Bridgerton season 5 is now in production with two women taking the lead.
The forthcoming season of the Netflix romantic drama will spotlight Hannah Dodd‘s Francesca and Masali Baduza‘s Michaela Stirling, the streamer announced on Tuesday, March 24.
Currently filming in the U.K., the eight-episode season will highlight “introverted middle daughter” Francesca as she “decides to reenter the marriage mart for practical reasons” two years after losing her husband, John, per a logline.
“But when John’s cousin Michaela returns to London to tend to the Kilmartin estate, Fran’s complicated feelings will have her questioning whether to stick to her pragmatic intentions or pursue her inner passions,” the logline continues.
ZOE MCCONNELL/NETFLIX
Dodd first boarded the series as Francesca Bridgerton for 2024’s season 3, while Baduza’s character was introduced to viewers in the season’s finale. Netflix teased their fifth-season slots in an announcement on Tuesday, showing the duo almost holding hands alongside the message: “Next season, love begins again.”
The forthcoming season comes from showrunner and executive producer Jess Brownell, as Shonda Rhimes, Betsy Beers, Tom Verica and Chris Van Dusen also serve as EPs.
“I cannot say enough good things about Hannah and Masali. The two of them have such a beautiful friendship and support each other in such a beautiful way,” Brownell told Netflix’s Tudum. “But beyond that, I really do think that they are two incredibly talented and special performers. They’re actors who are able to say so much with just an expression, with just their faces.”
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As Brownell teases a season filled with “big-time yearning,” Baduza told the outlet that the duo are “like magnets, they’re just drawn to each other.” Dodd, 30, also told the streamer that a certain fourth-season death “connects them on another level” in the series.
“When you spend so much time with a character, you genuinely do want them to be happy. At the moment, [Francesca] is in such a devastating position. So I am really looking forward to her feeling like she deserves love,” Dodd added. “She’s always trying to get things right, and so much has gone wrong for her. I’m really excited for her to experience feeling loved [again] … and feeling enough within herself as well.”
Baduza, 30, added that her character is “used to having all these walls up,” and she’s “excited to tear down those walls and have her let Francesca in.”
“I’m excited for people to see her wanted so deeply and so badly. … I’m excited for people to see Michaela yearn for Francesca,” she said.
The focus of season 5 is important for a variety of reasons, with Dodd explaining to Tudum that “queer relationships like Francesca and Michaela’s” have traditionally been “excluded from things like period dramas.”
“And queer people did exist, have always existed, and will always exist,” Dodd added. “So they deserve a love story just like everybody else.”
So far, its been “really special” to have Brownell “guide us on this journey,” Baduza told Tudum. “What we really want to achieve is giving a realistic view of queer love onscreen and [giving them] a happily ever after,” she said. “I think [this] is really important for a lot of the queer community to see onscreen, to know that it can work out, and that they deserve to also feel love.”
While speaking with PEOPLE ahead of Bridgerton‘s fourth season, the costars called the possibility of leading a season together “terrifying.”
“Terrified, scared, but just so excited to see a story like this take center stage,” Baduza said. “I think so many people are going to feel seen and get to feel all the tingly feelings.”
Bridgerton seasons 1-4 are available to stream on Netflix, with season 5 currently in production.