No ‘Bridgerton’ Announcement Can Make Everyone Happy

A few weeks ago, I was having a generally amiable conversation with an acquaintance about “Bridgerton,” including our shared admiration for the recently released fourth season of the Netflix hit. We both enjoyed seeing a season focused on the dashing Benedict Bridgerton and the lovely Sophie Baek, and agreed that the series has finally started working out some of the kinks when it comes to balancing its many storylines.

Alas, dear reader, amid this otherwise delightful chat, my companion mentioned something I did not agree with: that they hoped that the last nine episodes of the series had been something of a misdirect and that Francesca Bridgerton (Hannah Dodd) was not going to fall in love with Michaela Stirling (Masali Baduza) because there was still — pause for dramatic effect — a chance that Michael Stirling would reveal himself. Pardon?

At the end of Season 3, Francesca’s beloved, steady husband John (Victor Alli) welcomed a visit from his dashing (and most favorite cousin) Michaela. The gender-swap was a shock — even in the on-screen world of “Bridgerton,” which delights in upending our idea of what a Regency romance “should” look like — and not everyone took kindly to the switcheroo.

Including, it seems, a cadre of fans who still seem to think that there’s some other Stirling cousin out there for Francesca to eventually fall in love with, despite the fact that the classic Francesca-and-Michael(a) storyline revolves around their shared grief over the sudden death of John and the complicated feelings of falling in love with each other in the wake of that tragedy.

On Tuesday, the streamer officially announced that Season 5 of the series will indeed follow Francesca and Michaela and their own love story. Per Netflix: “The fifth season of ‘Bridgerton’ spotlights introverted middle daughter Francesca. Two years after losing her beloved husband, John, Fran decides to reenter the marriage mart for practical reasons. 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.”

Today’s announcement also includes revamped character descriptions for both Francesca (“Reserved and contained, Francesca has long felt out of place in the world. As Michaela stirs up new feelings inside her, Fran will make discoveries about herself that could change everything.”) and Michaela (“Beneath Michaela’s charming and vivacious exterior hides a vulnerable young woman who is quick to run the second she feels discomfort. But this season, Michaela must face her vulnerability head-on as she’s forced to navigate her relationship to her late cousin’s legacy — and to Francesca.”).

While this news makes clear that Francesca’s story is central to the upcoming series (no release date set), it also seems to remove any hope we have for an Eloise-centric season, despite plenty of table-setting in this past season. The Netflix hit has always tried to balance subplots within each season, while maintaining a central focus on one key couple throughout. So while combining Francesca and Eloise’s stories into one season might actually make narrative sense, it would be a bad look to give the sisters seemingly short shrift.

Crucially, the show has been renewed for both Season 5 and Season 6, and we can only hope that the zippy Eloise (Claudie Jessie) finally gets her due, and soon. See? Even this writer can’t be fully pleased by this news.

As is standard, this season of “Bridgerton” will include eight episodes and is being shot in London. Jess Brownell continues as showrunner, with Shonda Rhimes, Betsy Beers, Tom Verica, and Chris Van Dusen on board as executive producers.

Check out the official announcement video for Season 5 of “Bridgerton” below, including a lush look at the Kilmartin spread and a little sexy hand-touching between our stars.