Nicola Coughlan says she will appear in fewer episodes of Bridgerton Season 5 while filming Only Murders in the Building

Nicola Coughlan, who plays Penelope Bridgerton on Netflix’s Shondaland drama Bridgerton, said she will have a smaller on-screen presence in the upcoming Season 5. In an interview with Deadline published Aug. 19, Coughlan said she will “always pop back to Bridgerton,” but that she will be in fewer episodes this season as her schedule overlaps with another production.

Coughlan’s comments tie her reduced role to what she described as a double-duty period. Deadline reported that she is also working on Season 6 of Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building, and that filming commitments for the comedy-mystery series are part of why her Bridgerton Season 5 time will be more limited.

On the Bridgerton side, Coughlan remains one of the series’ most prominent leads, and Penelope’s storyline has been central to the show’s popularity with mainstream audiences. Still, Coughlan characterized the adjustment in episode count as a continuation of the arrangement rather than a departure, emphasizing that she expects to return.

Coughlan also framed the shift as the kind of tradeoff actors often make when two series schedules collide. Deadline quoted her saying, “I had such an epic run,” language that points to her sense of the time she has had in the Bridgerton role even as her availability changes for the next social season installment.

Only Murders in the Building, the other project referenced in the Deadline interview, has positioned Coughlan as part of a long-running ensemble that blends comedy with ongoing mystery arcs. Deadline’s report connects the two productions, indicating that the intensity of filming for the Hulu series is influencing how much time Coughlan can devote to Bridgerton at the start of Season 5.

For viewers tracking release expectations, the practical effect of Coughlan’s comments is a change in what the cast lineup will look like across the Netflix season, at least in terms of her number of appearances. While she did not outline a specific episode count in the interview summary, she said she will be stepping back from the main ensemble for Season 5 rather than taking a full break.

Bridgerton fans preparing for the next installment now have an additional context point for Season 5 casting and screen time. The move also highlights how major-streaming schedules can require prominent performers to balance multiple series simultaneously, with episode participation shaped by production calendars and the demands of concurrent projects.