Bridgerton Season 5: Everything We Know So Far

2 weeks ago

Season 4 is finally here – but what about season 5? Spoilers ahead...

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Dearest gentle reader, it is with great pleasure that I remind you our beloved regency romance Bridgerton is back on our screens for the second half of its fourth outing. This season is all about Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson), the second eldest son, who finds himself spellbound by the mysterious Lady in Silver (Yerin Ha) at his mother’s masquerade ball.

As his love story unfolds over Bridgerton season 4, Benedict’s siblings Anthony (Jonathan Bailey), Colin (Luke Newton), Francesca (Hannah Dodd), Eloise (Claudia Jessie), Gregory (Will Tilston) and Hyacinth (Florence Hunt) occupy the story’s fringes, with Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor) living comfortably in the country with husband Simon Basset (Regé-Jean Page) and their young children. And while the former three are married, Eloise, Gregory and Hyacinth are still awaiting their happily ever afters.

So who is next? Here’s everything we know so far about Bridgerton season 5, plus which sibling it will focus on.

Yerin Ha as Sophie Beckett & Luke Thompson as Benedict Bridgerton in episode 401 of Bridgerton

Bridgerton Season 5: Plot, Cast, Release Date & More

There is no question that Bridgerton will return to the small screen for season 5 – it’s just a matter of when, and who it will concern. Speaking in episode 4 of the series’ official companion podcast, showrunner Jess Brownell confirms ‘we [have] pretty much finished the writers’ room, we’re nearly done with the scripts,’ adding the season 5 finale is already unfolding in her brain.

At the end of Bridgerton season 4’s Paris premiere, Brownell – donning a chic chocolate brown suit with matching gloves – delivered a closing speech confirming seasons 5 and 6 were in the works. A dainty white pocket square contrasted the brown, embroidered with the initials ‘E’ and ‘F’…

Claudia Jessie as Eloise Bridgerton in Bridgerton season 4

Who Is The Subject?

‘Both characters with the initials on my pocket squares will get seasons in five and six,’ Brownell told Deadline on the red carpet. ‘In what order? I can’t say.’

Every season of Bridgerton focuses on one of the eight siblings as they find their love match in the Ton. ‘E’ can only refer to Eloise, the second eldest daughter who has struggled to navigate the marriage mart thus far, and generally does not have an appetite for a wedding – unlike her eldest sister, Daphne, who was named the diamond of the social season by Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) in season 1. But with her best friend Penelope (Nicola Coughlan) now married to her brother Colin, and in the wake of another sister’s tragedy, it seems Eloise’s attention is finally returning to her own prospects.

Claudia Jessie as Eloise Bridgerton & Nicola Coughlan as Penelope Featherington in Bridgerton season 4.

‘F’, meanwhile, is Francesca. And if you’re wondering why – since the third eldest daughter wed Lord John Stirling (Victor Alli) at the end of season 3 – we must reveal a little spoiler. John tragically and suddenly dies of an aneurysm (noted as a ‘headache’) in season 4, leaving Francesca bereft, grieving her beloved husband, the pregnancy she never had and her future that has now vanished. She is thankful for the ‘great love’ she and John shared, but is doubtful another love will come.

But if we plunder Julia Quinn’s bestselling novels on which the entire series is (occasionally loosely) based, we know this isn’t the end of the road for the sixth Bridgerton child. Francesca’s story is the plot of Quinn’s sixth Bridgerton novel, When He Was Wicked, and the events we saw in season 3 are detailed as a flashback. This is because Lord Stirling turns out not to be the man Francesca spends the rest of her life with: he tragically dies just two years into their marriage (in the TV series, this is shortened to less than a year).

Pregnant with their first child and wracked with grief, the book version of Francesca sadly miscarries and mourns both her beloved husband and their lost child for four years. But she eventually finds new love with Lord Stirling’s cousin Michael, and this is the main plot of When He Was Wicked. ‘Wicked’ in the title draws on Michael’s rakish reputation as shameless seducer in the Ton, which we expect to see in season 4 as Michael was actually introduced as a character at the end of season 3. But here’s the kicker: in Shonda Rhimes’ TV series, Michael has been gender swapped to Michaela Stirling (Masali Baduza).

Victor Alli as John Stirling & Hannah Dodd as Francesca Bridgerton in Bridgerton season 4.

‘Francesca gets together with John Stirling, and I really love that relationship,’ Brownell said at the end of season 3. ‘I think a lot of people will ship Francesca and John – as do I. But part of her exploration going forward will be about whether or not there is in fact something missing. Book readers will know what it means when she meets Michaela.’ As many fans have requested over the course of Bridgerton, it seems the producers are finally going to explore different sexualities. The only question remaining is: when?

Eloise is the subject of Quinn’s fifth Bridgerton novel, To Sir Phillip, With Love, so it would make sense to make Bridgerton season 5 all about her, and wait until season 6 to delve back into Francesca’s story with full force. That said, Shondaland has proved it is not against toying with Quinn’s timelines: Benedict and Sophie’s story is detailed in book 3, An Offer From a Gentleman, while Colin and Penelope’s romance is the subject of book 4, Romancing Mister Bridgerton; these were swapped around for the Netflix series.

So will it be Eloise or Francesca first? Only time will tell… One thing is for certain, though: Gregory and Hyacinth have a little longer to wait.

Florence Hunt as Hyacinth Bridgerton in Bridgerton season 4

What Else?

Elsewhere we know Penelope has an intriguing investigation on her hands: after hanging up her quill and ending her career as Lady Whistledown, she begins a new pursuit writing fiction. But then a new instalment of Lady Whistledown’s Society Papers lands on her doorstep, meaning someone unknown as taken up the gossip writer’s mantle for themselves.

This is a change from Quinn’s novels, where Penelope is the only Lady Whistledown, and she is not unmasked until book four, Romancing Mister Bridgerton. On the companion podcast, Brownell divulged: ‘We knew we couldn’t really play with [the Lady Whistledown reveal] for too long because people could just Google it.’ In the TV series, Lady Whistledown is unmasked (to the audience) at the end of season 1. But now no one, not even fans of the books, knows Whistledown’s identity. ‘We really get to play with the audience’s expectations,’ Brownell teases.

Luke Newton as Colin Bridgerton, Nicola Coughlan as Penelope Bridgerton, Geraldine Alexander as Mrs. Wilson, Claudia Jessie as Eloise Bridgerton & Will Tilston as Gregory Bridgerton in Bridgerton. (Liam Daniel/Netflix © 2025)

The Cast

Regardless of who Bridgerton season 5 is about, we expect the core cast to return – excluding Lord John Stirling (Victor Alli), of course. Phoebe Dynevor and Regé-Jean Page also won’t return, and perhaps in-demand Jonathan Bailey and Simone Ashley will see their Bridgerton plots wane as their real-life schedules pack up.

Nicola Coughlan will return as Penelope aka the retired Lady Whistledown, which means Luke Newton will return as her husband Colin.

Elsewhere in the Bridgerton family household, Benedict (Luke Thompson) may still float around (unless he moves into My Cottage with Sophie [Yerin Ha]), while Eloise (Claudia Jessie), Francesca (Hannah Dodd), Gregory (Will Tilston), Hyacinth (Florence Hunt) and their mother Lady Violet Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell) will almost certainly return.

Emma Naomi as Alice Mondrich & Adjoa Andoh as Lady Danbury in Bridgerton

And elsewhere in the Ton, if the season 4 finale seemed like a goodbye to Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh), you’re wrong: Brownell has confirmed the matron will be a ‘big part of Season 5, when she does eventually come back,’ adding her tiff with Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) was ‘more about shaking up the dynamic’ and ‘[examnining] relationships in which there’s a power imbalance’.

Other familiar faces we expect to see in Bridgerton season 5 include:

Daniel Francis as Lord Marcus Anderson
Polly Walker as Portia Featherington
Bessie Carter as Prudence Featherington
Harriet Cains as Philippa Featherington
Martins Imhangbe as Will Mondrich
Emma Naomi as Alice Mondrich
Hugh Sachs as Brimsley

Golda Rosheuvel as Queen Charlotte in Bridgerton season 4.

Release Date

No official news from Netflix just yet, but rumour has it filming on Bridgerton season 5 is scheduled to commence in March 2026. If a typical production timeline is followed, we would see the show return in mid to late 2027. Naturally, we hope it will come sooner, but here’s why it takes so long to produce.

Can’t wait? Here are five TV shows like Bridgerton to stream in the meantime.

All episodes of Bridgerton season 4 are streaming now on Netflix.

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Bridgerton Season 5: Everything We Know So Far