‘The Gilded Age’ Premiere Photos Show Families at Odds — Get a Glimpse at Season 3

'The Gilded Age' Season 3 premiere photos
Karolina Wojtasik / HBO

The Gilded Age Season 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 in The Gilded Age Season 3 gallery, below.

The Gilded Age, Season 3 Premiere, Sunday, June 22, 9/8c, HBO

'The Gilded Age' Season 3 3 Episode 1
Karolina Wojtasik / HBO

The Gilded Age Season 3 Premiere Photos

It’s winter in New York in the Season 3 premiere!

'The Gilded Age' Season 3 3 Episode 1
Karolina Wojtasik / HBO

Larry and Marian go for a stroll.

'The Gilded Age' Season 3 3 Episode 1
Karolina Wojtasik / HBO

What’s the latest on Marian and Larry after their swoon-worthy kiss in the Season 2 finale?

'The Gilded Age' Season 3 3 Episode 1
Karolina Wojtasik / HBO

Church takes in the brisk air.

'The Gilded Age' Season 3 3 Episode 1
Karolina Wojtasik / HBO

Mother-daughter duo Dorothea and Peggy Scott.

'The Gilded Age' Season 3 3 Episode 1
Karolina Wojtasik / HBO

The staff of the Forte/Van Rhijn and Russell households intermingle.

'The Gilded Age' Season 3 3 Episode 1
Karolina Wojtasik / HBO

Bertha has the girls over at her place.

'The Gilded Age' Season 3 3 Episode 1
Karolina Wojtasik / HBO

Ava Forte is in charge of the house now.

'The Gilded Age' Season 3 3 Episode 1
Karolina Wojtasik / HBO

Marian looks deeply concerned in conversation with her aunts.

'The Gilded Age' Season 3 3 Episode 1
Karolina Wojtasik / HBO

Kelli O’Hara has been bumped up to a series regular this season. Is turmoil in store for Aurora Fane?

'The Gilded Age' Season 3 3 Episode 1
Karolina Wojtasik / HBO

Are Larry and Jack working together? What could this mean for Jack’s clock invention?

'The Gilded Age' Season 3 3 Episode 1
Karolina Wojtasik / HBO

Oscar at the dinner table with his Aunt Ada, who’s still in mourning attire following her husband’s death.

'The Gilded Age' Season 3 3 Episode 1
Karolina Wojtasik / HBO

The downstairs staff of the Forte/Van Rhijn abode.

'The Gilded Age' Season 3 3 Episode 1
Karolina Wojtasik / HBO

Gladys Russell meets up with her crush at the opera.

'The Gilded Age' Season 3 3 Episode 1
Karolina Wojtasik / HBO

Larry is there, too. Mrs. Fish is ready to gossip as always.

'The Gilded Age' Season 3 3 Episode 1
Karolina Wojtasik / HBO

George has a drink. But where is he? This doesn’t look like New York.

'The Gilded Age' Season 3 3 Episode 1
Karolina Wojtasik / HBO

Gladys sits for a potrait.

'The Gilded Age' Season 3 3 Episode 1
Karolina Wojtasik / HBO

The portrait is bound to be beautiful with a dress like this.

'The Gilded Age' Season 3 3 Episode 1
Karolina Wojtasik / HBO

Bertha likes what she sees in the portrait.

'The Gilded Age' Season 3 3 Episode 1
Karolina Wojtasik / HBO

Gladys and mother Bertha have an important talk before bed.

Merritt Wever, Morgan Spector, Carrie Coon, and Harry Richardson in 'The Gilded Age' Season 3
Karolina Wojtasik / HBO

More from The Gilded Age Season 3

What’s shocking the Russells? Is this Gladys’ wedding to the Duke, and is she leaving him at the altar? Seen to Spector’s left is Merritt Wever, who debuts as Bertha’s estranged sister, Monica O’Brien, this season. Behind Wever is Marian, looking concerned and appearing to be matching in attire with the women in her aisle. Are they bridesmaids?

Ben Lamb and Taisa Farmiga in 'The Gilded Age' Season 3
Karolina Wojtasik / HBO

The Duke of Buckingham and Gladys will be connected this season.

Carrie Coon in 'The Gilded Age' Season 3
Karolina Wojtasik / HBO

Bertha arranged her daughter’s potential engagement to the Duke against husband George’s wishes.

CJ Wilson, Morgan Spector, Patrick Page 'The Gilded Age' Season 3
Karolina Wojtasik / HBO

George’s business dealings reached a climax last season with a workers strike. Will George continue to try and union bust this season?

Cynthia Nixon and Christine Baranski in 'The Gilded Age' Season 3
Karolina Wojtasik / HBO

Ada’s reversal of fortune will throw sister Agnes for a loop in Season 3.

Harry Richardson and Louisa Jacobson in 'The Gilded Age' Season 3
Karolina Wojtasik / HBO

Larry and Marian seem as smitten as ever. Will they get married?

Audra McDonald and Denée Benton in 'The Gilded Age' Season 3
Karolina Wojtasik / HBO

McDonald and Benton return as mother-daughter duo Dorothy and Peggy Scott.

Jordan Donica and Denée Benton in 'The Gilded Age' Season 3
Karolina Wojtasik / HBO

Could Donica’s Dr. William Kirkland be playing Peggy’s new love interest this season?

Phylicia Rashad in 'The Gilded Age' Season 3
Karolina Wojtasik / HBO

Rashad joins the cast as Mrs. Elizabeth Kirkland, a well-known woman of Brooklyn’s wealthy Black families.

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