Dearest gentle reader, get prepared for exciting news regarding a Bridgerton spinoff.
Netflix and Shondaland have announced an upcoming limited series centered around the Bridgerton family's matriarch, Lady Violet.
The currently untitled Bridgerton project will be similar to the hit series Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. It will follow the early years of a younger Lady Violet and tell the story of her romance with Viscount Edmund Bridgerton.
Shonda Rhimes serves as a co-showrunner, executive producer and writer on the series alongside Nicholas Nardini. Tom Verica is set to direct and executive produce.
The news of this upcoming spinoff comes as season 5 of Bridgerton is being filmed in London. The new season will feature the middle Bridgerton daughter Francesca as its lead. It will also be the first season of the series to have a queer couple at the forefront of the story.
"Two years after losing her beloved husband John, Fran decides to reenter the marriage mart for practical reasons," the season's official logline reads. "But when John’s cousin Michaela returns to London to tend to the Kilmartin estate, Fran’s complicated feelings will have her questioning whether to stick to her pragmatic intentions or pursue her inner passions."
Hannah Dodd will once again star as Francesca Stirling, the Countess of Kilmartin, in season 5. Francesca, who "has long felt out of place in the world," according to a description from Netflix, "will make discoveries about herself that could change everything" in the new season.
Masali Baduza will return as Michaela Stirling, Francesca's love interest and the cousin of her late husband. Underneath her "charming and vivacious exterior hides a vulnerable young woman who is quick to run the second she feels discomfort. But this season, Michaela must face her vulnerability head-on as she’s forced to navigate her relationship to her late cousin’s legacy — and to Francesca," according to a description from Netflix.
Bridgerton season 5 will consist of eight episodes. Jess Brownell serves as its showrunner and executive producer, while Rhimes, Verica, Betsy Beers and Chris Van Dusen also executive produce.