‘Downton’ writer says ‘The Gilded Age’ will be ‘intensely glamorous’

Julian Fellowes says his new period drama will most of all be “about love.”

Set in New York in 1885, The Gilded Age is set to begin filming soon, having recently moved from NBC to HBO.

The ten-part first season will follow Marian Brook, the young, orphaned daughter of a Southern general, as she moves into the home of her rigid, old-fashioned aunts in New York City and becomes entangled in the lives of her incredibly rich neighbours.

Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes commented: “It has been a dream of mine for some time, as I am fascinated by this brutal and intensely glamorous period of America’s history.”

The writer added: “It will be about ambition, of course, and envy and hatred and, perhaps most of all, about love. I hope people will enjoy the series. I know I will enjoy making it.”

Executive producer Gareth Neame, who also worked on Downton Abbey, revealed: “This is a compelling part of the American story and has remarkable parallels with the world we live in as these people set many of the wheels in motion that drive us today.”

It has long been rumoured that The Gilded Age could feature earlier incarnations of characters from Downton Abbey, most notably a young Violet Crawley.

The Gilded Age was originally set to premiere this autumn on NBC, but it’s now not expected to arrive on HBO until early 2020.

The Downton Abbey movie will be released in cinemas in September.

Downton Abbey: The Complete Collection DVD box set is available on Amazon.