'Wentworth' season 5 air date, spoilers news 2016: Who is the new top dog?

"Wentworth" fans who are excited for season 5 will have to wait until next year to catch new episodes. But even though the premiere is still months away, speculations on who could be the next big boss have already started going around.

As fans may recall, season 4 closed with the death of Bea Smith, played by Australian actress Danielle Cormack. She was stabbed to death to stop Joan Ferguson's (Pamela Rabes) freedom from prison.

Bea is a fan favorite character so several fans didn't like how things ended for her. She was even believed to return alive for the upcoming season but reports cited that Bea isn't going to rise up from the dead. McCormack and the producers of the series already confirmed Bea's death.

Since she was the prison's top dog, many are speculating who will be taking over her spot. The show did not mention any details regarding Bea's replacement but included in the list of possibilities are Joan, Karen Proctor (Tammy Macintosh) and Sonia Stevens (Sigrid Thornton).

Several fans are rooting for Karen because she was able to outshine Bea in season 4. But some thought that Sonia could be more eligible for the job. Some rooted for Joan but considering the previous events, she is more likely going to be punished in the upcoming season.

Reports also suggested that perhaps none of the old characters are going to fill the highest position. New inmates are said to be introduced and one of them could be the upcoming top dog of the prison. Bea's death is also said to have paved way for the show to bring in more roles. One is even rumored to be a new male cast member who plays a transgender character.

There is no specific date yet for "Wentworth" season 5 but it is expected to premiere in April 2017.