Cr. Liam Daniel/Netflix © 2025
Bridgerton is one of Netflix’s most successful series, and the streamer continues to invest more heavily as the main series heads towards its fifth season in 2027. The Regency-era drama has already had one spinoff, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (2023), and there’s strong interest in further developments. What will the next spinoff be about? All signs point towards one character.
Bridgerton sits comfortably within Netflix’s biggest and most successful series ever; in fact, Seasons 1 and 3 currently feature in the streamer’s top 10 best-performing seasons of all time, with Season 2 only recently being edged out. Naturally, the franchise has a rich future ahead. The show’s fifth season — chronicling the queer romance between Francesca Bridgerton (Hannah Dodd) and Michaela Stirling (Masali Baduza) — is expected to wrap later this year, with a release date coming sometime in 2027. From there, the show will continue to adapt Julia Quinn’s novels right through to conclusion. In-between telling the core story, fans can also expect the show to expand into more spinoff projects, but what can we expect, and who will take the spotlight?
Of course, Bridgerton has only had one spinoff so far, that being Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. Releasing in 2023, the spinoff chronicles the early life, romances, and rise to power of young Queen Charlotte and King George, as well as the early lives of both Violet Bridgerton and Lady Danbury. The prequel was a completely original story not based on a pre-existing book. It was created by Shonda Rhimes, and a tie-in novel was later released by Rhimes and Bridgerton author Julia Quinn.
Queen Charlotte was a major success at Netflix, reaching No. 1 globally and hitting the Top 10 rankings in 91 different countries. It was a winning formula in terms of ratings too, still retaining a stellar 94% score on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s no surprise that the creators of Bridgerton are keen on developing more spinoffs — but the question is, who and what will be explored in a separate series?
Why Violet’s story is primed to be explored further in a spinoff
The way Netflix’s Bridgerton franchise is developing, there are entirely new storylines being carved out that didn’t exist in the books. Perhaps most notable is the new anonymous author taking over the Lady Whistledown mantle, who was first introduced in the Season 4 finale. This passing of the torch is wholly original to the show, as Penelope permanently retires her pen in the novels. The writers intend to keep the mystery figure behind the pseudonym a secret for at least a couple of seasons, though we have been theorising exactly who it could be.
Of course, the blossoming romance between Violet Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell) and Marcus Anderson (Daniel Francis) is also a completely new storyline. In fact, Marcus doesn’t even exist in Julia Quinn’s novels, making him the perfect candidate for the writers to get creative with. Given that there are no preconceptions of what to expect between Violet and Marcus, it makes their storyline primed to be explored in a spinoff, possibly coupled with flashbacks to the past featuring the relationship between Violet and her husband Edmund.
How does Violet’s story end in Season 4?
Throughout the series, family matriarch Violet Bridgerton has raised eight children, and is one by one seeing them grow up and enter society. Working as a single mother after losing her late husband of 18 years, Edmund, she’s found herself so ardently focused on doing what’s best for her children, spending less time on engaging in her own future.
However, in Season 4, that changes when she begins to ask herself the question: What does she want? Her romantic restraints are tested in Season 3 when she meets Lady Danbury’s estranged brother Lord Marcus Anderson, and she later becomes romantically involved with him in Season 4—but is this romance more than a fling and bursts of passion? When talk of Marcus as a potential suitor arises, Violet holds herself back. “Not yet,” she says.
Their flirtations culminate in Season 4, Episode 4, An Offer From a Gentleman, when Mrs. Wilson (Geraldine Alexander) facilitates a discreet evening tea party with the aim of bringing Violet and Marcus together. That very evening, Violet prepares her bedroom for tea, inviting Marcus inside. “I am the tea you will be having,” she says. The scene has become legendary in the fandom.
Marcus ignites a spark in Violet that she forgot existed, and as we head into Season 5, it’s a storyline at the forefront of fans’ attention. But while the fifth season focuses on Francesca and Michaela, there may not be enough scope for the writers to explore Violet’s story, both past and present, on the level that it should get. A spinoff would be ideal, and it certainly hasn’t been ruled out; rather, the idea is being embraced.
Bridgerton creators tease the next spinoff project
When fans discuss future spinoffs, one idea keeps surfacing more than any other: a Violet Bridgerton spinoff. And for the creators of the show — namely showrunner Jess Brownell and executive producer Shonda Rhimes — it’s an avenue they can’t hide their excitement about.
“In this season [Season 4] you see a lot of her [Violet],” Brownell said during an appearance on Suite 305 with Lele Pons. “I think in Penelope and Colin’s season, because their love story was developing secretly, there wasn’t as much for her to engage with. Whereas with Benedict and the Lady in Silver, she is very involved, and I love seeing the ways in which Violet is different with each of her kids. She has a slightly different approach: with Benedict, she’s a bit hard with him at the top of this season, and then with the reveal in Part 2, she sees a lot of herself in Benedict. Her young self.”
Suffice it to say, Violet’s story has become one of the show’s biggest talking points. “That’s something I would really like to see explored in a spinoff,” Brownell teased, adding: “But, you gotta ask Shonda Rhimes.”
More specifically, Brownell is interested in further exploring Violet’s past, which has only been partially covered so far. “Maybe it’s my way of being like, ‘Please, let’s do a spin-off!’ I would so love a young Violet spin-off,” she said in a March 2026 interview with Radio Times. “I think that’s up to Shonda and I’m so focused on the hopeful eight seasons that we have that I don’t have my head in that. But I would watch the hell out of a young Violet spin-off, for sure.”
As for what series creator Shonda Rhimes thinks of a Violet Bridgerton spinoff project, she revealed on Craig Melvin’s podcast, Glass Half Full (per Deadline), that it’s absolutely a possibility. “I’ve always said that I thought if we were going to do something like that, Violet would be a great person to tell the story about,” she said, teasing: “That’s a possibility.”
Which other characters could get a spinoff?
Outside of a Violet Bridgerton spinoff, which certainly has the most traction at the moment, there’s plenty of room for other forays. Some of the most popular ideas being floated around the fandom include a spinoff chronicling the story of Anthony (Jonathan Bailey) and Kate (Simone Ashley) in India, a Lady Danbury prequel, and even a backstory for Brimsley. For the latter two, we’ve already seen glimpses and scenes, but not a dedicated narrative.
Another potential spinoff path was teased by Jess Brownell on the Suite 305 podcast, involving further exploration of Queen Charlotte and King George III’s family — they had 15 children, matching real-world history. “I’m really interested in that, for sure,” she said. “I think the real Prince Regent, his story is fascinating. He was very unlikable in real life, and he had mistresses left and right. I think that’s a really interesting spinoff—maybe not about him, but we could do more with him and more with the daughters.”
In addition to this, she also revealed that someone from the royal family line will be “more featured” in Bridgerton Season 5, but the identity of that person remains under wraps.
Bridgerton Season 5 is expected to arrive on Netflix sometime in 2027. What spinoff would you like to see? Tell us in the comments down below!