(Photo: HBO)

Julian Fellowes will continue telling his tales. HBO has renewed The Gilded Age TV series for a third season. The second season of eight episodes finished airing on Sunday night.

A period drama series, The Gilded Age TV show stars Carrie Coon, Christine Baranski, Cynthia Nixon, Morgan Spector, Louisa Jacobson, Denée Benton, Ben Ahlers, Michael Cerveris, Kelley Curran, Taissa Farmiga, Jack Gilpin, Simon Jones, Sullivan Jones, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Debra Monk, Donna Murphy, Kristine Nielsen, Kelli O’Hara, Patrick Page, Harry Richardson, Taylor Richardson, Blake Ritson, Douglas Sills, Erin Wilhelmi, Nathan Lane, Audra McDonald, John Douglas Thompson, Ashlie Atkinson, Laura Benanti, Nicole Brydon Bloom, Christopher Denham, David Furr, Ward Horton, Matilda Lawler and Robert Sean Leonard. The American Gilded Age was a period of immense economic change, of great conflict between the old ways and brand-new systems, and of huge fortunes made and lost. Against the backdrop of this transformation, this show’s story begins in 1882 with young Marian Brook (Jacobson) moving from rural Pennsylvania to New York City. After the death of her father, she goes to live with her thoroughly old money aunts, Agnes van Rhijn (Baranski) and Ada Brook (Nixon). Accompanied by Peggy Scott (Benton), an aspiring writer seeking a fresh start, Marian inadvertently becomes enmeshed in a social war between one of her old money aunts and her stupendously rich neighbors — a ruthless railroad tycoon and his ambitious wife, George (Spector) and Bertha Russell (Coon).

In season two, the story picks up on Easter morning, 1883, with the news that Bertha’s bid for a box at the Academy of Music has been rejected. Bertha challenges Mrs. Astor and the old system and works to not only gain a foothold in Society but to potentially take a leading role in it. George takes on his own battle with a growing union at his steel plant in Pittsburgh. In the Brook House, Marian continues her journey to find her way in the world, secretly teaching at a girls’ school while, much to everyone’s surprise, Ada begins a new courtship. Of course, Agnes approves of none of it. In Brooklyn, the Scott family begins to heal from a shocking discovery, and Peggy taps into her activist spirit through her work with T. Thomas Fortune at the NY Globe.

Airing on Sunday nights, the second season of The Gilded Age averages a 0.05 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 522,000 viewers. Compared to season one, that’s down by 5% in the demo and down by 19% in viewership in the live+same day ratings (includes DVR playback through 3:00 AM).

“We’re so proud of what Julian Fellowes and The Gilded Age family have achieved. From the costumes to the production design and performances, the show has captivated so many week after week. Along with our partners at Universal Television, we are thrilled to continue this grand tale for a third season,” said Francesca Orsi, EVP, HBO Programming, Head of HBO Drama Series and Films.

Erin Underhill, President, Universal Television, noted, “There is much more story to tell with The Gilded Age. 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!”

A premiere date and additional details about season three will be revealed later.

What do you think? Have you enjoyed watching The Gilded Age TV series on HBO? Are you glad that the series has been renewed for a third season?