Shonda Rhimes Opens Up About 'Bridgerton's' First Queer Romance

Shonda Rhimes is sharing her reaction toBridgerton's gender-swapped romance between Francesca (Hannah Dodd) and Michaela (Masali Baduza) in season 5.

The Bridgerton executive producer spoke to People on Sunday, April 26 about the upcoming fifth season of the show that will feature its first queer love story.

The fans have been so supportive of sort of every direction we've gone with story, which has been wonderful to me. I really thought the reaction to season 4 was extraordinary. I'm just excited for fans to get to see what we do in Season Five," Rhimes said.

Season 5 differs from the novel it is based on, When He Was Wicked, as the story follows the romance between Francesca and Michael Sterling. The series gender-swapped the characters from Michael to Michaela. Author of the Bridgerton book series, Julia Quinn, spoke about the decision to change the character's gender in 2024.

Quinn said at the time that she is "deeply committed to the Bridgerton world becoming more diverse and inclusive as the stories move from book to screen."

Rhimes told People that season five has already started filming and that she "loves" watching the romance unfold.

"I'm really excited. I can't tell you any story points because that would be spoilers, but I'm really excited and we've started filming and I think it's been amazing so far," she said.

The series follows the love stories of the Bridgerton siblings in a fictionalized 1813 Regency-era England. All episodes of Bridgerton are available to stream on Netflix. Season 5 is expected to release in late 2027/early 2028.

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This story was originally published April 27, 2026 at 10:59 PM.