'The Gilded Age': 5 things to know about HBO's period drama

Set in 1882, the show revolves around a woman named Marian Brook, who relocates to New York to live with her aunts and forge a new path for her
UPDATED JAN 18, 2022
Official poster of 'The Gilded Age' (HBO)
Official poster of 'The Gilded Age' (HBO)

If you are one of those who were obsessed with ‘Downton Abbey’, then we have some great news for you. The creator of the highly popular show, Julian Fellowes, is set to come out with a new TV series that you’ll be obsessing over in the coming weeks. Titled ‘The Gilded Age’, the upcoming HBO series is set in 1882 during a period when the world saw some massive economic changes.

The show chronicles the journey of a young girl named Marian Brook (Louisa Jacobson) who moves to New York after the death of her father and is forced to live with her aunts Agnes van Rhijn (Christine Baranski) and Ada Brook (Cynthia Nixon). However, she soon realizes that she is being told to follow the established rules of society and that was something that she never wanted to do. Will she follow the rules or she’ll forge her own path?

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Jacobson, who is Meryl Streep’s daughter, will be making her TV debut with the upcoming series. So, it will be interesting to see if she’ll be able to take forward her mother’s legacy on the television front on not.

Here’s everything we know about the upcoming HBO series.

Christine Baranski (Agnes van Rhijn) and Cynthia Nixon (Ada Brook) in 'The Gilded Age' (HBO)

When does ‘The Gilded Age’ release and where can you watch it

The upcoming series will be premiering exclusively on HBO on January 24, 2022. According to the network, the show will be airing at 9 pm EST. Viewers who don’t have HBO, worry not, you can watch the channel on various streaming services such as YouTube TV and Hulu TV.

What is ‘The Gilden Age’ all about

The official synopsis reads, “The American Gilded Age was a period of immense economic change, of great conflict between the old ways and brand new systems, and of huge fortunes made and lost. Against the backdrop of this transformation, HBO's The Gilded Age begins in 1882 with young Marian Brook (Jacobson) moving from rural Pennsylvania to New York City after the death of her father to live with her thoroughly old money aunts Agnes van Rhijn (Baranski) and Ada Brook (Nixon). Accompanied by Peggy Scott (Benton), an aspiring writer seeking a fresh start, Marian inadvertently becomes enmeshed in a social war between one of her aunts, a scion of the old money set, and her stupendously rich neighbors, a ruthless railroad tycoon and his ambitious wife, George (Spector) and Bertha Russell (Coon). Exposed to a world on the brink of the modern age, will Marian follow the established rules of society, or forge her own path?”

Who stars in the HBO show

Louisa Jacobson will be playing the role of Marian Brook on the show while Cynthia Nixon will be seen portraying the character of Ada Brook. Meanwhile, Christine Baranski will be seen playing the role of Agnes van Rhijn.

Louisa Jacobson

Born on June 12, 1991, Louisa Jacobson is the daughter of Meryl Streep and sculptor Don Gummer. She made her acting debut on stage in Yale Repertory Theatre at Yale University. Jacobson has made a name for herself in the theatre world and now she will be making her Television debut with ‘The Gilded Age’.

Actress Meryl Streep (L) and daughter Louisa Jacobson Gummer arrive at the 81st Annual Academy Awards held at Kodak Theatre on February 22, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

Other actors to feature on the show include Carrie Coon as Bertha Russell, Morgan Spector as George Russell, Denee Benton as Peggy Scott, Taissa Farmiga as Gladys Russell, and Blake Ritson as Oscar van Rhijn.

Showrunners

The upcoming show has been created and written by Julian Fellowes, who is known for writing projects such as ‘Gosford Park’, ‘Downtown Abbey’, ‘School of Rock’, and ‘Belgravia’. On the other hand, Gareth Neame, Michael Engler, Salli Richardson, and David Crockett serve as executive producers on the show.

Julian Fellowes visits the Build Series to discuss "The Chaperone" at Build Studio on March 25, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)

Trailer

The trailer delves deeper into the world of conflict that lingers on the show’s star-studded cast. You can watch the trailer here.



 

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