There is something very charming about the new period drama, The Gilded Age. Created by Julian Fellows, the same creator of the ever-successful Downton Abbey, you know The Gilded Age is going to be an incredible series as it focuses on a period of history that helped establish New York to become the city it is today.
Set in New York at the turn of the 20th century. New York is growing, fortunes were being made from the railroad and millionaires were building their extravagant homes on the famed 5th Avenue.
The series begins with the battle between old and new money. The Russell family have just built a huge home, imported marble sculptures from Europe, grand cascading staircases and sparkling white stone facade that casts a shadow over the neighbors’ home, the Van Rhijn family, who are an old established family in New York.
The Russells are desperate to move amongst society and stake a claim for themselves, but to do so they need to be accepted. As it currently stands the old money are a little slow to be hospitable and warm to the flashier Russell family.
Julian Fellows has created something that delves into the legend of old New York, the names that still haunt this city, the Astors, the Guggenheims, the Morgans, the Vanderbilts, all these names that left their mark and many of them are set to feature in this new series that explores life in New York city when the city was slowly developing.
The sets and costumes for The Gilded Age are sumptuous. You can see that a lot of time and effort has be put into these important features of the series. These are the cornerstones, as much of the historical homes have been demolished over time to make way for the many skyscrapers, so the referencing of the locations for the homes do match up, which is great to see.
The cast for the series is absolutely stellar. Christine Baranski, Louisa Jacobson, Cynthia Nixon, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Carrie Coon and Linda Emond. But you cannot help but notice an even larger amount of the regular cast are recognizable from Broadway, Audra McDonald, Kelli O’Hara and Ward Horton.
Christine Baranski is absolutely perfect as Agnes Van Rhijn, a woman who has ruled the city by name, a little old fashioned and set in her ways, but deep down very caring and warm. This is a role that is going to develop into a favorite, there are many one liners and Baranski just dominates the scenes, in a good way.
Louisa Jacobson as Marian Brook, the younger niece of Agnes Van Rhijn, is sharp and very clever and you can see she is bringing some life to the very old and cold home of the Van Rhijn. Jacobson in the role is strong and intriguing to watch as you are very curious to see the development of this character in the series.
The Gilded Age is a perfect series that will captivate the audience as it was a very fascinating time in history and it is great to see the talented creators behind the successful Downton Abbey are now turning their eyes to the intriguing history of Manhattan and the families who called it home.
The Gilded Age episodes are available every Monday from 9pm on HBO.
