After much speculation about who Bridgerton Season 5 might focus on, Netflix made it official that the next season will be about Francesca. Sure, that means that a lot of fans are not thrilled that Eloise isn’t getting the spotlight yet, but fans from the LGBTQ+ community are absolutely living for the reveal!
In the Bridgerton books, Francesca falls for another man named Michael after the untimely death of her husband, John. However, since the end of Season 3, we’ve known that the Netflix show decided to change things up and make Francesca’s love story a queer romance. Check out this gleeful reaction:
While we’ve definitely seen more lesbian couples in movies and TV in recent years, this kind of representation is still rather rare, especially for a series as big as Bridgerton. It’s a great moment of representation for the LGBTQ+ community that is worthy of celebration.
Article continues belowGay men just got some notable representation with the beloved smutty Heated Rivalry series, which has been hugely popular recently. With Bridgerton Season 5, sapphic women will get their own moment like this, and some fans can hardly believe it.
As the below TikTok user shares, she doesn’t even know if TV has “seen” representation like what we’re about to see from Francesca and Michaela ever. And in an interview for Netflix, Bridgerton showrunner Jess Brownell said the season will have “big-time yearning,” and be about “queer joy” rather than trauma. The season is already in production right now.
Unfortunately, when you look at all the reactions to Bridgerton, there’s quite a lot of backlash about Season 5 being about Francesca and Michaela, and some queer fans have felt the need to defend it, too. One user pointed out a possible double standard between fans regarding Heated Rivalry and this with this post:
When Bridgerton Season 4 ended things, Francesca had recently lost her husband, John. After developing a closeness with his cousin Michaela, she decides to leave London rather than stay with her. This perfectly sets up their romance (and all that upcoming “yearning”) since Michaela’s untimely exit has surely left Francesca missing her as she deals with being a widow. Here’s one more reaction:
the craziest thing about bridgerton season 5 is that two women will be leading a show this big. sapphics have been hungry for a big scale production and we're getting exactly that, it feels like such a tremendous win especially cause one of the leads is a black woman. we're alive
@tamaescence on Twitter
Bridgerton has made some great decisions for representation with each one of its seasons, and Season 5 is definitely a big one, especially for same-sex couples on TV.
You can catch up on every season of Bridgerton thus far right now with a Netflix subscription as we wait for Season 5 to premiere, most likely in 2028.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
