Dickinson Fans Just Got Bittersweet News

Period comedy "Dickinson" was one of the first Apple TV+ series, launching alongside "The Morning Show," "For All Mankind," and "See" on the streaming service's first day. It quickly became one of the platform's most beloved shows, building a dedicated fandom and winning a prestigious Peabody Award (though it's been unfairly overlooked for Emmy nominations thus far). Looper called it one of the best TV shows of 2019.

"Dickinson" is a hilarious, heartfelt, and endlessly surprising series based on the life of poet Emily Dickinson, who lived from 1830 to 1886 and is one of America's most celebrated wordsmiths despite being mostly unknown during her lifetime. She's played by Hailee Steinfeld, and the cast also includes Jane Krakowski, Toby Huss, Ella Hunt, and rapper Wiz Khalifa as the embodiment of Death. The show takes contemporary music, slang, and themes and puts them in a detailed period setting, which leads to clever and delightful juxtapositions like a party scene in which people in ball gowns and tailcoats dance to the trap hit "I Like Tuh" by Carnage and ILoveMakonnen.

Just as "Dickinson" was a freshman show for Apple TV+ as it launched, it will be the first to end on its own terms. Apple announced the bittersweet news that "Dickinson" will be ending with its third season, which premieres this fall.

Season 3 of "Dickinson" will premiere on Friday, November 5 with its first three episodes, followed by weekly episodes until the series finale on December 24. In a statement, creator Alena Smith confirmed that the third season would be the last.

"When I set out to make 'Dickinson,' I envisioned the show as a three-season journey that would tell the origin story of America's greatest female poet in a whole new way, highlighting Emily's relevance and resonance to our society today," Smith said. "In my wildest dreams, I could never have imagined how rich and satisfying the experience of making this show would become, and the incredible joy it has been to tell Emily's story along with Hailee and our brilliant, passionate cast and crew. I can't wait to share our epic final season with the world, and to bring our audience along with us to the conclusion of Emily's coming-of-age saga, as she continues to fight for her own poetic truth, while reckoning with so many of the issues that face us now."

According to Apple, the third season will follow Emily's most productive artistic period, which coincides with the Civil War and a smaller civil war within her own family. "As Emily tries to heal the divides around her, she wonders if art can help keep hope alive, and whether the future can be better than the past."

The announcement was accompanied by a teaser that shows Emily as a Union soldier on the battlefield, which must be a scene from her imagination, and news that writer-actress-talk show host Ziwe had joined the series' writing staff and would be guest-starring as abolitionist Sojourner Truth.