‘The Gilded Age’ Is Like ‘Downton Abbey’—But Better

The Gilded AgeIt seems certain to be a huge success. After all, American viewers are huge fans of British period dramas—or so it appears. The Tudors, Downton Abbey, Bridgerton, The CrownThese are just some of the shows that have had runaway success with stories that transport us back to yesteryear. HBO is now tapping into these sensibilities with its long-awaited The Gilded AgeThis drama will premiere on January 24. This drama, unlike other television dramas, places the United States front and center. 

From Downton AbbeyCreator Julian Fellowes The Gilded Age is a glimpse into New York City’s high society before the turn of the 20th Century. It is dramatic, dark, and quite good, if I may say so. Unlike many of the other historical dramas focusing on the elite, this story doesn’t solely center on white nobility. In New York, the most important story is not the rich doing rich things but the people just trying to reach the top.

When we’re first introduced to main character Marian Brook (Louisa Jacobson, daughter of Meryl Streep) she is reeling from a life-altering event. Penniless, she is packing up her life in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, and headed to the big city to live with her late father’s sisters. Aunt Agnes (Christine Baranski) and Aunt Ada (Cynthia Nixon) are her appointed navigators through this new chapter, but it is an unexpected friendship with emerging Black writer Peggy Scott (Denée Benton) that sets the tone for much of the series. This relationship demonstrates the class system that fuels their world. While The Gilded Age relies on fictional characters to explore life in this post–Civil War piece, it highlights the reality of old money clashing with the nouveau riche and Black America’s standing in a very segregated world. 

One of the main criticisms of Fellowes’s previous PBS drama was its lack of representation. He was careful not to repeat the same mistake, and it’s to the benefit of the show. In the 80-minute series premiere, we see that fitting into America’s high society is not simply about race and wealth. Across the street from old money is desperate-to-fit-in new money and across the water—in Brooklyn—is an enclave of well-to-do Black Americans who own their own homes, have established businesses, and have no desire to live a second-class existence over in Manhattan.

The characters and the amount of scheming and backstabbing that goes down on East 61st Street/5th Avenue are numerous. Much of it can be attributed to newcomers Bertha Russell and Morgan Spector (Carrie Coon, and Carrie Coon). But even with all the subplots, there was never overwhelming feeling. The Gilded AgeIt is well-cast, and well-written. Baranski brilliantly delivers the one-liners, Nixon brings the empathetic spirit, and Jacobson and Benton bring the charm that comes with finding one’s way in life and love.

Although I may never forgive HBO for cancelling, How to Make It In AmericaThe network earned points for bringing the authentic New York City story alive after only two seasons. [In my best Gilded Age voice:]I think the network has another hit, and I like it.

Tanya Christian, a writer and editor based out of New York City, is Tanya Christian. Follow her on twitter @tanyaachristian.