leaving is the only way she copes," Baduza said. "She's delusional right now. Eventually, things like that catch up with you."

Season 5 is where that reckoning arrives. Dodd is looking forward to showing Francesca's resilience as she opens herself up to love again. "She's always trying to get things right, and so much has gone wrong for her. I'm really excited for her to experience feeling loved [again] … and feeling enough within herself as well," she said. 

For Baduza, the season is about dismantling Michaela's defences: "She's 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."

"Francesca yearns too, to be fair!" Dodd chimed in.

Both actors and the showrunner have spoken about the significance of a queer love story taking center stage in a Regency-era period drama. "Those love stories have traditionally been excluded from things like period dramas — and queer people did exist, have always existed, and will always exist," Dodd said. "So they deserve a love story just like everybody else." 

Baduza added: "What we really want to achieve is giving a realistic view of queer love onscreen and [giving them] a happily ever after. I think [this] is really important for a lot of the queer community to see onscreen, to know that it can work out, and that they deserve to also feel love."

As for where the season will take them: Scotland may be on the cards. The Scottish Highlands feature prominently in the source novel, and when asked whether filming there was likely, Dodd said "We hope so," while Baduza added: "Take us to Scotland, please!"

Netflix renewed Bridgerton for Seasons 5 and 6 in May 2025. No premiere date has been set, but given the show's pattern of releasing every other year, an early 2028 debut seems likely.