Spoiler alert: Netflix has confirmed that Bridgerton is getting a season 5 and a season 6! However, it’s unclear when or who will be the leading roles. Here’s everything we do know about the next season.
And it goes without saying, spoilers ahead!
How did season 4 of Bridgerton end?
Season 4 of Bridgerton ended with Benedict Bridgerton (played by Luke Thompson) and Sophie Baek (played by Australian actress Yerin Ha) marrying at Benedict’s cottage in the country, surrounded by friends and family. We also saw Michaela leave Mayfair after Francesca asked her to stay with her after the death of John Stirling, Michaela’s cousin and Francesca’s husband.
The finale also depicted a tearful goodbye from Lady Danbury (played by Adjoa Andoh) to Queen Charlotte (played by Golda Rosheuvel), and she leaves the ton to see her homeland, leaving behind her brother, Lord Marcus Anderson.
Marcus (played by Daniel Francis) and Violet Bridgerton (played by Ruth Gemmel) finally gave in to their desires and began a relationship in season 4. They initially decided to marry, but in the finale, Violet shared that she was just getting to know herself again and asked that they stay together but not wed. Unfortunately for Marcus, this wasn’t enough, and they parted ways.
Is Lady Danbury coming back?
In the last episode of season 4, Lady Danbury was saying her goodbyes as she was setting sail for her homeland. However, showrunner Jess Brownell has confirmed that Adjoa Andoh will return to Mayfair.
“You’ll see Lady Danbury next season,” she said to Entertainment Weekly. “I think, for us, it was more about exploring the themes this season of relationships that have a power imbalance and trying to find a way to shake up that power imbalance between Lady Danbury and the Queen. I think after what they’ve been through this season, it’s safe to say that the Queen is finally going to be treating Danbury more as a peer.”
We spoke with Adjoa and Golda about their character’s growing and changing relationship on screen. Read that interview here.
Who is Lady Whistledown?
If you haven’t watched season 4 of Bridgerton, you may be confused by this question. Of course, Lady Whistledown was the secret pen name of Penelope Bridgerton (played by Nicola Coughlan). She revealed herself at the end of season 3 and throughout season 4 has been dealing with her identity being made public. She becomes more cautious with her writing; she doesn’t name names, and Queen Charlotte isn’t satisfied with her gossip.
Penelope makes an impassioned request to put down her pen and begin new writing projects. Queen Charlotte initially refuses, but after appealing to them both being in a gilded cage of sorts, Charlotte permits her to retire.
However, in the season 4 finale, another Whistledown paper arrives. Colin Bridgerton (played by Luke Newton) asks his wife, who he finds writing, why she didn’t tell him that she had taken up Whistledown again, to which Penelope replied that she hadn’t. Even the voiceover, from the fabulous Dame Julie Andrews, changes in tone slightly as we understand that someone else has secretly taken up the mantle.
There’s no word on who just yet, but plenty of theories are circulating online.
Who is going to be the lead character in season 5 of Bridgerton?
There are two options as to who will be the lead character of season 5 of Bridgerton. The Netflix adaptation has famously switched up the timeline and has swapped out books and characters. You can find out more in our round-up of the differences between the books and the Netflix series.
The next two books on the roster which haven’t been adapted are Francesca’s and Eloise’s love stories.
We should find out who the leads will be, as showrunner Jess Brownwell has said to Decider: “We tend to make an announcement close to the start of production about who the new leads are. So you should expect that this season as well.”
Could Francesca be the next leading lady?
However, some of the contents of Francesca’s book, When He Was Wicked, were included in the most recent season, season 4. Her book is the sixth in the series, and it follows the SPOILER ALERT death of her husband, John Stirling, from a sudden aneurysm after two years of happy, but childless marriage. She and John’s cousin, Michael (gender-swapped to Michaela), strike up a passionate romance after Francesca returns to the marriage mart to start a family. In the novel, she suffers a miscarriage, and the novel delves into the tricky topics of grief and guilt.
There is a lot of debate online from fans about how Francesca’s story will be altered, as her struggles with fertility are a major focus of her character in both the Netflix adaptation and the novel. However, with Michaela in the place of Michael, her desire to start a family may change.
We spoke with Hannah Dodd, who portrays Francesca in the series, and she shared that she was “terrified” of being the show’s leading lady.
Could Eloise be the next leading lady?
The other adaptation option could be Eloise’s book, To Sir Phillip, With Love, it’s the fifth book of the series and follows Eloise as she strikes up a correspondence and then a romance with Sir Phillip Crane following the death of his wife, SPOILER ALERT Marina Thompson. We met Sir Phillip Crane in the first season as the brother of George Crane, who is the father of Marina’s children. He marries her to protect her reputation after his brother dies. We haven’t seen Phillip since Colin visited him and Marina in season 2.
We spoke with Claudia Jessie, who plays Eloise, and she is “buzzing” for her leading lady moment.
When will season 5 of Bridgerton come out?
By the sounds of it, we should expect the next season of Bridgerton to release in 2027! In previous seasons, we’ve had to wait for up to two years between seasons. However, Jess Brownell has confirmed to Bustle that they are already heading into production with the aim of shortening the wait time.
“When I said the two-year time mark, I knew we were going to be a little bit quicker than that, but I was trying to under-promise and over-deliver. And instead, I think I just made everyone really upset. But we really have been endeavouring—from even before that point — to make everything quicker. I would say with season 5, we’re on track—all things [considered], if everything goes to plan — we’re on track to either meet or exceed the year-and-a-half timeline.”
Furthermore, in February 2025, she shared at a media event at BFI that they are about to start season 5’s production.
Catch up on the previous seasons of Bridgerton on Netflix.
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
