Created by Julian Fellowes.
The Gilded Age premiered on January 24, 2022.
Distributed by Warner Bros. Television Distribution and streams exclusively on HBO and Max.
Series Review
Beautifully produced and increasingly bold, The Gilded Age turned from pretty period dressing into real drama by Season 3.
Season 1 introduced the clash between old money and new, and dazzled with sets and performances but sometimes felt thin on emotional stakes.
Season 2 embraced melodrama and gave supporting players more room to breathe, which helped the series find its voice.
Season 3 finally sharpened its narratives with higher stakes and richer payoffs.
Bertha Russell becomes more complex, Peggy and Oscar gain true arcs, and Marian and Larry grow into agency.
The show can still feel indulgent and slow, yet its costume work, acting and social themes now land with power.
If you love couture, simmering conflicts and historical gossip served with genuine consequence, The Gilded Age is now a must watch rather than a museum piece.
Season three proves the show can surprise and finally feel fully earned too.
Ratings
• IMDb: 8.1/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: 89%
• Google Audience Score: 87% liked this TV show.
The Gilded Age Actors
Carrie Coon as Bertha Russell
DOB: January 24, 1981.
Bio: American actress celebrated for her commanding stage presence and fearless performances across theater, film, and television.
A classically trained stage actor, she gained early acclaim on Broadway in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, which earned her a Tony nomination.
Role: Bertha Russell, a brash, ambitious new-money matriarch determined to secure her family a place in New York high society during the Gilded Age.
Her rise drives much of the show’s central drama.
Season & Episodes: Seasons 1, 2 and 3 (25 episodes).
What to Expect: A powerhouse lead performance that mixes blunt force with private doubt, memorable public confrontations, and quiet domestic pain.
Favorite Things: Coon has often spoken about her deep love for theater, her commitment to emotionally complex projects, and the importance of balancing her acting career with family life.
Notable Works: The Leftovers, Fargo, Gone Girl, The Nest, Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
Christine Baranski as Agnes van Rhijn
DOB: May 2, 1952.
Bio: American actress, singer, and Broadway veteran renowned for her razor-sharp wit, patrician presence, and versatile career across stage, film, and television.
A Juilliard graduate, she earned early acclaim on Broadway, winning two Tony Awards for The Real Thing and Rumors.
Role: Agnes van Rhijn, the formidable old-money aunt on 61st Street.
Fiercely protective of tradition and social hierarchy, she enforces the rules of New York’s elite with cutting precision while subtly revealing flashes of vulnerability.
Season & Episodes: Seasons 1, 2 and 3 (25 episodes).
What to Expect: Regal restraint, perfectly aimed insults and a subtle emotional core beneath the armor.
Favorite Things: Baranski has spoken about her devotion to theater, her love of classical music and the arts, and her commitment to roles that challenge her intellect.
Notable Works: The Good Wife, The Good Fight, Mamma Mia!, Broadway career.
Cynthia Nixon as Ada Brook
DOB: April 9, 1966.
Bio: American actress and activist whose career spans film, television, and Broadway.
A gifted performer from a young age, she made her Broadway debut at 14 and went on to become one of the most versatile actors of her generation.
She rose to international fame as Miranda Hobbes in Sex and the City, a role that earned her an Emmy.
Role: Ada Brook, the gentler and more pragmatic sister of Agnes van Rhijn.
Unlike her rigid sibling, Ada shows empathy and openness, engaging with charitable causes and reflecting the stirrings of social change in Gilded Age New York.
Season & Episodes: Seasons 1, 2 and 3 (25 episodes).
What to Expect: A steady, principled performance that often serves as the show’s moral thermometer.
Favorite Things: She values roles that reflect truth, complexity, and social relevance.
She has also spoken about her passion for theater and the importance of artists using their platform for change.
Notable Works: Sex and the City (TV and films), And Just Like That…, James White, A Quiet Passion, extensive Broadway and television career.
Louisa Jacobson as Marian Brook
DOB: June 12, 1991.
Bio: American actress and the youngest daughter of Oscar-winning actress Meryl Streep and sculptor Don Gummer.
A graduate of Vassar College, she studied at the British American Drama Academy in Oxford before earning her MFA from the Yale School of Drama.
Role: Marian Brook, a young woman from Pennsylvania who moves to New York after the death of her father.
Caught between the rigid traditions of her aunts and the rise of new money society, Marian must navigate class divides, love, and her search for independence.
Season & Episodes: Seasons 1, 2 and 3 (25 episodes).
What to Expect: Quiet strength, thoughtful reactions and scenes of personal growth as Marian navigates loyalties.
Favorite Things: Jacobson keeps her personal life largely private, but she has expressed a deep commitment to stage work and character-driven storytelling.
Notable Works: The Gilded Age (breakout television role).
Denée Benton as Peggy Scott
DOB: December 31, 1991.
Bio: Born in Eustis, Florida, she studied at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama, where she earned her BFA.
Benton gained recognition for her role as Nabulungi in The Book of Mormon before originating the role of Natasha Rostova in the Broadway musical Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, earning a Tony Award nomination in 2017.
Role: Peggy Scott, an ambitious African-American writer and Agnes’s secretary who navigates race, class and intellectual life in 1880s New York.
Season & Episodes: Seasons 1, 2 and 3 (25 episodes).
What to Expect: Sharp wit, principled arguments and a powerful emotional arc as Peggy asserts voice and independence.
Favorite Things: Benton has spoken in interviews about her deep love of theater, her commitment to telling stories that center marginalized voices, and her passion for representation in the entertainment industry.
Notable Works: Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, Hamilton (stage).
Morgan Spector as George Russell
DOB: October 4, 1980.
Bio: American actor born in Santa Rosa, California, and raised in Guerneville.
He studied acting at Reed College before training at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco.
Spector began his career on stage, building a reputation in classical and contemporary theater before moving into television and film.
Role: George Russell, Bertha’s husband and an industrialist who represents new money and its appetite for status.
Season & Episodes: Seasons 1, 2 and 3 (25 episodes).
What to Expect: A performance that mixes unchecked ambition with private vulnerability and social clumsiness.
Favorite Things: Spector has spoken about his appreciation for theater, literature, and immersive character work. He values roles that explore ambition, morality, and human complexity.
Notable Works: The Plot Against America (HBO), Boardwalk Empire, Homeland, Pearson.
Taissa Farmiga as Gladys Russell
DOB: August 17, 1994.
Bio: The youngest sister of Oscar-nominated actress Vera Farmiga, she initially pursued a career in education before being encouraged by her sister to try acting.
She made her debut in Higher Ground (2011), directed by Vera, and quickly gained recognition for her nuanced and vulnerable performances.
Role: Gladys Russell, Bertha and George’s sheltered daughter who struggles with her mother’s social plans for her life.
Season & Episodes: Seasons 1, 2 and 3 (25 episodes).
What to Expect: Emotional fragility, small rebellions, and scenes that reveal the cost of gilded privilege.
Favorite Things: Farmiga values family and has often spoken about her close bond with her sister Vera.
She gravitates toward roles that challenge her emotionally and enjoys both intimate indie projects and genre-defining stories.
Notable Works: American Horror Story (multiple seasons), The Final Girls, The Nun, 6 Years, Higher Ground.
Harry Richardson as Larry Russell
DOB: March 3, 1993.
Bio: Australian actor born in Sydney and raised between Australia and London.
He trained at the prestigious London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) before launching his career in British television.
Role: Larry Russell, the restless son of Bertha and George trying to find purpose after Harvard.
Season & Episodes: Seasons 1, 2 and 3 (25 episodes).
What to Expect: Ambition mixed with insecurity and a narrative about forging an identity in an era of expectation.
Favorite Things: Richardson has spoken about his love for classical theater training and the challenge of embodying period characters.
Notable Works: Poldark, Doctor Thorne, Looking for Grace.
Blake Ritson as Oscar van Rhijn
DOB: January 14, 1978.
Bio: British actor and director, born in London.
He studied English and Medieval Italian at Jesus College, Cambridge, where he also acted in stage productions before completing training at the National Youth Theatre.
Role: Oscar van Rhijn, Agnes’s son, cultured and sharp, navigating marriage, society and a private sexual identity in a repressive era.
Season & Episodes: Seasons 1, 2 and 3 (25 episodes).
What to Expect: Elegant comic timing, emotional nuance and scenes that explore hidden lives in polite society.
Favorite Things: Ritson has a lifelong passion for literature, classical theater, and music.
Notable Works: Emma, Da Vinci’s Demons, Upstairs Downstairs, Mansfield Park.
Kelli O’Hara as Aurora Fane
DOB: April 16, 1976.
Bio: American actress and soprano, celebrated as one of Broadway’s most versatile leading ladies.
Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, she trained in opera and musical theater, earning a degree in vocal performance from Oklahoma City University before moving to New York.
Role: Aurora Fane, a fashionable and influential newcomer who helps bridge social circles.
Season & Episodes: Season 1, 2 and 3 (23 episodes).
What to Expect: Graceful social presence, moments of wit and classically trained depth in dramatic scenes.
Favorite Things: O’Hara is dedicated to opera and musical theater and often champions live performance.
Notable Works: The King and I (Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical), Carousel, All the Bright Places.
Audra McDonald as Dorothy Scott
DOB: July 3, 1970.
Bio: American actress and soprano, widely regarded as one of the greatest Broadway performers of her generation.
Born in Berlin, Germany, and raised in Fresno, California, she studied classical voice at Juilliard before becoming a trailblazer on Broadway.
Role: Dorothy Scott, Peggy Scott’s mother and a figure of quiet strength within New York’s Black elite.
Season & Episodes: Seasons 1, 2 and 3 (17 episodes).
What to Expect: Poise, emotional truth and scene-stealing moments grounded in dignity and history.
Favorite Things: McDonald has expressed her love for classical music, Broadway theater, and mentoring younger performers.
Notable Works: Private Practice, The Good Fight, Respect, Beauty and the Beast (2017), Ricki and the Flash.
Donna Murphy as Caroline Schermerhorn Astor
DOB: March 7, 1959.
Bio: American actress and singer celebrated for her commanding presence across stage, film, and television.
Born in Corona, Queens, New York, she trained at the New York University, before embarking on a career that earned her two Tony Awards (Passion and The King and I).
Role: Caroline Schermerhorn Astor, the reigning queen of New York’s high society and gatekeeper of “The Four Hundred,” the exclusive list of socially acceptable families.
Season & Episodes: Season 1, 2 and 3 (17 episodes).
What to Expect: Imperious social command, cutting lines and scenes that show the cost of maintaining a social order.
Favorite Things: Murphy is a theater lifer who values musical craft and dramatic precision.
Notable Works: Tangled, What About Joan, Made in Jersey,
More Actors
Season 1 (2022) notable recurring and supporting
• Jeanne Tripplehorn as Sylvia Chamberlain.
• Nathan Lane as Ward McAllister.
• Simon Jones as Mr. Alfred Bannister.
• Jack Gilpin as Mr. Church.
• Thomas Cocquerel as Tom Raikes.
• Katie Finneran as Anne Morris.
• Zuzanna Szadkowski as Mabel Ainsley.
• Linda Emond as Clara Barton.
• Amy Forsyth as Carrie Astor.
• John Sanders as Stanford White.
Season 2 (2023) notable recurring and supporting
• Ben Ahlers as John “Jack” Trotter.
• Michael Cerveris as Mr. Watson.
• Celia Keenan-Bolger as Mrs. Bruce.
• Debra Monk as Mrs. Armstrong.
• Kristine Nielsen as Mrs. Bauer.
• Patrick Page as Richard Clay.
• Taylor Richardson as Bridget.
• Douglas Sills as Monsieur Baudin (Josh Borden).
• John Douglas Thompson as Arthur Scott.
• Erin Wilhelmi as Adelheid Weber.
• Kelley Curran as Mrs. Enid Winterton.
• Sullivan Jones as T. Thomas Fortune.
Season 3 (2025) notable additions and recurring players
• Ben Lamb as Hector Vere, 5th Duke of Buckingham.
• Bill Camp as JP Morgan.
• Merritt Wever as Monica O’Brien.
• Phylicia Rashad as Elizabeth Kirkland.
• Brian Stokes Mitchell as Frederick Kirkland.
• Leslie Uggams as Ernestine Brown.
• LisaGay Hamilton as Frances Ellen Watkins Harper.
• Andrea Martin as Madame Dashkova.
FAQ – The Gilded Age Series
How many episodes and seasons are there?
As of 2025, there are 3 seasons and 25 episodes total. Season 3 consists of 8 episodes.
Has Season 4 been confirmed? If so, when might it air?
Yes, HBO officially renewed The Gilded Age for Season 4 before Season 3 even ended.
No official release date has been announced yet, but based on the typical 18-month production cycle, most sources expect new episodes to arrive in late 2026 or early 2027. More on Decider
How historically accurate is the dialogue and social etiquette?
Extremely. The show’s writers and consultants studied Gilded Age society letters, etiquette manuals, newspapers, and memoirs.
Every social faux pas, carriage detail, or dinner seating reflects careful research to enhance authenticity.
Are any characters based on real historical figures?
Yes. While many characters are fictional, the show incorporates real-life figures like Mrs. Astor, Clara Barton, Mamie Fish, T. Thomas Fortune, and even John Singer Sargent, enriching the storytelling with historical authenticity.
Conclusion
In conclusion, The Gilded Age has grown from a beautifully costumed curiosity into a layered drama that balances spectacle with substance.
While its early seasons leaned heavily on aesthetics, the show steadily matured, delivering sharper storytelling and more dynamic character arcs.
By Season 3, it finally hit its stride, blending romance, rivalry, and social commentary into something both entertaining and emotionally resonant.
With its mix of history, drama, and dazzling visuals, The Gilded Age is no longer just eye candy, it’s a richly rewarding watch that continues to prove period dramas can feel both relevant and timeless.