With Season 5 over halfway through filming there still has not been an official cast list released by Netflix, though Shondaland and Netflix have announced three new cast members. Some other cast members, such as Hugh Sachs, Emma Naomi, Ruth Gemmell and Claudia Jessie have been sighted at filming locations in London by fans, and Nicola Coughlan has been able to officially confirm her return. Despite these sightings, and the confirmation from Nicola of her return, there has been no such indication that the Viscount and Viscountess will be returning for the fifth season. Prior to season 4 there was a similar silence around just the return of Simone Ashley (Kate Bridgerton) and it took Simone herself having to confirm she would return in an interview, but for season 5 there has not only been silence from Netflix and Shondaland, but also less definitive responses from Simone Ashley when asked. Jonathan Bailey has not spoken on any potential return this year either.
Both Simone Ashley and Jonathan Bailey have continually reiterated their commitment to Bridgerton, and the characters of Kate and Anthony Bridgerton, when asked however, neither have stated if they are returning for season 5 as yet. The speculation of Kate and Anthony’s return began among a small group of Bridgerton fans in April after Simone Ashley appeared on The Louis Theroux Podcast where Simone indicated that she had (at the time of recording) not received a script for season 5, despite filming already being underway. The speculation has intensified after a recent interview with Refinery29 Australia where Simone was again non-committal about her potential return for season 5, saying that “Bridgerton will always feel like home…” and that she is “grateful for everything it’s given me, and for the audience who’ve embraced Kate so wholeheartedly.” Simone went on to say that she loves seeing where the story goes each season. For many fans this sounded final, and as a confirmation she will not be returning to the show, and with no indication that she has been on set for season 5 her departure from the show, however unwillingly, appears highly likely. Some in the fandom have suggested that Simone may not be allowed to say if she is returning, which seems odd when Nicola has openly stated she is returning, as have the season 4 leads Luke Thompson and Yerin Ha.
If Kate and Anthony are not returning then Bridgerton will again be under the spotlight for their optics, especially if they keep Violet and the unmarried children living in Bridgerton House. These optics were touched on in my post last week which you can read here, however, to reiterate the message, it is not a good look for the production to continue having Violet - a white woman - running Kate’s household. But adding to those optics is the way that the show has treated the introduction, and integration, of Eliott versus Edmund. Elliott was first seen at the end of season 3, then again in season 4, and it is speculated that Elliott will be joined by a sibling in season 5, however, we have only seen Edmund in season 4, and if Kate and Anthony are not in season 5 then we will not be seeing him again, nor any of his siblings. This is part of a pattern the production have shown with regards to the only South Asian lead, and now a mixed South Asian child, and for a production that craves continual praise for its diverse casting to write out the darker skinned Viscountess and her mixed South Asian child, but continue to keep her white in-laws in her home the optics look worse than ever as the pattern emerges.
So will Kate and Anthony be back? It is unclear, and cannot be said one way or another with any degree of confidence, but all signs are suggesting that at the very least Kate will not be returning, there is still the possibility that Anthony may do so without his wife and child. However, perhaps we should not be focussed on if Kate and Anthony will return, but how will the production continue to have Bridgerton House at its centre without the Viscount and Viscountess?
Netflix did not respond to a request for comment on whether Kate and Anthony would be returning.