#Class Conflict Reigns Supreme In HBO’s Glitzy Period Drama

The series follows an ensemble cast of characters navigating life in New York, including Baranski’s Agnes and her sister Ada Brooks (Cynthia Nixon) who relies upon her charity. They play host to Louisa Jacobson (daughter of Meryl Streep, making her television debut) as Marian Brook, a penniless young woman sent to live with her aunts (Agnes and Ada) after the death of her father. But with no idea of the tension she’s stumbling into, the rural suburban grown Marian ends up in the midst of a social war between her aunts and their wealthy, new money neighbors.

Here’s how HBO describes “The Gilded Age”:

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 (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?

“The Gilded Age” is created and written by Fellowes, conceived back in 2012 when he was still working on seasons of “Downton Abbey.” Episodes of the series are directed by Michael Engler, known for his work on “Sex and the City” and “30 Rock,” as well as Salli Richardson, who helmed episodes of “Dear White People,” and the upcoming Amazon series “The Wheel of Time.”

“The Gilded Age” debuts January 24, 2022, at 9:00 p.m. ET, and will simultaneously be available on HBO Max.