Masali Baduza, who plays the role of Michaela Stirling in "Bridgerton" season 5.
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Members of the Ton, a most delightful announcement has graced our ears - season five of the beloved Netflix series, “Bridgerton” is underway, and South Africa’s very own, Masali Baduza, has been unveiled as one of the leads.
Baduza, who portrays the role of Michaela Stirling, takes on the lead role alongside Hannah Dodd, who plays the role of widowed Lady Francesca.
Taking to social media on March 24, Netflix revealed the first trailer of the fifth season, revealing our leads and announcing that production is currently in motion.
“Do not fret, dearest readers, for a certain countess shall find love again… ‘Bridgerton’ Season 5 is now in production,” the streaming platform captioned the post.
In the fourth season, we saw how the passing of John Stirling, the Earl of Kilmartin, affected Francesca as she was grieving her husband.
However, a spark immediately ignited between Francesca and John’s cousin, Michaela, a gender-flipped version of Michael Stirling.
According to online reports, the focus of the fifth season of “Bridgerton” will be on the introverted Francesca.
Two years after the death of her beloved husband, John, Francesca decides to participate in the marriage mart again, due to practical reasons.
However, her return to the marriage market is complicated by the reappearance of John's cousin, Michaela, who arrives in London to manage the Kilmartin estate.
Francesca's complex emotions upon Michaela's return will lead her to question her sensible intentions and consider pursuing her true inner desires.
The announcement has sparked excitement for the “Bridgerton” fans, especially because this is a first queer version of the original story, and many expressed that they want to see how Francesca and Michaela will navigate their romance during the 1800s era.
In an online interview, Baduza shared that with this storyline, they want to showcase an honest view of queer love.
“What we really want to achieve is giving a realistic view of queer love onscreen and giving them a happily ever after. I think this is really important for a lot of the queer community to see onscreen, to know that it can work out, and that they deserve to also feel love,” she revealed.
However, when the fourth season ended, many fans thought that the upcoming season would be about Eloise Bridgerton, who has been hell-bent on not entering the marriage mart.
Fans shared, at the time, that it is going to be exciting to see how she will handle her feelings when she falls in love with someone.
The release date of “Bridgerton” season 5 has not been confirmed yet.