Bridgerton - Season 5 In Production: Franchaela Rises

In news that should shock absolutely no one whatsoever, not only has the fifth season of popular Netflix Regency series Bridgerton has gone into production but we now know who the focused romance will be.

The focus for Season 5 will be on Francesca Stirling (Hannah Dodd) and Michaela Stirling (Masali Baduza). I can't say that I'm surprised by this news but what do we know about the upcoming season that's now being filmed? Here goes.

• Eight episodes as per usual and likely another split season release.
• Takes place two years after the death of John Stirling (Victor Ali).
• Francesca goes back to the marriage mart for practical reasons.
• Michaela returns to London to the Kilmartin estate, complicating Francesca's feelings for her.
• Show runner Jess Brownell has talked about how groundbreaking it feels to write a sapphic relationship for the show.
• Benedict will be an ally to Francesca.

My overall thoughts would be delight. The show have nicely been building things up between the pair during the third and fourth seasons. Season 5 feels like the right time to put the Francesca/Michaela relationship to the forefront and hopefully book fans can approach it with an open mind. I do feel bad for the book fans of Francesca/Michael and Eloise/Philip fans who have to wait another season for them but I am happy for Francesca/Michaela.

When it comes to LGBT characters and romances, the first season of Bridgerton did have Sir Henry Granville (Julian Ovenden) as a gay artist and then there's Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) right hand Brimsley (Hugh Sachs). He's gay and prequel series Queen Charlotte explored the younger version (Sam Clemmett) having a clandestine relationship with King George's secretary, Reynolds (Freddie Dennis). Then there's ...

Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) himself. The show stuck to his book relationship with Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha) but both the third and fourth seasons did explore his relationships with men, which included a rather nice coming out scene between Benedict and Sophie. All of this does make me optimistic that the show won't drop the ball with Francesca and Michaela.

Season 5 of Bridgerton is currently filming in London. It's likely that it will be released in 2027 on Netflix.