Bridgerton’s Season 5 & 6 Leads Will Be Eloise & Francesca

#Benophie season is in full bloom, but it’s never too early to theorize about who will lead Bridgerton Season 5 and 6. Fortunately, showrunner Jess Brownell recently shed some light on the future of Netflix’s Regency romance.

Who’s Next?

As you know, each Bridgerton season corresponds to one of Julia Quinn’s novels about the titular brood. The books tell the siblings’ love stories in this order: Daphne, Anthony, Benedict, Colin, Eloise, Francesca, Hyacinth, and Gregory.

But ever since Netflix swapped Benedict and Colin’s seasons — Colin got Season 3, while Benedict is the subject of Season 4 — the romance roadmap is a little less clear, becoming the source of much speculation throughout the ton (and Bridgerton Reddit).

At Season 4’s Paris premiere on Jan. 14, Brownell weighed in with a small tease. “Both characters with the initials on my pocket square will get seasons in 5 and 6,” she told Deadline. “In what order, I can’t say.”

Those initials are E and F, corresponding to Eloise and Francesca. This isn’t too surprising, given that of the remaining Bridgerton kids, these two are older and already have more developed storylines than Gregory and Hyacinth.

Eloise and Francesca are the subjects of Quinn’s fifth and sixth books, respectively — though it remains to be seen whether Benedict and Colin’s swap was a one-time departure or a shake-up that will be repeated.

Theories Abound

While Brownell is remaining mum on the specific order, there are plenty of theories out there. For example, fans noticed that in early Season 4 photos, Eloise could be seen wearing a dress with a pattern reminiscent of tree bark — a potential hint that her eventual love interest, the plant-loving botanist Philip Crane, could be right around the corner.

There’s even a long-running theory based on the family’s pall-mall game in Season 2 — where, based on the order of the game, fans correctly deduced that Benedict would helm Season 4. The same theory suggests that Eloise is up next.

Of course, the simplest support of the Eloise theory is that her initial comes first in Brownell’s pocket square. But when asked about theories that her character will lead Season 5, Claudia Jessie told Deadline that she’s in the dark, too.

“I wish I could say yes, I have started working on that. That would make me seem like such a professional,” she said, before admitting that she simply doesn’t know. (Of course, her on-screen big brother Luke Thompson said as much shortly before his season was announced.)