Dearest gentle reader, the countdown to Francesca and Michaela’s season has officially begun.
Netflix announced Tuesday that “Bridgerton” Season 5 is officially in production with a teaser confirming the show’s next central romance will involve the sixth Bridgerton sibling and her late husband John Stirling‘s cousin. As it had been hinted, the upcoming season of the regency romance will follow Francesca (Hannah Dodd) and Michaela Stirling’s (Masali Baduza) love story.
“Next season love begins again,” reads the text that accompanies brief footage of the couple-to-be.
This will be the first time “Bridgerton” centers a queer love story, and it’s a departure from the novel series from which the show is adapted. In Julia Quinn’s “Bridgerton” books, Michaela is Michael, and Francesca’s story is the subject of the sixth book in the series, “When He Was Wicked.”
As showrunner Jess Brownell previously told The Times, she had always known she wanted to tell a queer love story in the show.
“That was the first conversation I ever had with Shonda Rhimes,” Brownell said. “It’s already mattered so much to so many people to see themselves on-screen with the show in other ways and it’s only right for queer people to also get to see themselves in a show touted as being an inclusive fantasy.”
“Bridgerton” Season 4 concluded with Francesca dealing with the sudden death of her husband, played by Victor Alli, as well as Michaela’s abrupt decision to leave London, despite her promise to stay. According to the logline, the fifth season will pick up two years later with Francesca deciding to reenter the marriage mart “for practical reasons.” That is, until Michaela’s return makes things more complicated.
Francesca and Michaela, of course, are not the first queer characters to appear in the series. “Bridgerton” has previously explored Benedict’s sexuality and, as Brownell has said previously, his marriage to Sophie “does not negate [his] queerness.”
If Brownell’s comments to Netflix’s inhouse publication Tudum are anything to go by, fans should prepare for a bit of a slow burn — at least by “Bridgerton” standards.
“More than ever, Season 5 is going to be about yearning,” Brownell said, adding that it “feels groundbreaking” to have a “Bridgerton” season focused on a queer romance.
“Obviously, there are a lot of great shows that have depicted queer love. We’re not the first by any means,” Brownell said. “But to make an entire ‘Bridgerton’ season about a sapphic relationship feels huge.”
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