{"id":445,"date":"2026-03-24T13:56:41","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T13:56:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/2026\/03\/24\/bridgertons-francesca-and-michaela-to-lead-season-5-with-series-first-queer-love-story\/"},"modified":"2026-03-24T13:56:41","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T13:56:41","slug":"bridgertons-francesca-and-michaela-to-lead-season-5-with-series-first-queer-love-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/2026\/03\/24\/bridgertons-francesca-and-michaela-to-lead-season-5-with-series-first-queer-love-story\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cBridgerton\u201d&#8217;s Francesca and Michaela to Lead Season 5 with Series&#8217; First Queer Love Story"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Netflix revealed that the next season of the romantic drama is now in production<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/wT6i9wdE-jIQsvVqiMCJ4QlR4yU=\/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)\/Masali-Baduza-Hannah-Dodd-bridgerton-season-5-032426--d1f115e5621c4c0abeede824255af061.jpg\" alt=\"Masali Baduza and Hannah Dodd for 'Bridgerton'Credit: ZOE MCCONNELL\/NETFLIX\" title=\"Bridgerton. Masali Baduza, Hannah Dodd of Bridgerton.\" \/><figcaption><i>Masali Baduza and Hannah Dodd for &#8216;Bridgerton&#8217;<br \/>Credit: ZOE MCCONNELL\/NETFLIX<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>NEED TO KNOW<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Hannah Dodd&#8217;s Francesca and Masali Baduza&#8217;s Michaela Stirling will lead <em>Bridgerton<\/em> season 5<\/li>\n<li>Netflix announced that the duo will be spotlighted in the forthcoming season, which is now in production<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;What we really want to achieve is giving a realistic view of queer love onscreen and [giving them] a happily ever after,&#8221; Baduza said<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>Bridgerton season 5 <\/em>is now in production with two women taking the lead.<\/p>\n<p>The forthcoming season of the Netflix romantic drama will spotlight <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/tv\/hannah-dodd-facts\/\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\">Hannah Dodd<\/a>&#8216;s Francesca and <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/simone-ashley-shares-advice-for-bridgerton-star-masali-baduza-exclusive-8663983\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"2\">Masali Baduza<\/a>&#8216;s Michaela Stirling, the streamer announced on Tuesday, March 24.<\/p>\n<p>Currently filming in the U.K., the eight-episode season will highlight &#8220;introverted middle daughter&#8221; Francesca as she &#8220;decides to reenter the marriage mart for practical reasons&#8221; two years after losing her husband, John, per a logline.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;But when John\u2019s cousin Michaela returns to London to tend to the Kilmartin estate, Fran\u2019s complicated feelings will have her questioning whether to stick to her pragmatic intentions or pursue her inner passions,&#8221; the logline continues.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/YOZPjKh6So7elEYrzIYc-EKLcm8=\/fit-in\/640x480\/Masali-Baduza-Hannah-Dodd-bridgerton-season-5-1-032426--e75a66a17a7247bcab83e6cac43cb11a.jpg\" alt=\"Masali Baduza and Hannah Dodd for 'Bridgerton'Credit: ZOE MCCONNELL\/NETFLIX\" title=\"Bridgerton. Masali Baduza, Hannah Dodd of Bridgerton.\" \/><figcaption><i>Masali Baduza and Hannah Dodd for &#8216;Bridgerton&#8217;<br \/>Credit: ZOE MCCONNELL\/NETFLIX<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for<a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/people-news-daily-newsletter-sign-up-8692701\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\"> PEOPLE&#8217;s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Dodd first boarded the series as Francesca Bridgerton for 2024&#8217;s season 3, while Baduza&#8217;s character was introduced to viewers in the season&#8217;s finale. Netflix teased their fifth-season slots in an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=qb79JSVmOJc\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"externalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\">announcement<\/a> on Tuesday, showing the duo almost holding hands alongside the message: &#8220;Next season, love begins again.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI 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,\u201d Brownell told Netflix&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.netflix.com\/tudum\/features\/bridgerton-season-5-leads-francesca-michaela-interview\" class=\"pseudoStyle\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"externalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\">Tudum<\/a>. \u201cBut beyond that, I really do think that they are two incredibly talented and special performers. They\u2019re actors who are able to say so much with just an expression, with just their faces.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DWPmtdXj69W\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n<div> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DWPmtdXj69W\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" target=\"_blank\"> \n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>View this post on Instagram<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>As Brownell teases a season filled with \u201cbig-time yearning,&#8221; Baduza told the outlet that the duo are \u201clike magnets, they\u2019re just drawn to each other.&#8221; Dodd, 30, also told the streamer that a certain fourth-season death &#8220;connects them on another level&#8221; in the series.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen 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,\u201d Dodd added. \u201cShe\u2019s always trying to get things right, and so much has gone wrong for her. I\u2019m really excited for her to experience feeling loved [again] \u2026 and feeling enough within herself as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Baduza, 30, added that her character is &#8220;used to having all these walls up,&#8221; and she&#8217;s &#8220;excited to tear down those walls and have her let Francesca in.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m excited for people to see her wanted so deeply and so badly. \u2026 I\u2019m excited for people to see Michaela yearn for Francesca,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<p>The focus of season 5 is important for a variety of reasons, with Dodd explaining to Tudum that &#8220;queer relationships like Francesca and Michaela\u2019s&#8221; have traditionally been &#8220;excluded from things like period dramas.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;And queer people did exist, have always existed, and will always exist,\u201d Dodd added. \u201cSo they deserve a love story just like everybody else.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So far, its been &#8220;really special&#8221; to have Brownell &#8220;guide us on this journey,&#8221; Baduza told Tudum. \u201cWhat we really want to achieve is giving a realistic view of queer love onscreen and [giving them] a happily ever after,&#8221; she said. &#8220;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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While speaking with PEOPLE ahead of <em>Bridgerton<\/em>&#8216;s fourth season, the costars called the possibility of leading a season together &#8220;terrifying.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Terrified, scared, but just so excited to see a story like this take center stage,&#8221; Baduza said. &#8220;I think so many people are going to feel seen and get to feel all the tingly feelings.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><em>Bridgerton<\/em> seasons 1-4 are available to stream on Netflix, with season 5 currently in production.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Netflix revealed that the next season of the romantic drama is now in production Masali Baduza and Hannah Dodd for &#8216;Bridgerton&#8217;Credit: ZOE MCCONNELL\/NETFLIX NEED TO KNOW Hannah Dodd&#8217;s Francesca and Masali Baduza&#8217;s Michaela Stirling will lead Bridgerton season 5 Netflix announced that the duo will be spotlighted in the forthcoming season, which is now in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-everything-else"],"wpmagazine_modules_lite_featured_media_urls":{"thumbnail":"","cvmm-medium":"","cvmm-medium-plus":"","cvmm-portrait":"","cvmm-medium-square":"","cvmm-large":"","cvmm-small":"","full":""},"categories_names":{"1":{"name":"Everything Else","link":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/category\/everything-else\/"}},"tags_names":[],"comments_number":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=445"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}