Season 5 of Netflix’s popular period drama Bridgerton is currently in production outside London, with Hannah Dodd’s Francesca and Masali Baduza’s Michaela Stirling set to lead the upcoming season, the streaming platform said on Tuesday.
The teaser shows Francesca and Michaela looking out over a picturesque landscape, presumably in Scotland, as their fingers gently brush against each other.
In the Season 4 finale, Francesca, still reeling from the sudden death of her husband, Lord John Stirling (Victor Alli), discovers that Michaela has left her London home without informing her.
“[Those love stories] have traditionally been excluded from things like period dramas, and queer people did exist, have always existed, and will always exist. So they deserve a love story just like everybody else,” Dodd told Netflix’s companion site Tudum.
The rolling green hills of the Highlands play a major role in Julia Quinn’s When He Was Wicked, the Bridgerton novel that inspires the upcoming season. Both Dodd and Baduza have confirmed that the setting will be central to Season 5.
The upcoming episodes will tell the second-chance love story of Francesca, a young widow, and Michaela, a woman who prefers breezy travel to difficult conversations, according to Tudum.
“I cannot say enough good things about Hannah and Masali. The two of them share a beautiful friendship and support each other in such a wonderful way,” said Bridgerton showrunner Jess Brownell in a statement.
While more details about the upcoming season are yet to be revealed, returning cast members are likely to include Nicola Coughlan (Penelope Bridgerton), Luke Newton (Colin Bridgerton), Luke Thompson (Benedict Bridgerton), Ruth Gemmell (Violet Bridgerton) and Claudia Jessie (Eloise Bridgerton).