The Gilded Age Season 2 ended with a bang as fireworks lit up the sky over the Brooklyn Bridge, and many of the characters looked excitedly toward their future.
The faster pace and unabashed drama of the show’s sophomore season attracted new fans and kept viewers guessing what would happen each week.
Race relations and labor strikes were key elements this season and added historical heft to this soapy series that is as relentlessly entertaining as Nathan Lane’s accent.
Has The Gilded Age Been Renewed?
Yes! Fans of The Gilded Age received an early Christmas present when HBO announced the show’s renewal for a third season on December 21, 2023.
How Did The Gilded Age Season 2 End?
The season-long “Opera War” between Bertha Russell and Mrs. Mary Astor seemed up for grabs until the last moments of the finale when His Grace, the Duke of Buckingham’s arrival, cemented victory for Mrs. Russell’s Metropolitan Opera House.
Of course, exactly what persuaded the Duke to attend the Met instead of the Academy of Music was left ambiguous, but many not-so-subtle signs point to the promise of a potential arranged marriage to young Gladys Russell.
Marian Brook and Larry Russell kissed on her doorstep, finally succumbing to the tepid attraction that has brewed between them since Season 1 (don’t worry, she ended her boring engagement to boring Cousin Dashiell first).
Oscar van Rhijn (Blake Ritson) lost the family fortune in a railway investment scam set up by his almost-fiancee, Maud Beaton, who then vanished.
Even worse, Oscar had to tell his mother, Agnes van Rhijns, the news, and she reacted as poorly as you’d imagine.
However, Ada saved the van Rhijns from social and financial ruin with a vast inheritance from her secretly rich dead husband, Reverend Luke Forte.
In related news, it appears that Ada is now the mistress of House van Rhijn.
Good news: the innovative and chronically sleep-deprived footman Jack Trotter (Ben Ahlers) got his patent for the alarm clock thingy he made!
Peggy Scott quit the paper (and her flirtation with Fortune) to focus on writing a novel and reuniting with her parents.
The Gilded Age Season 3 Plot (and Spoilers!)
The Gilded Age Season 2 was chock-full of characters and dangling plot threads, so Season 3 has plenty of options for potential storylines.
A big one will revolve around the Duke and Gladys (Taissa Farmiga): Bertha and her daughter have long butted heads about her choice of suiters, but an arranged marriage might be what finally sparks a true rebellion in Gladys.
The upended power dynamics of the van Rhijn household alone could fill an entire season, with Agnes and Ada switching their long-standing roles as benevolent matriarch and poor relation. Also, Oscar will probably be in the dog house for most of the season.
Mr. Russell’s flashes of compassion for his striking steel workers will make for an interesting tightrope to walk between them and his robber baron buddies.
Larry Russell (Harry Richardson) has pivoted from designing bridges to manufacturing alarm clocks, which somehow seems a better fit for him, however, how he and the intrepid Mr. Jack Treacher fare as business partners remains to be seen.
Will Season 3 Have A Musical Episode?
The closest we’ve gotten to a musical episode was in The Gilded Age Season 2 Episode 1, when Bertha enlisted an opera star to close out her dinner party with a new aria.
For a show whose cast is filled with Broadway musical theater royalty, the first two seasons have featured surprisingly little performed music.
C’mon, Gilded Age! Here’s a chance to pick up where Schmigadoon! left off!
Should Season 3 Have A Musical Episode??
Yes! It seems beyond belief that a cast this stacked with musical theater greats doesn’t automatically sing all of their lines every episode!
The Gilded Age Season 3 Episodes
The Gilded Age Season 1 had nine episodes, while Season 2 had eight episodes. If this trend continues, Season 3 might only have seven episodes, but hopefully, they will give us at least eight.
Returning The Gilded Age Season 3 Cast
The stars playing the core characters of the series will doubtless return.
The Russells (Carrie Coon and Morgan Spector), the van Rhijns (Christine Baranski and Cynthia Nixon), Oscar and Marian (Louisa Jacobson). Also safe bets? Larry and Gladys Russell, Peggy (Denee Benton) and Jack Trotter, Turner, and the Duke.
Not in the cards so much are Robert Sean Leonard (RIP Reverend Luke Forte), Laura Benanti (Mrs. Susan Blane), Cousin Dashiell and his daughter Frances, Maude Beaton, and Mr. Colyer, whose now-resolved story arc always felt a bit tacked-on.
The Gilded Age Season 3 Cast Additions
I imagine this will depend heavily on the Broadway musical theater 2024/2025 season, but as of yet, there have been no official announcements regarding new cast members.
The Gilded Age Season 3 Trailer
There’s No trailer yet, but there’s a good chance of seeing several past and future The Gilded Age cast members when the 77th Tony Awards airs on June 16, 2024.
Has The Gilded Age Won Any Awards?
The Gilded Age Season 1 won a Creative Arts Emmy in 2022 for Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Period or Fantasy Program (One Hour or More).
The Gilded Age Season 3 Release Date
There has not yet been an official announcement for the release of Season 3.
Almost two years elapsed between the January 2022 premiere of Season 1 and the October 2023 release of Season 2.
If the show repeats that production time frame, Season 3 will be released sometime in the summer of 2025.
Hmm, would a summer release result in a more Newport-focused Season 3? Parasols for everyone!
Where To Watch The Gilded Age Season 3?
The Gilded Age Season 3 will be available to view on HBO/Max.
You can watch Seasons 1 and 2 there right now!
Paullette Gaudet is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. You can follow her on X.