Will 'The Gilded Age' Be Back for Season 3?

Christine Baranski in 'The Gilded Age.'

British period dramas just haven’t been the same since Downton Abbey ended in 2015, but the real heads know that the drama never stopped—it just moved to America. After wrapping up his time with the Crawley family, Oscar-winning screenwriter Julian Fellowes turned his eye to the world of wealthy New Yorkers in the 1880s with The Gilded Age, which premiered on HBO in January 2022 and now awaits news of a Season 3 renewal.

“I’m very interested in American history, which I think is very rich, and I think the Gilded Age period in many ways was a precursor of 20th century America, that the very high-gloss, high-glamour, high-consumerist America that would flower with Hollywood and all these various other aspects was really being laid and rooted in the Gilded Age, in those super-prosperous years after end of the Civil War,” Fellowes explained to The Hollywood Reporter after the Season 1 finale in March 2022. “These [Gilded Age] people were very confident and they believed in themselves, they believed in their preeminence. You only have to go to some of the Gilded Age buildings in New York to see what these people thought of themselves, that they were giants, that they were the people of now. And all of that really led into a century that they would dominate.”

The lush series follows a mix of fictional characters (Carrie Coon’s striving Mrs. Russell) and real ones (Donna Murphy’s Mrs. Astor) as they jockey for position in New York City’s high society. While the show isn’t quite the cultural phenomenon that Downton Abbey was, it’s garnered plenty of interest on social media thanks to its dramatic plot twists, detailed costumes, and star-studded cast (which includes a shocking number of Broadway veterans).

HBO hasn’t yet renewed The Gilded Age for a third season, but writer Sonja Warfield isn’t worried about coming up with new ideas for more episodes. “There is so much in history [that would work for the show],” she told Town & Country in November 2023. "We discovered gems for Season 2 that play into our characters' journeys, and there are so many more things we could play out if we’re lucky enough to get a third season. In season 1, we had Thomas Edison’s lights, in season 2 we have the Tuskegee Institute, and we’ll discover what that is in Season 3.”

Keep reading for everything to know about The Gilded Age’s potential third season.

Is there a Season 3 of The Gilded Age?

HBO hasn’t yet announced whether The Gilded Age will return for a third season, but news should be coming soon following the end of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. In May 2023, HBO executive Francesca Orsi said a renewal wasn’t off the table, but she hinted that The Gilded Age is on the bubble.

“At this point, we are having conversations regarding viewership relative to budget,” she told Deadline. “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. It’s those elements that we are always keeping in mind and discussing relative to whether or not a show will continue. That factors in for Perry Mason, for Winning Time, for instance, for Gilded Age, so we have to play everything out and see how well they do.” (Four months later, HBO announced Winning Time’s cancellation.)

Who is cast in Season 3 of The Gilded Age?

No casting announcements have been made for a potential Season 3 of The Gilded Age, but it seems likely that the show’s major players would all reprise their roles.

Carrie Coon (Bertha Russell)

The Gilded Age would be nothing with Carrie Coon’s Bertha Russell, the new money matron determined to break into the world of New York City high society. Before joining The Gilded Age, Coon starred in Gone Girl, The Post, Widows, Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Avengers: Infinity War. On TV, she played Nora Durst on The Leftovers from 2014 to 2017 and starred in Season 3 of Fargo. In 2024, she’s set to appear in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.

Morgan Spector (George Russell)

Should The Gilded Age get a third season, Morgan Spector will almost certainly be back as everyone’s favorite robber baron. Before he began busting unions as George Russell, Spector appeared in Boardwalk Empire, Homeland, Suits and The Plot Against America. In 2023, he starred alongside Coon in the Hulu original film Boston Strangler.

Taissa Farmiga (Gladys Russell)

Taissa Farmiga—little sister of Vera Farmiga—plays Bertha and George’s sheltered daughter, Gladys. Her previous credits include The Bling Ring, American Horror Story, The Nun and 2023’s The Nun II.

Harry Richardson (Larry Russell)

Harry Richardson plays Larry, the older brother of Gladys. Poldark fans may recognize Richardson as Drake Carne, but he’s also appeared in Dunkirk, Death in Paradise and Total Control.

Louisa Jacobson (Marian Brook)

Louisa Jacobson—who is the youngest daughter of Meryl Streep—stars as society neophyte Marian Brook. The Gilded Age is her first screen project, but she’s been working as a stage actor since 2017.

Related: Mamma Mia! All About Meryl Streep's Children 

Denée Benton (Peggy Scott)

Denée Benton plays aspiring writer Peggy, who works for Marian’s aunt Agnes. Benton has appeared in unREAL and the 2023 Peacock film Genie, but she’s also a stage actor, having earned a Tony Award nomination for her performance in Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812. Her other stage credits include Hamilton and Into the Woods.

Blake Ritson (Oscar van Rhijn)

In a world full of inveterate gossips, Oscar van Rhijn, played by Blake Ritson, has more tea on The Four Hundred than a tabloid reporter. Ritson previously appeared in Upstairs Downstairs, Krypton and Da Vinci’s Demons. In 2024, he’s set to star in a new TV adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo.

Cynthia Nixon (Ada Brook)

Cynthia Nixon stars as Marian spinster aunt Ada Brook. Best known for playing Miranda Hobbes on Sex and the City, Nixon also stars on that show’s sequel series, And Just Like That, which was renewed for a third season in August 2023. Nixon has also appeared in A Quiet Passion, Ratched, Hannibal and The Big C.

Related: Get to Know Cynthia Nixon's Wife and Family

Christine Baranski (Agnes van Rhijn)

Christine Baranski stars as Marian’s other aunt Agnes van Rhijn, who suffers no fools. Most recently, Baranski appeared on the big screen in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again and A Bad Moms Christmas. From 2017 to 2022, she played Diane Lockhart on The Good Wife spinoff The Good Fight.

Other potential Season 3 cast members include Donna Murphy, Debra Monk, Simon Jones, Jack Gilpin, Kelli O’Hara, Audra McDonald, Laura Benanti, Nathan Lane, John Douglas Thompson, Kristine Nielsen, Taylor Richardson, Ben Ahlers, Kelley Curran, Douglas Sills, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Michael Cerveris, Erin Wilhelmi, Patrick Page and Sullivan Jones.

What is The Gilded Age Season 3 release date?

The Gilded Age Season 3 won’t have a release date until it gets an official renewal from HBO, but new episodes likely wouldn’t debut until late 2024 at the earliest.

Is The Gilded Age nominated for any awards?

The Gilded Age’s first season won a Creative Arts Emmy in 2022 for Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Period or Fantasy Program (One Hour or More). Season 1 also scored nominations at the Satellite Awards, Art Directors Guild Awards and Costume Designers Guild Awards. Because the second season premiered in October 2023, it missed the eligibility period for the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards, so any Season 2 nominations would arrive in 2024.

Where to watch The Gilded Age Season 3

If and when The Gilded Age premieres, new episodes will air on HBO and stream via Max.

Is The Gilded Age on Netflix?

The Gilded Age is an HBO original, so it’s not currently streaming via Netflix, but Netflix has recently started offering several HBO originals on the platform, including Ballers, True Blood and Insecure. All of those shows, however, came to Netflix after their series finales aired, so The Gilded Age likely wouldn’t appear on the streaming service until after its final season, if ever.

Is The Gilded Age on Hulu?

Because The Gilded Age is an HBO original series, it’s not likely to stream via Hulu in the future.

Is there a trailer for The Gilded Age Season 3?

Since HBO hasn’t officially renewed The Gilded Age for Season 3, there’s no trailer yet, but watch this space for updates.

How many episodes are in The Gilded Age Season 3?

The Gilded Age’s first season had nine episodes while the second season had eight installments, so it’s safe to assume a potential third season would fall in the under-10 range.

Next, Everything to Know About 'And Just Like That' Season 3