Newport Shines as HBO’s “The Gilded Age” Returns for Season 3 Tonight

Newport, Rhode Island—America’s original summer playground for the elite—is back in the spotlight as Season 3 of “The Gilded Age” premieres Sunday, June 22 on HBO and Max. Julian Fellowes’s lavish period drama returns with eight new episodes, deeper power struggles, and even more drama set against the grandeur of 1880s New York and Newport.

While corseted intrigue and social climbing continue in Manhattan, much of the action this season unfolds amid Newport’s iconic seaside mansions. The Russells, ever-ambitious, eye an even higher perch in society, while Bertha (Carrie Coon) pursues influence that could redefine her family’s legacy. George (Morgan Spector), meanwhile, takes a daring risk in the railroad world—one that could cement his empire or undo it entirely.

Across the street, the Brook-Van Rhijn household is in disarray. Agnes (Christine Baranski) clashes with Ada (Cynthia Nixon) over shifting power dynamics at home, while Peggy Scott (Denée Benton) finds herself caught between professional ambition and the expectations of a prominent Black family.

The opulence continues with jaw-dropping costumes—Bertha’s towering gowns remain a visual feast, doubling as armor in her quest for acceptance among the old-money elite.

For Rhode Island fans, it’s a homecoming. Newport’s sweeping lawns, marble ballrooms, and oceanfront estates steal the scene, underscoring the city’s real-life role as the jewel of America’s Gilded Age.

Episodes air Sundays at 9 p.m. ET through August 10. Newport’s history has never looked so glamorous—or so deliciously cutthroat.

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