The anticipation surrounding Julia Season 3 is already high despite the fact that Season 2 has yet to finish its run on Max.
Julia is a proven winner to critics, with the show earning a 93% critic score and a 91% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. As a result, it wasn't surprising that the show was renewed for Season 2 in May 2022.
Julia's sophomore run then premiered on Max on November 16, with its finale expected to be released on Thursday, December 21.
When Could Julia Season 3 Release?
As of writing, Max has yet to renew Julia for Season 3. This decision makes sense considering that Season 2 is still ongoing on the streaming service.
Given the strong reception from fans and critics toward Julia Season 2, there's a good chance that the show will come back for a third season. But if it gets renewed, when could it be released?
Filming for Season 1 began around June 2021 and wrapped in September 2021. Julia then made its debut on Max on March 31, 2022.
After the show was renewed for Season 2 in May 2022, the cast and crew began filming in July 2022. It was then finished in December 2022.
Julia Season 2 premiered on Max on November 16. The longer wait between Seasons 1 and 2 may have been due to the Hollywood writers' and actors' strike.
Interestingly, Season 2 was renewed just before the Season 1 finale premiered on Max. Assuming that a similar situation will happen for Season 3, then it's possible that Max will announce its renewal at the end of December 2023.
That said, pre-production could commence after the holidays, presumably around January 2024. Filming for Season 3 could then begin around Spring 2024.
Considering the previous production timeframes of past seasons, filming could be done around Fall 2024.
As a result, it seems likely that Max would target a Summer or Fall 2025 release window for Julia Season 3 if it decides to renew the series.
Julia Season 3's Potential Cast
Given that Max has yet to confirm Julia's Season 3 renewal, it is widely expected that a good chunk of its main cast members will return for another season.
Sarah Lancashire's titular character is set to make a comeback alongside David Hyde Pierce's Paul Child. Bebe Neuwirth's Avis DeVoto, Julia's book reviewer, could also join Season 3's cast.
Pivotal cast members involved in Julia Child's The French Chef cooking show are also poised to return, such as Fran Kranz's Russ Morash and Brittany Bradford's Alice Naman.
Here's a list of the expected cast members who will return in Julia Season 3:
- Sarah Lancashire - Julia Child
- David Hyde Pierce - Paul Child
- Bebe Neuwirth - Avis DeVoto
- Fran Kranz - Russ Morash
- Fiona Glascott - Judith Jones
- Brittany Bradford - Alice Naman
- Robert Joy - Hunter Fox
- Rachel Bloom - Elaine Levitch
- Tosin Morohunfola - Isaac
What Could Happen in Julia Season 3?
Julia tackles the story of how the titular character rose to fame due to her cooking show, The French Chef.
Season 2 revolves around Julia's struggles in trying to balance her fame while still caring for her family, colleagues, and supporters. The sophomore season also featured a change of scenery as it moved to France.
The first few episodes of Julia Season 2 highlighted two ongoing storylines: the WGBH's (the channel on which the show aired) struggles to create another TV show as successful as The French Chef and the titular character's vacation to France with her husband.
While there's a good chance that the issues surrounding WGBH will likely be resolved by the end of Season 2, another compelling storyline that Season 3 could kickstart is a potential rival arc for Julia Child.
It's possible that another network could swoop in and find a chef to go up against Julia's The French Chef, and seeing how this would play out would definitely be interesting.
In real life, The French Chef ran for 10 years on WGBH, with the show earning Peabody and Emmy awards. While the show was a success, seeing the ups and downs of it through the lens of the titular character could be the best route for Season 3.
The third season could also continue to showcase how the female characters often support Julia against the consistent backlash from men in the industry.
Julia Season 2 is now streaming on Max.