Bridgerton season 5: Release date speculation and latest news

*Warning: This article contains full spoilers for Bridgerton season 4.*

Now that Benedict (Luke Thompson) and Sophie's (Yerin Ha) love story has reached its beautiful end, Bridgerton fans will likely be wondering just when the next season will be dropping – and more importantly, who it will focus on.

Prior to the fourth season actually landing, showrunner Jess Brownell had already confirmed that the next two seasons of the show will be focusing on Francesca (Hannah Dodd) and Eloise (Claudia Jessie). However, it currently remains a mystery as to who will be gearing up for their dedicated season first.

The second half of season 4 saw the sad death of John (Victor Alli), Francesca's husband and book fans are already pre-empting the love story that's set to unfold between Francesca and John's cousin, Michaela (Masali Baduza), who has been gender-flipped from the novels.

We already know that despite her exit storyline, Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh) will be returning to the Ton for season 5, as confirmed by showrunner Jess Brownell to Radio Times. As for when we can come to expect the new season on our screens, Brownell has also teased a bit more about that, which you can find below. Read on for everything we know so far about Bridgerton season 5.

Bridgerton season 5 release date speculation

As of now, there's not been a confirmed Bridgerton season 5 release date. Judging by previous seasons, we could hazard a guess and assume that season 5 will be on our screens some time in 2028 – however, showrunner Jess Brownell has revealed to Radio Times that she has 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.”

So, we could potentially see Bridgerton season 5 on our screens in 2027 but if scheduling keeps to its usual time constraints, it may not be until 2028 that we get new episodes.

Who will be the Bridgerton season 5 lead?

It hasn't yet been confirmed who will be leading the fifth season of Bridgerton but we do know that it will either be Francesca (Hannah Dodd) or Eloise (Claudia Jessie).

Brownell previously revealed that it would be one of the Bridgerton daughters 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."

If the Netflix series sticks to the book order then it would be Eloise's love story next and then Francesca's, but seeing as the show has already flipped the order of the novels for Colin and Benedict's stories then we'll just have to wait and see.

Many fans of the show may not be able to envision Eloise on her own romantic journey but actress Claudia Jessie revealed that she is "buzzing" to finally step into the spotlight. Previously chatting to Radio Times for the release of season 4 part 1, Jessie said: "In terms of setting her up, I think Eloise is desperately trying to find her way of doing it, right? That’s what I’ve always been excited to be able to one day do, is to show love or romance or whatever her journey is in the most Eloise way possible.

"I think she’s just trying to find out her way of doing it."

She added: "That’s what I think the set-up is until ultimately we see what her way of doing it is, her version of it. I’m buzzing to one day do it. I love this show with my whole heart, I love my colleagues, I love Eloise so I’ll be buzzing to do it.”

Who could potentially star in Bridgerton season 5?

We do know that it wouldn't be a season of Bridgerton without the titular family at the helm of the series, as for who will be leading it, we don't know just yet. Season 4 saw an unexpected exit of Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh) and while some viewers may be worried about if she's gone for good, 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. With Michaela (Masali Baduza) sneaking off in the dead of the night and leaving Francesca alone in her grieving period, we would certainly expect her return if Francesca's set to be the next lead. However, if Eloise is then perhaps we won't be seeing Michaela's return for some time. Another question mark of a character return also hangs over Lord Marcus (Daniel Francis) who, despite proposing to Lady Violet (Ruth Gemmell) and having a steamy blossoming romance, seemed to end things after being on two different pages.

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
• 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
• 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
• Masali Baduza as Michaela Stirling
• Isabella Wei as Posy Li
• Julie Andrews as Lady Whistledown
• Lorraine Ashbourne as Mrs Varley

What could Bridgerton season 5 be about?

There were plenty of threads running throughout Bridgerton season 4 but of course, the main focus of season 5 will be on whoever's love story will be taking centre stage – be warned as there are book spoilers below.

If it's Francesca's, then we can expect the return of Michaela, who has 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."

So, we can certainly expect a bit more of a slow burn as it relates to Francesca and Michaela. As for Eloise, fans will know that we've actually already met her future husband, Sir Philip Crane, in season 1. Philip obviously went on to marry Marina out of obligation to his dead brother, with the pair not being romantically involved but sharing a pleasant life nonetheless.

In Eloise's novel – To Sir Philip, With Love – she's set to start up letter correspondence with Philip, who is mourning the death of Marina. Eloise eventually embarks on her own unexpected love story with Philip as she starts to fall in love with him despite never having formally met. Well, the pair eventually do and despite Eloise being taken aback by Philip's rugged appearance compared to the average London gentleman, the pair develop their own connection.

Both Bridgerton stories sound like they'll be even more interesting in their exploration of emotions and dynamics so consider us excited for whatever's to come!

Is there a trailer for Bridgerton season 5?

No! Seeing as Bridgerton season 5 hasn't yet even gone into production, there's no trailer just yet. However, you can relive the magic of season 4 below.

Bridgerton seasons 1-4 are available to watch on Netflix now. You can buy the Bridgerton book series on Amazon.

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