‘Wentworth’ Season 5 Air Date News & Update: Foxtel Series Cast Bea Smith Type As New Lead? S5 Production Starts?

"Wentworth Season 5" from Foxtel has fans sitting on pins and needles to see who will replace Bea Smith (Danielle Cormack) after her heartbreaking death in "Seeing Red." The shift from Bea Smith as "Wentworth" lead may not be too jarring for fans as S5 could bring in a similar lead to what Danielle Cormack popularized in the Foxtel series.

IF cites Foxtel Head Of Drama Penny Win in describing the type of leads that such series as "Wentworth," "The Kettering Incident" and "Secret City" seem to favor. IF points out that as with Bea Smith at "Wentworth," the other two series have strong female characters.

TEAL TIME UK! #queenbea @channel5_tv https://t.co/SaV9Qiietv

— DANIELLE CORMACK (@daniellecormack) August 30, 2016

  As what "Wentworth" fans felt about Bea Smith, Penny Win explained that strong female protagonists connect well with viewers. Penny Win further explained that this formula, effectively used in "Wentworth," has not changed in the past 20 to 40 years.

| WENTWORTH SEASON 5 CONFIRMED | Foxtel has today renewed it's longest running original Australian drama series... https://t.co/DpGHDmeXNp — Wentworth (@Wentworth) July 20, 2016

"In terms of what drives drama, women and particularly slightly older women drive a lot of the drama in terms of loyalty," Penny Win said. Translating to "Wentworth Season 5," this revelation by Penny Win indicates that Allie Novak (Kate Jenkinson) would not be filling in for Bea Smith.

Likely, someone subtly similar to Danielle Cormack could help the "Wentworth Season 5" inmates move on from the death and loss of Bea Smith. Tellingly for the new "Wentworth" direction, Penny Win points out that strong female characters are best developed against strong male characters.

Penny Win further tells IF that "Wentworth Season 5" cast members are beginning with the table read, which indicates that production for S5 is beginning soon. Going by what Penny Win said, "Wentworth" fans should expect to see not just new inmates who will vie to replace Bea Smith but new male characters joining the Foxtel series.

Meanwhile, "Wentworth" fans would be happy to know that Danielle Cormack told Star Observer she will never fully move on from Bea Smith. Although "Wentworth Season 4" eliminated Bea Smith, Danielle Cormack shared that Bea Smith will always be a part of the Foxtel series star.

The "Wentworth Season 5" premiere is projected to be released in Spring 2017. Do you see anyone fitting Penny Win's description to replace Bea Smith in "Wentworth Season 5?"