Total premiere-night viewing for the second season grew for six consecutive weeks, culminating in a series high for the season 2 finale.
USA Today praised the “sparkling second season,” which Entertainment Weekly called “opulent, over-the-top escapism,” and Rolling Stone described as “contain[ing] many delights.”
Francesca Orsi, EVP, HBO Programming, Head of HBO Drama Series and Films, quote: “We’re so proud of what Julian Fellowes and THE GILDED AGE family have achieved. From the costumes to the production design and performances, the show has captivated so many week after week. Along with our partners at Universal Television, we are thrilled to continue this grand tale for a third season.”
Erin Underhill, President, Universal Television quote: “There is much more story to tell with THE GILDED AGE. We’re delighted that HBO is giving fans another season of Julian Fellowes’ incredible storytelling. The cast and crew put so much of their heart and soul into the last two seasons, and we’re so proud that all this hard work is paying off with another season… you won’t want to miss what’s next!”
Season 2 logline: 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. Season two of THE GILDED AGE begins on Easter morning 1883, with the news that Bertha Russell’s bid for a box at the Academy of Music has been rejected. Through the eight episodes of the season, we watch as Bertha challenges Mrs. Astor and the old system and works to not only gain a foothold in Society, but to potentially take a leading role in it. George Russell takes on his own battle with a growing union at his steel plant in Pittsburgh. In the Brook House, Marian continues her journey to find her way in the world secretly teaching at a girls school while much to everyone’s surprise Ada begins a new courtship. Of course, Agnes approves of none of it. In Brooklyn, the Scott family begins to heal from a shocking discovery, and Peggy taps into her activist spirit through her work with T. Thomas Fortune at the NY Globe.
Season 2 cast: Carrie Coon, Christine Baranski, Cynthia Nixon, Morgan Spector, Louisa Jacobson, Denée Benton, Ben Ahlers, Michael Cerveris, Kelley Curran, Taissa Farmiga, Jack Gilpin, Simon Jones, Sullivan Jones, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Debra Monk, Donna Murphy, Kristine Nielsen, Kelli O’Hara, Patrick Page, Harry Richardson, Taylor Richardson, Blake Ritson, Douglas Sills, Erin Wilhelmi, Nathan Lane, Audra McDonald, John Douglas Thompson, Ashlie Atkinson, Laura Benanti, Nicole Brydon Bloom, Christopher Denham, David Furr, Ward Horton, Matilda Lawler and Robert Sean Leonard.
Credits: Creator/writer/executive producer, Julian Fellowes; executive producer, Gareth Neame; executive producer, David Crockett; director/executive producer, Michael Engler; executive producer, Bob Greenblatt; writer/executive producer, Sonja Warfield; executive producer, Salli Richardson-Whitfield. THE GILDED AGE is a co-production between HBO and Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.
