Bridgerton Season 5: Release date speculation, cast and plot details – Everything we know so far

Bridgerton Season 4 Part 2 just hit Netflix today (Feb 26!), and half the fandom is still recovering from Benedict’s whole vibe while the other half is already deep in theories about what’s next. Good news: Seasons 5 and 6 got the green light way back in May 2025, so no cliffhanger on whether it’ll continue.

Bridgerton Season 5 Release Date Updates

Netflix hasn’t dropped an official premiere date yet—classic move.

Production is eyeing a March 2026 start according to multiple reports (IMDb listings, What’s on Netflix updates, Reddit threads pulling from production boards). Some say spring broadly, others pin it straight to March. Filming usually runs 8–9 months, so that puts wrap around late 2026 (Nov/Dec-ish).

Past patterns:

• Season 3 wrapped mid-2023 → out mid-2024
• Season 4 wrapped late 2024/early 2025 → premiered Jan 2026

Post-production on these is heavy (those orchestral pop covers don’t edit themselves). Most bets land on late 2027 for Season 5—maybe fall or winter. A few optimists think they could push for mid-2027 if everything clicks faster, but don’t hold your breath. Early 2028 is the pessimistic fallback.

Bridgerton Season 5 Expected Cast

Pretty much the whole Bridgerton squad is locked in:

• Claudia Jessie (Eloise)
• Hannah Dodd (Francesca)
• Luke Thompson (Benedict — he’ll still pop up even after his season)
• Jonathan Bailey & Simone Ashley (Anthony & Kate forever)
• Nicola Coughlan & Luke Newton (Polin nation rise)
• Golda Rosheuvel (Queen Charlotte), Adjoa Andoh (Lady Danbury), Ruth Gemmell (Mama Violet)
• and of course Julie Andrews still narrating as Lady Whistledown

Every new season brings fresh faces for the main romance, so casting calls for Eloise’s and/or Francesca’s love interests should start leaking any month now. The family keeps showing up in each other’s stories, so expect plenty of sibling chaos and meddling.

Bridgerton Season 5 Potential Plot

Jess Brownell already said Seasons 5 and 6 are for Eloise and Francesca (order TBD). There was that little pocket-square tease with “E & F” stitched on it during Season 4 press — fans took that as confirmation the next two are theirs.

• Eloise — book fans know we’re heading toward “To Sir Phillip, With Love” territory. Letters, grief, a very different kind of courtship, and Eloise being her gloriously stubborn self. They’ll probably tweak a bunch (they always do), but the core independent-woman-finds-unexpected-love vibe should stay.
• Francesca — her book (“When He Was Wicked”) is heavier than most. Loss, second chances, intense chemistry. The show already changed some big things gender-wise in her supporting cast, so expect more surprises there too.

Either way — scandal, slow-burn tension, very steamy carriage/ library/ garden scenes (it’s Bridgerton), and Lady Whistledown dropping bombs. The family will still be messy and lovable in the background.