Bridgerton showrunner confirms which characters will be the leads of seasons 5 and 6

As we wait patiently for the fourth season of Bridgerton to land on our screens later this month, showrunner Jess Brownell has now revealed which of the Bridgerton siblings will be the focus of seasons 5 and 6.

Fans of the original books and the series have hazarded a guess as to who will be stepping into the romantic limelight, but now Brownell has quirkily revealed the news by way of her premiere outfit choice.

Chatting to Deadline on the red carpet of the Paris premiere, she told the outlet: "Both characters with the initials on my pocket squares will get seasons in five in six. In what order? I can’t say."

In the video, it's clear that Brownell's pocket squares feature the letters 'E' and 'F', denoting Eloise (Claudia Jessie) and Francesca (Hannah Dodd). But as for which sister will take the reins next? Well, we'll just have to wait and see, it seems.

The hit Regency-era drama was renewed for both seasons 5 and 6 last year so it's no surprise that we're getting further instalments. The surprise will be in whether it'll be Eloise or Francesca that will be the next focus of the series.

As viewers will know, things left on quite a cliffhanger with Francesca at the end of season 3, with her character marrying Lord Sterling at the Bridgerton residence and then announcing that they will be moving to Lord Stirling's Scottish household in the Highlands.

However, there was a spark between Francesca and Lord Stirling's cousin, Michaela (Masali Baduza), when the pair met at the Dankworth-Finch ball in the finale. The role of Michaela was gender-flipped for the series from the books, which readers will know sees Lord Stirling die and Francesca fall in love with Michaela. How that will be approached for the series and what that'll spell for season 4 – well, our calendars are marked!

Eloise also surprised her family at the end of season 3 with the announcement that she would also be moving to Scotland with her sister and Lord Stirling but will Eloise return with thoughts of romance or will she continue to avoid the "marriage mart" forever?

Previously speaking about what's to come in season 4 for the Bridgerton clan at Netflix's Season of Love event, Brownell said: "The Bridgerton siblings are doing well - Francesca is now married off which leaves Eloise in a position where she's in her mother's clutches again. Violet is once again trying to put Eloise on the marriage mart. Whereas you have Hyacinth, who is 14 or so, is desperate to debut early and the two of them get paired together this season for comedic results."

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As for this upcoming season, the focus is well and truly on Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) and Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha) as the former meets a mysterious Lady in Silver at his mother's masquerade ball and sets off to find out just who she is.

Due to the fact that Sophie also works as a maid, there's a new focus on the dynamics of those opulent houses this time around. Speaking about how that'll be explored in this upcoming season, Brownell also revealed: "We're getting a chance to go downstairs, meet new characters, see new sets and you really learn a lot about the upstairs characters from their downstairs characters. It's a good storytelling device for us, for sure."

Bridgerton seasons 1-3 are available to watch on Netflix now. Season 4 is coming in 2026. You can buy the Bridgerton book series on Amazon.

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