Need More Opera Wars in Your Life? Never Fear: ‘The Gilded Age’ Will Return for Season 3!
Season 2 of the HBO series The Gilded Age wrapped up on December 17, 2023, tying up a few storylines while leaving many more delightfully tangled. There were so many open-ended plotlines that fans were eager to know whether we’ll get a season 3 of Julian Fellowes’ historical drama. The short answer is yes—here’s everything we know so far!
At the end of season 2, Bertha Russell (Carrie Coon) became the reigning queen of the Metropolitan Opera after duking it out with old money Mrs. Astor (Donna Murphy) for weeks. Elsewhere, Marian (Louisa Jacobson) found the nerve to turn down an unsuitable engagement, Peggy (Denée Benton) quit her job at the paper to avoid being tempted by a married man, and Agnes found herself back on top … sort of. Oh, and Marian also shared a very sweet (and much anticipated) kiss with Larry Russell (Harry Richardson).
There were plenty of stories left unfinished, like Jack Treacher’s (Ben Ahlers) clockmaking venture. The writers also set new ideas in motion, like Bertha’s covert ploy to marry Gladys (Taissa Farmiga) off to a Duke her daughter doesn’t seem to like very much, much less love. We’ve also got a budding love story in Mrs. Bruce (Celia Keenan-Bolger) and Monsieur Baudin (Douglas Sills) that’s giving us total Downton Abbey flashbacks.
What the suits said
Speaking with Town & Country, producer David Crockett indicated that the cast and crew were hopeful about getting a green light for season 3. He said writers are already emailing each other with ideas about historical events they’d like to work into the next season.
“There are emails flying back and forth when you find a particularly cool story that fits. You just know when that happens,” he said. “The Metropolitan Opera opening on the same night as the Academy is a great example of that. It was real, and Julian knew the story but not that they opened on the same night, so it came through on an email chain and it was like, wow, we’ve got to do this!”
As usual, whether The Gilded Age returns is a matter of dollars and cents. The Gilded Age is an expensive show to make—the hat budget alone must be astronomical!—and it has not yet reached the sort of critical acclaim that equates to subscription dollars for HBO. In an interview with Deadline, HBO’s head of drama series and films, Francesca Orsi, said decisions involving renewals are about “viewership relative to budget.”
“Each show has a job to do, given the price tag that we give to it, and there’s a viewership component, and there’s a critical response element to it and, of course, the buzz nature of a show,” she said. “It’s those elements that we are always keeping in mind and discussing relative to whether or not a show will continue.”
This sort of executive chatter was concerning, especially when you consider Mindhunter was abandoned for a similar “lack of eyeballs” problem. However, on December 21, 2023, HBO made a very exciting announcement.
The wait is over!
Just five days after the season 2 finale aired, HBO announced that there will be a season 3 of The Gilded Age! The Hollywood Reporter shared a statement by HBO’s president of universal television, Erin Underhill. “There is much more story to tell with The Gilded Age,” she stated. “We’re delighted that HBO is giving fans another season of Julian Fellowes’ incredible storytelling. The cast and crew put so much of their heart and soul into the last two seasons, and we’re so proud that all this hard work is paying off with another season… you won’t want to miss what’s next!”
We definitely don’t can’t wait! Will this be the year Ada comes into her true power? Will Marian and Larry explore that first kiss some more? And most importantly, is Gladys doomed to marry that boring Duke? We’ll have to wait to find out.
There’s no word yet on when we can expect the next installment of this sprawling period drama, but we will keep you informed as soon as we know more. In the meantime, all episodes of seasons 1 and 2 of The Gilded Age are now streaming on Max.
(featured image: HBO)
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