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Netflix Puts ‘Bridgerton’ Season 5 Into Production With Francesca and Michaela as First Queer Leads

Netflix promises an eight-episode season of ‘queer joy’ centered on a sapphic romance.

Overview

  • Netflix, which confirmed Tuesday that production is underway in the U.K., named Hannah Dodd’s Francesca and Masali Baduza’s Michaela as the season’s romantic leads.
  • The official logline sets the story two years after Francesca’s loss as she reenters the marriage market and confronts new feelings when Michaela returns to London.
  • Netflix has not announced a release date, and media outlets now estimate a late-2027 to 2028 window based on prior production timelines.
  • Showrunner Jess Brownell says the new chapter emphasizes yearning and “queer joy” rather than trauma, with the soundtrack expected to highlight more queer artists.
  • The series continues to depart from Julia Quinn’s books by gender-swapping Michael to Michaela and moving Francesca’s story ahead of Eloise, a shift that has drawn both enthusiasm and criticism from fans.