‘The Gilded Age’ trailer: First look at ‘Downton’ creator’s new 1880s drama series

It feels like forever since we last heard anything about The Gilded Age, but we finally have a trailer!

Set in New York at the end of the 19th century, the long-awaited new period drama series comes from Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes.

The Gilded Age was originally announced in 2018 and was set to premiere on NBC in 2019, before moving to HBO, where it then faced further delays due to the pandemic.

Downton writer Julian Fellowes previously 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.”

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 (Louisa 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 (Christine Baranski) and Ada Brook (Cynthia Nixon).

“Accompanied by Peggy Scott (Denée 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 (Morgan Spector) and Bertha Russell (Carrie 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?”

Watch the trailer:

 

Leading the cast are Christine Baranski (Mamma Mia), Cynthia Nixon (Sex and the City), Carrie Coon (The Leftovers), Morgan Spector (Boardwalk Empire), Harry Richardson (Poldark), Denée Benton (Hamilton), Louisa Jacobson, Taissa Farmiga, Blake Ritson (Da Vinci’s Demons), Simon Jones (Downton Abbey), Thomas Cocquerel, Jack Gilpin, Nathan Lane (The Producers), and Jeanne Tripplehorn (Big Love).

The Gilded Age will premiere early next year on HBO and HBO Max in the US.

It’ll air on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV in the UK.

The first trailer for the new Downton movie was also unveiled last week.

Reuniting all the main cast, Downton Abbey: A New Era will be released in cinemas worldwide in Spring 2022.

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