"The Gilded Age", new gold mine of the creator of "Downton Abbey"?

• The Gilded Age

  , airing this Tuesday in US+24 on OCS, is the new series from 

  Downton Abbey

  creator Julian Fellowes.

• The series chronicles the social conflict between old guard families and new rich in New York during the "golden period", an era of prosperity after the Civil War.

• Does The Gilded Age

  have the potential to be as successful as

  Downton Abbey 

  ?

Crawley fans, rejoice! While

, the second feature in its hit saga, hits theaters this spring, its creator and screenwriter Julian Fellowes returns to the small screen with another costume drama. After the portrait of the British aristocracy at the beginning of the 20th century, the Oscar-winning author from

takes an interest in

, an HBO series available in US + 24 this Tuesday in France on OCS, in the wealthy industrialists of the "period Golden", an era of prosperity and reconstruction that followed the Civil War of 1865 to 1901.

While writing

, Julian Fellowes studied "princess dollars", those wealthy American heiresses of the "golden period" like Cora (Elizabeth McGovern) whom European aristocrats like Lord Robert Grantham (Hugh Bonneville) married in order to to bail out their declining fortunes.

This led the screenwriter to focus on American dynastic families like the Vanderbilts, Astors and Goulds, and the financial boom that followed the Civil War.

If

is not, as some have supposed, a

prequel , it is impossible not to see the kinship between the two works.

At the heart of New York's elite

The plot of

begins in 1882 when Marian Brook (Louisa Jacobson, one of the daughters of Meryl Streep who makes her screen debut here) is forced to leave her native Pennsylvania after the death of her father who left her behind. left penniless.

She moved to New York where her wealthy aunts Agnes van Rhijn (Christine Baranski, who plays Diane Lockhart in

and

) and Ada Brook (Cynthia Nixon, who plays Miranda Hobbes in

and

).

At the train station, she befriends Peggy Scott (Denée Benton, Eliza Hamilton in the Broadway production,

), an aspiring African-American writer.

The arrival of the two young women in the life of the two matriarchs coincides with the installation of new neighbors in the imposing mansion opposite that the two aunts do not see at all with a good eye, that of the Russel family. . The husband, George Russell (Morgan Spector, seen in

and

) has amassed a huge fortune through the railroad industry.

His wife, the ambitious Bertha (Carrie Coon, Nora Durst in

), is determined to integrate into good New York society.

This character is inspired by Alva Vanderbilt, the wife of William Kissam Vanderbilt, grandson of Cornelius, the founder of the eponymous dynasty.

Like her, Bertha Russell has to face Caroline Schermerhorn Astor (Donna Murphy), who manages the "400" club bringing together the Big Apple's elite.

Like the film

, which intertwined the fictional Crawley family with a real historical event, a visit to Wentworth Woodhouse in Yorkshire by King George and Queen Mary in 1912, Julian Fellowes mixes fictional characters with real life tycoons. golden period.

At the heart of a social conflict

Reluctantly, Marian finds herself in the middle of a social conflict, which opposes the "Old Money", the heirs of the rich families of the old guard who have dominated American high society since before the American Revolution, to that of the "New Money", the new rich, entrepreneurs who have built their fortunes recently on the coal, copper or railroad industries.

“You are my niece and you belong to old New York”, warns her aunt Agnes van Rhijn, who shares the sense of the sharp repartee of Lady Violet Crawley, while Ada Brook is endowed with the benevolence of Isabelle Grey.

Agnes is "a wonderful snob, but who wouldn't want to play a snob written by Julian Fellowes?"

“, laughs Christine Baranski in the columns of the

.

“She is appalled by the change in the city, as people are spending crazy amounts of money to impress others,” she explains to

.

Respect for etiquette

The Gilded Age

follows Marian's discovery of the codes of New York high society just as

followed the entry into the world of the three daughters Mary, Edith and Sybil in the British aristocratic world.

The cast read novels by Edith Wharton and Henry James before filming, and received lessons in etiquette, diction and customs of the "golden period".

“Business card culture was a complex and delicate dance,” laughs Louisa Jacobson in The

.

"It was like Instagram," she added.

We quickly understand that she is not insensitive to the charm of Larry, the son of the Russels (Harry Richardson, the star of

), nor to that of her lawyer Tom Raikes (Thomas Cocquerel, seen in

).

“Marian knows her likely destiny will be to marry as best she can, but she wants more.

She is restrained by the rules of her time, but there is a modern edge to her.

She wants to do something with her life, ”sums up Louisa Jacobson at

.

Will Marian follow the rules of her rank or will she learn to work around them?

 "It's the biggest building I've ever done"

As in

, the ballet of the servants, behind the scenes, is always skilfully staged.

benefits like its elder from an impeccable production, made of sumptuous costumes, extravagant dresses and hats, and impressive sets.

From neat interiors to the reconstruction of part of Manhattan in the 19th century: "It's the biggest construction I've ever done", rejoices Bob Shaw, the production designer, who worked on

and

in The

.

With Julian Fellowes' erudite and cutting dialogue and its

inherited ceremonial value , its stunning cast and its own heady mix of opulence, romance and backstabbing,

is likely to be a new gold mine for the creator!

Series

Did you know that “Such a long night” on TF1 with Mathilde Seigner is the adaptation of a remake?

Series

"Vigil", a claustrophobic thriller aboard a submarine

• SCO

• Series

• HBO

• Downton Abbey

• 0 comment

• 0 share

  • Share on Messenger

  • Share on Facebook

  • Share on Twitter

  • Share on Flipboard

  • Share on Pinterest

  • Share on Linkedin

  • Send by Mail

• To safeguard

• A fault ?

• To print