Bridgerton Season 5: ‘Bridgerton Season 5’: The show that will “yearn” for Francesca Bridgerton and Michaela Stirling’s romance.

In a bold twist, Bridgerton’s upcoming fifth season aims to center around a passionate Sapphic romance between Francesca Bridgerton and Michaela Stirling, diverging from the source material. Showrunner Jess Brownell noted that this season will delve into deep themes of longing, resulting in a pioneering depiction of queer love in the beloved period series.

Shortly after confirming the lead pair of ‘Bridgerton Season 5’, which will focus on Francesca Bridgerton and Michaela Stirling, showrunner Jess Brownell explained how the quirky romance between the two will unfold. Brownell says this season will be a long one.

“Bridgerton” Season 5 is all about the “year” of queer love

In an interview with Netflix’s Tudum, the showrunner said, “It feels like a precedent. Obviously, there are a lot of great shows that have portrayed queer love. We’re not the first by any means. But to do an entire season of Bridgerton about a sapphic relationship is huge.” He added: “More than ever, Season 5 will be about longing.”This love trope will be new to Francesca Bridgerton as well. The relationship will be new territory for Francesca and the audience. After the tragic death of her husband John Stirling in season four, Francesca finds comfort when “Michaela returns to London to look after the Kilmartin estate,” Netflix said in the announcement. The upcoming season is an adaptation of the book ‘When He Was Wicked’ by Julia Quinn.

Showrunner Jess Brownell on love and queer representation

This pairing comes more than a year after Jess confirmed her plans to depart from the novel and give Francesca a quirky love story in 2024. “I’ve said from the beginning that this show, in many ways, is about letting people see themselves represented, dream themselves and imagine themselves in these fantastical roles,” Jess explains to Tudum. “It never seemed right to not even include queer love in that fantasy.“He also noted that Francesca’s character has an interesting detail that “can very well translate to some of the feelings that arise when you experience your strange first loves.”As for Season 5, production is underway.

More on ‘Bridgerton’ Season 4

Bridgerton Season 4 premiered on January 29, 2026 (Part 1), with the final episodes released on February 26, 2026. The season focused on the bohemian second son Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) and his “Cinderella-esque” romance with Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha).