She’s played the literary legend for three seasons, but has now closed the book on this chapter of her career.
“It’s very bittersweet,” Steinfeld told Newsweek. “It’s so crazy to think that although I’ve known that the end was coming, it’s actually happening.”
Dickinson was one of the launch titles when Apple TV+ arrived in 2019 and during its run, it won a Peabody Award, gained a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and launched a new legion of Stan-level fans online for its central romance between Emily Dickinson and Sue Gilbert (Emisue).
“I feel like I will take away so much from this experience. I’m so grateful that this show has served as this introduction to this literary icon that I will forever be inspired by.
“I have learned so much and can’t wait to sort of take what I have learned into my future projects,” Steinfeld said.
Unappreciated in her time, the show Dickinson has highlighted Emily Dickinson’s poetry for a new audience. Blessed with a new appreciation of the author, Steinfeld says she now sees her influence everywhere.
“Emily’s influence is very prominent in, like, pop music now on top 40 radio. I feel like in conversations I have, I’ll hear something that sort of reminds me of a certain poem that she wrote, or something that she might have been intrigued by.”
She continued, “Maybe it’s because I’ve spent so much time in her world and in her mind but I’ve become more aware of that and I do feel like her influence lives on.”
The first three episodes of Season 3 are available to watch now with each subsequent episode becoming available every Friday. The final season promises to be as unconventional and creative as ever, with the trailer revealing that at one stage, Emily Dickinson time travels into the future.
Emily’s sexuality is explored further in Season 3 too, and Steinfeld acknowledges that the show is tasked with covering a wide variety of tones and topics. She said: “I literally have these moments where I’m like, how lucky am I to be able to do a show like this, that I get to do these things on opposite ends of the spectrum within the same week. It’s just wild.”
The show’s creator, Alena Smith, is full of praise for what Steinfeld has done in this role, especially as it requires her to be very versatile. Smith told Newsweek: “She just throws herself into it with such heart and force and she always lives up to the challenge. I mean, this is a show that goes everywhere tonally. One moment is the broadest comedy and the next moment is like absolute despair — and Haley just goes for that ride.
“It’s been amazing to watch her just continue this journey, embodying this role, and always rising to the next level of the challenge,” she said.
Steinfeld’s co-stars are just as complimentary. Jane Krakowski (30 Rock) played Emily’s mother, Mrs. Dickinson, in the show and admits she picked up a thing or two by working with her younger cast member.
Krakowski told Newsweek, “I couldn’t be more grateful that I got to do some wonderful scenes with Haley. I really loved working with her. I felt I learned something about my choices and acting and certainly how she works, that I greatly appreciate. I’m very excited to see Hayley in her next venture.”
Although Dickinson is now coming to an end, the family we’ve watched on screen will stay in touch via the Dickinson cast group chat. Steinfeld, Adrian Blake Enscoe (Austin), Anna Baryshnikov (Vinnie), Ella Hunt (Sue Gilbert), Toby Huss (Edward) and Krakowski have formed a tight bond on and off screen, and Steinfeld is convinced they’ll stay that way.
She said: “My God, I remember meeting everyone for the first time and feeling like ‘I got lucky’.
“This is such a great group of people,” she continued. “Everyone that’s ever been involved in this show, our guest stars and all, we’ve gotten very lucky with this group of people, all just being so equally as passionate about this project.
“But yes, I can confirm the Dickinson group chats will live on.”
Present for the “Emisue Stans”
The creator of Dickinson has promised the diehard fans of the show that there is a special treat coming for the “Emisue stans.”
Emisue refers to the characters Emily and Susan who are in love with each other, but for various reasons have been kept apart. Smith confirms that toward the end of the season, a fan-pleasing moment will occur. “Our fans are very nice, they’re very polite, and they deserve to be rewarded.”
The first three episodes of Dickinson Season 3 are available to watch now with each subsequent episode airing every Friday.
The third and final season will have 10 episodes in total, with the finale airing on December 24.
