Whilst Julian Fellowes may chose to keep us guessing about the inevitable Downton Abbey Movie sequel and whether Barrow the Butler will ever find true love, he has just announced his next new project.
Lord Fellowes, as he should be formally addressed, is about to start a new period drama for HBO that this time is set in the US. Called The Gilded Age it is about the time in 1895 when there was 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.
Against this backdrop comes young Marian Brook, the orphaned daughter of a Southern general, who moves into the home of her rigidly conventional aunts in New York City. Accompanied by the mysterious Peggy Scott, an African-American woman masquerading as her maid, Marian gets caught up in the dazzling lives of her stupendously rich neighbors, led by a ruthless railroad tycoon and his ambitious wife struggling for acceptance by the Astor and Vanderbilt set. Will Marian follow the established rules of society, or forge her own path in this exciting new world that is on the brink of transformation into the modern age?
Now for the really good news : the Aunts will be played by none other than Tony Award winners Christine Baranski and Cynthia Nixon, which automatically makes it a must-see show
Baranski will play Agnes van Rhijn, a proud and stubborn aristocrat who will never accept that the world has changed and old values are being replaced by new ones. She found herself penniless as her parents plantation was foundering even before the Civil War but managed to catch a husband just in time. She worships her son, Oscar, but the ardor isn’t mutual.
Nixon plays Ada Brook. She’s another victim of the old South, but unlike sister Agnes, she didn’t find a way out until it was too late and was forced back on her sister’s charity. Not naturally confrontational, she’s nonetheless capable of standing up for what she believes.
No date has been set for production yet, but watch this spaces for updates.
