The Gilded AgeSeason 3 premieres this June. Julian Fellowes‘ glitzy HBO period drama revealed its summer premiere window and the first photos from the new season on Wednesday, April 16, giving fans the first in-depth look at what’s to come. The series then released new photos from The Gilded Age Season 3 premiere on May 28, revealing that the season kicks off in the winter time and teasing the changing relationships between the characters fans have grown to love. While new relationships bloom outside of the Russell and Van Rhijn homes, there’s tension between the families in private in the new images.
Season 3 will consist of eight episodes and will premiere on Sunday, June 22, at 9/8c on HBO (streaming on Max). Here’s the official description for Season 3:
“The American Gilded Age was a period of immense economic and social change when empires were built, but no victory came without sacrifice. Following the Opera War, the old guard is weakened and the Russells stand poised to take their place at the head of society. Bertha sets her sights on a prize that would elevate the family to unimaginable heights while George risks everything on a gambit that could revolutionize the railroad industry — if it doesn’t ruin him first. Across the street, the Brook household is thrown into chaos as Agnes refuses to accept Ada’s new position as lady of the house. Peggy meets a handsome doctor from Newport whose family is less than enthusiastic about her career. As all of New York hastens toward the future, their ambition may come at the cost of what they truly hold dear.”
With the April 16 announcement comes the full official cast list. The Gilded Age Season 3 stars Carrie Coon, Christine Baranski, Cynthia Nixon, Morgan Spector, Louisa Jacobson, Denée Benton, Taissa Farmiga, Harry Richardson, Blake Ritson, Ben Ahlers, Ashlie Atkinson, Dylan Baker, Kate Baldwin, Victoria Clark, John Ellison Conlee, Michael Cumpsty, Kelley Curran, Jordan Donica, Jessica Frances Dukes, Claybourne Elder, Amy Forsyth, Jack Gilpin, LisaGay Hamilton, Ward Horton, Simon Jones, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Ben Lamb, Nathan Lane, Andrea Martin, Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Debra Monk, Hattie Morahan, Donna Murphy, Kristine Nielsen, Paul Alexander Nolan, Kelli O’Hara, Patrick Page, Rachel Pickup, Taylor Richardson, Douglas Sills, Bobby Steggert, Erin Wilhelmi, John Douglas Thompson, Leslie Uggams, Merritt Wever, with Bill Camp and Phylicia Rashad.
Notably absent from the cast list is Nicole Brydon Bloom, who played the conwoman Maud Beaton in Season 2, the woman responsible for swindling Agnes Van Rhijn’s family fortune out of the naïve Oscar, who pursued her as a wife throughout the second season. Sullivan Jones is also absent. He played Peggy’s editor, T. Thomas Fortune, in Season 2. They kissed during a work visit to Alabama, but Fortune is married, causing problems for any potential romance between the two. Michael Cerveris is also missing from the cast list. He played Watson, George Russell’s valet with a secret past. Season 2 revealed he was a former banker who fell from grace and lost all of his money. Reconnecting with his daughter led to him being able to leave his job in service — and apparently the series.
The Season 3 photos give the first look at Marian (Jacobson) and Larry (Richardson) in their presumed courtship following their kiss in the Season 2 finale, as well as the first look at Donica’s character. He’s seen with Benton’s Peggy. Is he her new love interest? We also get a first look at Rashad’s character. She plays Donica’s mother, and her husband is played by Stokes Mitchell. For a full breakdown of the new character descriptions, see here.
One particular photo from the images stands out. Bertha, George, and Larry Russell appear in the front row of a church in their finest clothes, but they’re shocked at what they’re seeing in front of them. With Gladys (Farmiga) missing from the photo, could this be her wedding? The Russells’ attire implies it’s possible, as does their seating on the traditional bride side of the aisle. Bertha promised her daughter’s hand in marriage to Lamb’s Duke of Buckingham in order to win her opera war in the Season 2 finale. What if this is their wedding, but Gladys is saying something shocking at the altar? The photo also gives the first look at Merritt Wever‘s new character.
Also causing intrigue this season is Ada being the head of the household after inheriting her late husband, Luke’s (Robert Sean Leonard), wealth. She and Agnes are seen in formal attire complete with tiaras in the gallery below, as well as in some serious conversations at home with Marian and Oscar.
Fellowes executive produces along with Gareth Neame and David Crockett. Sonja Warfield is a writer and executive producer. Michael Engler directs and executive produces. Additional EPs are Bob Greenblatt and Salli Richardson-Whitfield. The Gilded Age is a co-production between HBO and Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.
See the Russells, Van Rhijns, the downstairs staffs of their New York City homes, and more inThe Gilded AgeSeason 3 gallery, below.
The Gilded Age, Season 3 Premiere, Sunday, June 22, 9/8c, HBO