“A certain countess shall find love again,” Netflix posted on their social media accounts on Tuesday in confirmation of Bridgerton’s fifth season’s central character. 

The series by Shonda Rhimes, based on Julia Quinn’s novels about the romances of eight siblings from the titular Bridgerton family, concluded its fourth season earlier this year, having focused on a romance between the second oldest sibling, Benedict (Luke Thompson) and his romance with Sophie (Yerin Ha), the illegitimate daughter of the Earl of Penwood who was forced to become a maid.

In the background of their story, was also his younger sister Francesca’s (Hannah Dodd) marriage to John Stirling (Victor Alli) that ended in tragedy, leaving Francesca widowed, and therefore, still in search of her one true love match. 

The series was renewed for a fifth and sixth season last May but it wasn’t until now that the fans finally got confirmation on which Bridgerton would be the focus of these seasons.

The first four seasons focused on the four oldest siblings and if the order of the books was to be trusted, Eloise (Claudia Jessie) would have been the lead character of the fifth season. However, the showrunners have not followed the order of the books in the past, focusing the third season on Colin (Luke Newton) and the fourth on Benedict despite their stories being in reverse order in the books. So, it does not come as a surprise that they have opted to switch up the order again. 

Francesca’s story was first brought towards the forefront in season 3, when she married John and met his cousin Michaela (Masali Baduza) for the first time, and then remained as one of the most prominent subplots of the show’s fourth season, only making it that much more reasonable for her to take the lead in the fifth season.  

Netflix’s official summary of the Bridgerton Season 5 stands as follows:

“The fifth season of Bridgerton spotlights introverted middle daughter Francesca. Two years after losing her beloved husband John, Francesca decides to reenter the marriage mart for practical reasons. But when John’s cousin Michaela returns to London to tend to the Kilmartin estate, Francesca’s complicated feelings will have her questioning whether to stick to her pragmatic intentions or pursue her inner passions.”

Bridgerton has been known to change details from the source material but Francesca’s storyline may end up being the most different compared to the books as we look into her future with Michaela, who is a gender-swapped version of John’s cousin and her ultimate match in the books. The audiences have already gotten a taste of their dynamic, though, and their early interactions have already been a treat, justifying the excitement for Dodd and Baduza to finally take the lead.  

While there is no official release date just yet, Netflix has confirmed that the season is now officially in production and shooting outside of London. 

For fans interested in the show’s famous classical covers of popular hits, Netflix has confirmed that the soundtrack will reflect the story’s themes, letting the fans know that they can expect their favourite queer artists to feature in Francesca’s season. The lead actresses also threw some of their ideas into the mix, Baduza expressing that she would like to hear Chappell Roan’s ‘Good Luck, Babe!.’ 

While we wait for the soundtrack and the official release date to be revealed, watch the official teaser below.