“The Vampire Diaries” alum Paul Wesley lands next big role after “Star Trek” stint

Mekishana PierreFri, February 27, 2026 at 6:56 PM UTC

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Paul Wesley in 2025Credit: Leon Bennett/Getty

Paul Wesley is going from the USS Enterprise to the tightly corseted London of the 1870s.

On Friday, Apple TV announced that the streamer is "formally inviting" the former Vampire Diaries star to the cast of its hit historical series, The Buccaneers, for the upcoming third season. Wesley will play the role of Frank, a mysterious but charming stranger who arrives in Nan (Kristine Froseth) and Mrs. St. George’s (Christina Hendricks) world, turning it upside down.

Created by Katherine Jakeways and based on Edith Wharton's unfinished novel, published posthumously in 1938, The Buccaneers follows the titular group of American heiresses who travel to England seeking husbands during the Gilded Age in the 1870s. The season followed the five young women as they navigate London's high society, confronting cultural clashes, tradition, friendship, and love. Season 2 saw the ladies battling love, heartbreak, motherhood, jealousy, and the full force of the English legal system.

Grace Ambrose, Imogen Waterhouse, and Matthew Broome on 'The Buccaneers'Credit: TJASA KALKAN/Apple TV+

The official synopsis for season 3 reveals that the Buccaneers are "fighting back. And they're doing it together." After spending the freshman and sophomore seasons navigating their first loves, the young women are looking for the loves of their lives. And with a new and enigmatic Duke at the helm, Tintagel is also facing an uncertain future. "If polite English society thought our American girls rocked the boat, this new bad-boy Duke is about to sink the ship," the logline reads.

Viewers will have to tune in to find out exactly who will be playing the "bad-boy Duke," a character introduced in the final moments of season 2. As the cliffhanger ending revealed, the Duke is Theo's long-lost half-brother Kit, who could become the next Duke of Tintagel after Theo abdicated the title so he could divorce Nan. Summoned by the Dowager Duchess of Tintagel, Kit is only seen from behind riding toward the estate, keeping the actor's identity concealed.

And, to complicate matters further, Nan is pregnant with Theo’s child, who could also qualify for inheriting the Tintagel title and property.

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Alongside Froseth and Hendricks, the show's star-studded cast includes Alisha Boe, Aubri Ibrag, Josie Totah, and Imogen Waterhouse, who round out the headstrong fivesome, as well as Matthew Broome, Josh Dylan, Barney Fishwick, Guy Remmers, and Mia Threapleton.

Leighton Meester joined in Season 2 as Aunt Nell, who is revealed to be Nan's real mother, as well as Grace Ambrose, Maria Almeida, Amelia Bullmore, Fenella Woolgar, Greg Wise, and Jacob Ifan.

Paul Wesley as James T. Kirk on 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds'Credit: Marni Grossman/Paramount+

Wesley joins the season currently in production, fresh from a stint in a familiar yellow tunic on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. The actor joined the Paramount+ series for season 2 in 2022, recurring as James T. Kirk before his stint as captain of the USS Enterprise. The series wrapped production on its fifth and final season last year, with season 4 slated to premiere in 2026.

The actor, along with several other Strange New Worlds stars, is slated to reprise his role in a sequel series currently in-development, which would explore the early days of Kirk's captaincy of the USS Enterprise. The show, tentatively titled Star Trek: Year One, would take place in the years before Star Trek: The Original Series.

The Buccaneers season 3 is directed by DGA Award winner Rachel Leiterman and BAFTA Award nominee Amy Neil. Jakeways and Emmy Award winner Beth Willis serve as executive producers, with Joe Innes promoted to executive producer for the upcoming installment.

While season 3 doesn't have a premiere date at the moment, viewers can check out the first two seasons on Apple TV.

on Entertainment Weekly

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”