Character details revealed for ‘Downton’ team’s new period drama ‘The Gilded Age’

Exciting new story hints have been released for The Gilded Age.

From the makers of Downton Abbey, Julian Fellowes’ new period drama series was picked up by NBC in 2018 and filming was due to begin this spring.

It was announced last month, however, that The Gilded Age will no longer air on NBC, but will instead be shown on HBO.

The reason given for the move is the “opulent scope and scale of this richly textured character drama.”

The Gilded Age will be set in New York in 1885.

The setting is described in an official announcement as “a period of immense economic change, of huge fortunes made and lost, and the rise of disparity between old money and new money, which is being reflected again today.”

New story hints reveal that the series will centre on 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.

Marian is accompanied by the mysterious Peggy Scott, an African American woman masquerading as her maid.

The first season’s 10 episodes will follow Marian as she becomes caught up in the lives of her incredibly rich neighbours, including a ruthless railroad tycoon and his ambitious wife struggling for acceptance by the Astor and Vanderbilt set.

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 meant to premiere this autumn on NBC, but it’s now not expected to arrive on HBO until early 2020.

The Downton Abbey movie is set for release in cinemas this September.

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