Apple TV+ has officially renewed The Buccaneers for a third season, extending its lavish, modern take on Edith Wharton’s unfinished 19th-century tale. The company made the announcement via a press release, and teased a new, enigmatic Duke who will shake things up in Tintagel as the show leans into passion, power and a little good-natured rule-breaking.
The Buccaneers has quietly become one of Apple TV+’s prestige wins: the series—adapted from Wharton’s last, incomplete novel—has been praised for blending period-drama trappings with contemporary energy and a feminist sensibility. Apple’s press announcement points to strong critical reaction and a devoted audience as reasons to bring the story back for a third chapter.
Season two’s ensemble—Kristine Frøseth, Alisha Boe, Josie Totah, Aubri Ibrag and Imogen Waterhouse—returns alongside Emmy nominee Christina Hendricks, Leighton Meester and Mia Threapleton. Directors across season two included BAFTA and DGA winners, and the show has deliberately mixed classic period aesthetics with a lively, modern storytelling pace.
Edith Wharton’s The Buccaneers was left unfinished at her death in 1937 and published posthumously in 1938; over the decades the fragment has been the subject of scholarly debate and—more recently—creative reinterpretation. Apple’s series takes that incomplete, late-career work as a springboard, expanding character arcs and adding contemporary emotional beats while retaining Wharton’s setting: wealthy American women navigating late-19th-century British society.
Critics and features covering the show have pointed out that the Apple TV+ version leans into modern themes—deepening character backstory, foregrounding feminist angles, and exploring relationships that Wharton’s original sketch only hinted at. That choice helps the series feel both true to the period and resonant for today’s audiences. Expect season three to continue that balance: honoring source material while expanding it for serialized television.
Apple TV+’s renewal of The Buccaneers is a welcome signal for fans of literary-rooted prestige TV: it promises more of the brisk period-drama energy that’s already won praise, while giving writers room to finish and reimagine Wharton’s last, unfinished work. If you haven’t caught the first two seasons yet, they’re streaming now—and season three is officially on the way.
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