Hailee Steinfeld goes to war in the third and final season of Dickinson, premiering this November
The Hawkeye actor will take up the pen (and more) as Emily Dickinson one last time in the Apple TV+ dramedy from Alena Smith
Emily Dickinson wrote, “I dwell in Possibility,” a statement that Alena Smith has taken to heart in her coming-of-age dramedy based (sometimes loosely) on the prominent poet’s life. For two seasons, Dickinson has been a mélange of history and fantasy, as Smith and her team filled in some of the blanks of Dickinson’s early years with contemporary flourishes and more than a touch of the surreal. Hailee Steinfeld leads the series as an impish Emily, whose ambivalence about fame was one of the cornerstones of the second season. The last time we saw Emily, she and Jane (Ella Hunt) had been reunited once more, but the country was on the verge of a civil war. Both of those storylines come to the fore in the third season, which premieres November 5 on Apple TV+.
The streamer announced the news of the final season and premiere date with an exciting teaser, which captures the darting tones of the series.
Emily’s clearly not content to sit at home, even as her parents (played by Toby Huss and Jane Krakowski) appear to be reveling in their suddenly empty nest. “Us, mortals,” she muses in voiceover, “only live for a short time. I want to do something that matters, that’s bigger than fame.” In real life, the Civil War marked the most intense period of Dickinson’s writing; it’s believed she penned nearly half of her oeuvre during that time. Season two introduced Frazer Stearns (Will Pullen, who returns for season three), whose death at the Battle of New Bern, North Carolina greatly affected the Dickinson family in real life. He manifests in the show as “Nobody,” a spirit Emily engages with throughout the season; first, over fame, but as she pieces together his identity, there’s a truth she can’t ignore.