Once upon a time, Hannah Dodd didn’t know which role she was auditioning for in the Bridgerton universe. “I just loved the material so much,” Dodd tells Tudum, adding she was happy to pursue a mystery character. Now the actor is stepping into next season’s spotlight alongside co-star Masali Baduza. That’s right — Lady Francesca Stirling (Dodd) and Michaela Stirling (Baduza) are the leads of Bridgerton Season 5, which has started production outside of London.  

“I’m panicked and excited!” Dodd says with a laugh. Next to her, Baduza agrees, adding, “We got this!”

Bridgerton showrunner Jess Brownell also agrees. “I cannot say enough good things about Hannah and Masali. The two of them have such a beautiful friendship and support each other in such a beautiful way,” the writer tells Tudum. “But, beyond that, I really do think that they are two incredibly talented and special performers. They’re actors who are able to say so much with just an expression, with just their faces.”

Dodd and Baduza’s visages will have a lot to convey, as Brownell says Bridgerton Season 5 will be defined by the “big-time yearning” of its central couple. 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. “Like magnets, they’re just drawn to each other,” Baduza says.

The last time fans saw the duo, however, they were emotionally further apart than ever. In the Season 4 finale, Francesca, still reeling from the sudden death of her husband Lord John Stirling (Victor Alli), asks Michaela to stop her globe-trotting for a moment and stay with her in Mayfair. “As John’s cousin, Michaela is the only other person who fully understands what Francesca might feel like,” Dodd explains. “That just connects them on another level.”

But, in one of the last scenes of Episode 8, Francesca learns her relationship with Michaela isn’t what she thought. The Stirling cousin has left — and, as proof, we see her carriage speeding out of London. “It’s just too much for Michaela. With intense emotions like that, leaving is the only way she copes,” Baduza says. “She’s just like, ‘I’m just going to leave everything behind and move forward.’ She’s delusional right now. Eventually, things like that catch up with you.”

In Season 5, Michaela will have to face the (pop orchestral) music when she and Francesca find themselves at the center of their own love story. Dodd is looking forward to exploring her character’s resilience, as Francesca gives romance another shot after losing John so suddenly. 

“When you spend so much time with a character, you genuinely do want them to be happy. At the moment, [Francesca] is in such a devastating position. So I am really looking forward to her feeling like she deserves love,” Dodd says. “She’s always trying to get things right, and so much has gone wrong for her. I’m really excited for her to experience feeling loved [again] … and feeling enough within herself as well.”

Baduza thinks Michaela also has some things to learn about herself, and Francesca is just the right person to help her do so. “Michaela … really struggles to show vulnerability to people that she doesn’t know, especially because she’s had to hide so many parts of herself,” Baduza says. “She’s used to having all these walls up. I’m excited to tear down those walls and have her let Francesca in. I'm excited for people to see her wanted so deeply and so badly … I’m excited for people to see Michaela yearn for Francesca.”

“Francesca yearns too, to be fair!” Dodd adds. 

All of these big emotions will form the foundation of Bridgerton’s first same-gender central romance. Season 5 begins two years after John’s death, when Francesca decides to reenter the marriage mart for practical reasons. But when John’s cousin Michaela returns to London to tend to the Kilmartin estate, Francesca’s complicated feelings will have her questioning whether to stick to her pragmatic intentions or pursue her inner passions.

Dodd is glad Season 5 will allow the Regency-era series to shine a light on a queer relationship like Francesca and Michaela’s. “[Those love stories] have traditionally been excluded from things like period dramas — and queer people did exist, have always existed, and will always exist,” Dodd says. “So they deserve a love story just like everybody else.”

Bridgerton Season 5 Leads Answer 10 Burning Questions About the New Love Story

She and Baduza have leaned on Brownell as filming gets underway. “I think it’s been really special to have Jess guide us on this journey because she’s very excited about this story,” Baduza says. “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.”

Like Penelope (Nicola Coughlan) and Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton)’s romance before them, Francesca and Michaela’s will be one of familiarity — and of seeing someone in a new light. “They do have a lot in common,” Dodd says. “But I don’t think they know that yet — or how important some of the qualities in the other person is to [each of them]. How much they actually need each other.”

Baduza is looking forward to seeing that “introspection” take root in Season 5. “I don’t think Michaela is there yet,” the actor says. “And I think she’s going to learn. I hope that she learns that from Francesca.”

And that journey may just take the pair to Scotland. 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. Should we expect to see Francesca and Michaela traipsing through that same lush locale? “We hope so,” says Dodd. Baduza adds, “Take us to Scotland, please!”

Find out what’s ahead for Francesca and Michaela when Bridgerton Season 5 debuts on Netflix. Until then (re)watch Seasons 1–4 now — and keep coming back to Tudum for more news out of Mayfair.