'The Gilded Age': Christine Baranski and Cynthia Nixon Star in Julian Fellowes' Latest Costume Drama

By Stacy Lambe‍ 8:36 AM PST, December 13, 2021

HBO

After making pre-war British society the focus of Downton Abbey, Julian Fellowes is turning his attention to New York City, which is the backdrop of his latest period drama, The Gilded Age. Starring Christine Baranski, Cynthia Nixon and Carrie Coon, the nine-episode series will explore the period of great conflict between the old and new ways in the late-1800s.

According to HBO, The Gilded Age begins in 1882, when Marian Brook (Louisa Jacobson) moves from rural Pennsylvania to the city after the death of her father to live with her rich, old aunts, Agnes van Rhijn (Baranski) and Ada Brook (Nixon). Accompanied by aspiring writer Peggy Scott (Denée Benton), Marian inadvertently finds herself in the middle of a social war between one of her aunts and her newly rich neighbors, railroad tycoon George (Morgan Spector) and his wife, Bertha Russell (Coon).

Ahead of its January debut, HBO shared the first teaser and images, giving audiences a glimpse at the ensemble cast, which also includes Taissa Farmiga, Blake Ritson, Simon Jones, Harry Richardson, Thomas Cocquerel and Jack Gilpin. The lavish, star-studded costume drama will also see appearances by Michael Cerveris, Nathan Lane, Audra McDonald, Debra Monk, Donna Murphy, Kelli O’Hara, Jeanne Tripplehorn and many others.

A month later, the network followed up with a full trailer for the series, which showed more of the class war taking over New York, “where anything is possible.”

Behind the scenes, the series reunites creator/writer/executive producer Fellowes with his Downton Abbey team, director/executive producer Michael Engler and executive producer Gareth Neame, who previously spoke to ET about the upcoming drama, explaining that similarly to the upstairs-downstairs drama and Belgravia, “this will overlap in some of themes and some of the tone, but the story and the characters are fresh.”

The creative team also includes executive producer, David Crockett; director/executive producer Salli Richardson-Whitfield and writer/co-executive producer Sonja Warfield.