Leighton Meester Joins Apple TV+’s ‘The Buccaneers’ for Season 2

Attention Upper East Siders: Queen B is heading to England to stir up some drama on season 2 of The Buccaneers.

Apple TV+ revealed on Tuesday, October 1, that Leighton Meester has been cast in the second season of the historical romance series. The streamer made the announcement in true Gossip Girl fashion by sharing a social media video of the cast learning the news via a message on their phones.

“Hello?” Alisha Boe, who plays Conchita Closson, asks upon picking up her phone, after which she immediately texts her costar Josie Totah, who portrays Mabel Elmsworth. Channeling her inner Gossip Girl, Totah, 23, proceeds to travel around the set to share the update with Imogen Waterhouse (Jinny St. George), Aubri Ibrag (Lizzy Elmsworth) and Kristine Froseth (Nan St. George).

After hearing a knock on a set door, the group opens it to see Meester, 38, standing in the doorway in complete Victorian-era garb. Just like her iconic Gossip Girl alter ego, Blair Waldorf, Meester’s character is dressed to impress in a stunning wine-colored gown and an elaborate updo.

Meester’s latest project comes less than one week after her husband Adam Brody’s new show, Nobody Wants This, premiered on Netflix. As of Tuesday, the series sits in the No. 1 spot on the streamer’s Top 10 TV shows in the U.S. list while social media is buzzing that he’s playing a character similar to The O.C.’s Seth Cohen. Meanwhile, Meester’s fans are already speculating that her Buccaneers character could be a Victorian-era Blair Waldorf.

The Buccaneers, based on the unfinished novel of the same name by Edith Wharton, follows a group of American young women as they join the English marriage mart of the 1870s. As the group deals with culture clashes while navigating their love lives abroad, Nan finds herself in a love triangle with Theo, Duke of Tintagel (Guy Remmers), and his non-royal best friend, Guy Thwarte (Matthew Broome).

Not to mention, Nan’s discovery that she is her father’s (Adam James) illegitimate child threatens not only her romantic pursuits but her and her family’s place in high society.

Details about Meesters’ role are currently being kept under wraps, though some fans already have theories about who she could be playing, speculating that she could be Nan St. George’s birth mother.

Season 1 ended with Nan tying the knot with Theo, despite being in love with Guy, hoping to use her status as a duchess to protect Jinny from her abusive husband, Lord James Seadown (Barney Fishwick). Adding to the drama, Nan’s father informs his wife, Patricia St. George (Christina Hendricks), that Nan’s birth mother has arrived in England for the wedding.

The Buccaneers was renewed for a second season one month after its November 2023 premiere. The show also stars Josh Dylan, Mia Threapleton, Amelia Bullmore, Simone Kirby, Shobhit Piasa, Anthony Calf, Fenella Woolgar and Francesca Corney. No official premiere date for season 2 has been announced.