The Gilded Age (TV series) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Gilded Age |
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| Genre | Historical drama |
| Created by | Julian Fellowes |
| Written by | Julian Fellowes |
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| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 9 |
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| Running time | 46–80 minutes |
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| Distributor | NBCUniversal Television Distribution |
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| Original network | HBO |
| Original release | January 24, 2022 – present |
The Gilded Age is an American historical drama TV show. It was created and written by Julian Fellowes for HBO. The story takes place in the United States during the Gilded Age. This was a time of great growth in the 1880s in New York City.
The show was first announced in 2018 for NBC, but it later moved to HBO in May 2019. It started on January 24, 2022. In February 2022, the show was renewed for a second season. Critics have mostly given it good reviews. They especially liked the costumes, the cast, and the acting by Carrie Coon, Morgan Spector, and Christine Baranski.
Contents
What the Show is About
The story begins in 1882 in New York City. A young woman named Marian Brook moves into the city's strict social world. She gets caught up in the daily conflicts between two main families. One is the Russell family, who are "new money." This means they recently became rich. The other is the van Rhijn-Brook family, who are "old money" and have been rich for a long time.
The show also explores the lives of different groups of people. This includes the very wealthy, the upper middle class, and the wealthy African-American community. It also shows the lives of the domestic workers who work for these families.
Meet the Characters
Main Characters
- Carrie Coon as Bertha Russell: She is determined to use her wealth to join the highest levels of society, even though many people resist her.
- Morgan Spector as George Russell: Bertha's husband. He is a powerful businessman who represents the "new money" families.
- Louisa Jacobson as Marian Brook: A young woman who has no money. She has to live with her aunts, who she doesn't know very well.
- Denée Benton as Peggy Scott: A smart and ambitious young African-American writer. She works as a secretary for Agnes van Rhijn.
- Taissa Farmiga as Gladys Russell: Bertha and George's daughter. She is innocent but wants to be treated like an adult.
- Harry Richardson as Larry Russell: Bertha and George's son. He just graduated from Harvard University and is ready to start his own life.
- Blake Ritson as Oscar van Rhijn: Agnes's clever son. He is looking for a rich woman to marry to make sure he has a good life.
- Thomas Cocquerel as Tom Raikes (season 1): A sensible young lawyer. He is very interested in Marian when they meet.
- Simon Jones as Bannister: The van Rhijns' English butler. He likes to show off and makes sure the other staff follow the rules.
- Jack Gilpin as Church: The Russell family's butler. He is very good at his job and tries to hide his past.
- Christine Baranski as Agnes van Rhijn: A proud and strong "old money" socialite. She is the head of the Brook household.
- Cynthia Nixon as Ada Brook: Agnes's sister. She depends on Agnes for support.
Other Important Characters
- Kelli O'Hara as Aurora Fane: Agnes's niece by marriage. She helps Marian get into society.
- Donna Murphy as Caroline Schermerhorn Astor: A very important socialite in New York society. She was a leader of the elite group called "The Four Hundred."
- Debra Monk as Armstrong: Mrs. Van Rhijn's lady's maid.
- Kristine Nielsen as Mrs. Bauer: The cook for Mrs. Van Rhijn. She helps a young housemaid named Bridget.
- Taylor Richardson as Bridget: The van Rhijn housemaid. She has had a difficult past.
- Ben Ahlers as John "Jack" Treacher: A footman in the van Rhijn household.
- Kelley Curran as Turner: Bertha's ambitious lady's maid. She doesn't want to be a servant forever.
- Douglas Sills as Monsieur Baudin/Josh Borden: The chef for the Russell family. He first pretends to be French but is actually from Kansas.
- Celia Keenan-Bolger as Mrs. Bruce: The Russells' new housekeeper.
- Michael Cerveris as Watson/Collyer: George Russell's valet.
- Erin Wilhelmi as Adelheid: Gladys Russell's lady's maid.
- Patrick Page as Richard Clay: George Russell's loyal secretary.
- Sullivan Jones as T. Thomas Fortune: A publisher of a weekly newspaper called the New York Globe.
How the Show Was Made
Developing the Idea
In 2012, Julian Fellowes, the creator of Downton Abbey, said he was working on a new show. It was first thought of as a book. He planned for it to be about Lord Grantham and Cora's romance from Downton Abbey.
By 2016, Fellowes was deep into researching The Gilded Age. He said he wanted to focus only on this show. He found the people of this era amazing. They built huge palaces and bought yachts, showing off their wealth in a new way. This was different from how rich people lived in Europe.
In January 2018, NBC officially announced the show. It was planned to have ten episodes. Fellowes was very excited to bring this part of American history to the screen. In May 2019, the series moved from NBC to HBO. It premiered on January 24, 2022, with nine episodes. HBO decided to make a second season on February 14, 2022.
Choosing the Actors
In September 2019, the first actors announced were Christine Baranski, Cynthia Nixon, Amanda Peet, and Morgan Spector. More actors joined in November 2019, including Denée Benton, Louisa Jacobson, Taissa Farmiga, Blake Ritson, and Simon Jones.
In January 2020, Harry Richardson, Thomas Cocquerel, and Jack Gilpin became regular cast members. Carrie Coon later replaced Amanda Peet as Bertha Russell because of delays from the COVID-19 pandemic. The costume team used Carrie Coon's style to inspire more metallic-colored dresses for her character. In January 2021, Nathan Lane joined the cast. In April 2022, some recurring actors became series regulars for the second season.
Filming Locations
Filming for The Gilded Age was supposed to start in March 2020. However, the COVID-19 pandemic caused delays.
Filming began in Newport, Rhode Island in February 2021. They used beautiful mansions like Chateau-sur-Mer, The Elms, and The Breakers. They also looked for people from Rhode Island to be extras in the show.
In April 2021, filming moved to Lyndhurst Mansion in Tarrytown, NY and the Hudson River Museum in Yonkers, New York. In May 2021, they filmed in Troy, New York. Several city blocks there were changed to look like a Victorian-era street.
Real-Life History in the Show
Even though The Gilded Age is a made-up story, Julian Fellowes tried to show what life was really like during that time.
Caroline Schermerhorn Astor, also known as "The" Mrs. Astor, was a very powerful person in New York society in the late 1800s. She came from old Dutch families. She married into a wealthy family, but her husband's money was considered "new." Mrs. Astor (Donna Murphy) became the main person who decided who was allowed into high society. She and her friend Ward McAllister (Nathan Lane) believed that people in respectable society should have had their family's wealth for at least three generations. McAllister helped Mrs. Astor set the rules for society.
The characters Bertha and George Russell (Carrie Coon and Morgan Spector) are partly based on the real-life couple Alva and William K. Vanderbilt. Alva Vanderbilt came from a rich family that lost its money after the Civil War. She married into the very wealthy Vanderbilt family in 1875. However, the Vanderbilts were seen as "new money" by Caroline Astor and were often ignored.
Alva Vanderbilt was determined to join the highest levels of society. She hired a famous architect to build a grand mansion on Fifth Avenue. Then, she hosted a huge, fancy ball for 1,000 guests to celebrate her new home. All the details were shared with the newspapers. Even Caroline Astor's daughter, Carrie (Amy Forsyth), was excited about the ball. Caroline Astor had to visit Alva Vanderbilt to make sure her daughter got an invitation. After the successful ball, the Vanderbilt family was officially welcomed into New York high society.
While Bertha Russell is like Alva Vanderbilt, her husband George Russell is not very similar to William K. Vanderbilt. He seems to be inspired by Vanderbilt only because of his wealth and his marriage to an Alva-like wife.
Other real historical figures appear in the series. These include Clara Barton (Linda Emond), who founded the American Red Cross. Also, T. Thomas Fortune (Sullivan Jones) appears. He was born into slavery but became one of the most important Black journalists of his time. He wrote strongly about civil rights and spoke out against racial segregation and unfair treatment. He also helped start a group that was a predecessor to the NAACP.
See also
In Spanish: The Gilded Age para niños
