The Gilded Age is an American costume drama by Julian Fellowes set in New York in the 1880s, the so-called Gilded Age. Julian Fellowes is known as the creator of the popular series Downton Abbey. In addition to this hit series, he also has miniseries such as Belgravia and The English Game to his name, all set in England. However, his latest creation, The Gilded Age, is set in New York, which brings a completely different atmosphere.
The story of The Gilded Age begins with Marian Brook, played by Louisa Jacobson - Meryl Streep's daughter. After she discovers that her deceased and penniless father has left her nothing, she finds shelter with her wealthy aunts in New York: the widow Agnes van Rhijn (Christine Baranski, The Good Fight) and her unmarried sister Ada (Cynthia Nixon, Ratched). Upon her arrival at her aunts' elegant mansion, Marian is showered with expensive dresses and advised never to be friends with 'the new one'.
Old vs new money
Across the street lives the 'new', Bertha Russell (Carrie Coon, The Sinner), who is busy choosing the most expensive curtains for her newly built palace. All this thanks to her husband, a wealthy railroad magnate. Although Bertha believes that money will gain her access to the higher social circles, the neighbors are shocked by her ostentatious display of wealth and want nothing to do with the Russells.
In two seasons it goes between the Russells and the Van Rhijns. Marian, but also the son of the Russells, must marry well; certainly not with each other. In addition, as in many costume dramas, the concerns of downstairs are also depicted in addition to upstairs. After all, the household staff can also tell how chic or rich you are. For example, the Van Rhijns have a British butler, but the Russells have a French chef.
Although the series is enjoyable to watch, it does not reach the level of Downton Abbey. While the costumes are beautiful, something is missing from The Gilded Age that makes the drama feel artificial and superficial. Unlike Downton Abbey, where a beautiful country house in charming Yorkshire attracted attention, The Gilded Age has to make do with digital backgrounds and newly built sets. It's not quite convincing. The only bright spot is Peggy's story.
Nevertheless, this series is highly recommended for costume lovers. The Gilded Age can be seen on HBO Max.
About the writer, Karzal
Mike (1995) has been a member of MySeries since 2016 and is mainly active on the English version of the site. Since 2018, he has been actively translating news articles, columns, reviews and basically everything that ends up on the Dutch site. The original articles, columns and reviews were actually written by others. During the week Mike can be found at IKEA, where he is a national systems specialist and occasionally also in the classroom to teach an English lesson. In addition, Mike logically enjoys watching series and has actually been spoon-fed this from an early age. The genre doesn't matter, there is a place for everything in the otherwise busy life.
