‘Wentworth’ Season 5 Air Date, News & Latest Updates: Will Foxtel Wait Out Bea Smith Furor? Is Delay Inevitable?

"Wentworth Season 5" by Foxtel will premiere in the wake of outcry over the exit of Danielle Cormack as Bea Smith. While the move to change leads is a bold decision from Foxtel, will fan protest push the network to allow the furor to die down? Is delay for the new season inevitable or will Foxtel stand by its decision?

Foxtel concluded the arc on Bea Smith with a shocking conclusion in "Wentworth Season 4" finale "Seeing Red." No one saw the change coming as apparently, cast of the Foxtel series was as shaken by the new direction as fans had been. Certainly, removing Bea Smith despite Danielle Cormack cultivating a strong following for both the series and character had been considered a suicide by many.

Congratulations to Wentworth's Ben Joss on winning the 2016 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts... https://t.co/UlYHok4UHI

— Wentworth (@Wentworth) December 5, 2016

Perhaps, seeing Danielle Cormack back with her "Wentworth" crew at the 2016 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) awards ceremony as posted on Twitter and Facebook does not help with an easy transition for Bea Smith fans. Results are reported on Sky News, with "Wentworth" taking two awards. Still, Foxtel reportedly has a vision for the series, which necessitates eliminating the former Top Dog in Season 4. As to who will replace Bea Smith, this information remains under tight wrap.

Co-stars Nicole da Silva (Franky Doyle) and Kate Jenkinson (Allie Novak) had been among the favorites to rise as the new Wentworth prison top dog. However, not even the choice of either Franky Doyle or Allie Novak as the replacement for Bea Smith will be an option to soften the blow for fans of the Foxtel series. As earlier reports cited, word is that Bea Smith will not be replaced by any of the current inmates of Wentworth.

Instead, Season 5 will go into a completely new arc. How this pans out will definitely be part of both the challenge and the attraction of going into the new season. Foxtel is expected to release "Wentworth Season 5" by Summer 2017.