HBO has announced that their new drama series, The Gilded Age, will be renewed for second season, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The 19th century-based show premiered just three weeks ago on January 24th and is created by Julian Fellowes (Downton Abbey).
“Julian Fellowes and the entire Gilded Age family have thoroughly captivated us with their tale of late 19th century New York City extravagance,” Francesca Orsi, Executive Vice President of Programming at HBO Max, said in a statement via THR. “Along with our partners at Universal Television, we couldn’t be prouder to embark on a season two journey with this extraordinarily talented team.”
According to THR, The Gilded Age had been in development for almost a decade after the series was initially bought by then-NBC Entertainment President, Bob Greenblatt. Greenblatt was then forced to purchase the show again after joining WarnerMedia, the drama’s showrunner, making the series shift from NBC to HBO.
Fellowes discussed his feeling about the show being moved from NBC to HBO on THR’s TV’s Top 5 podcast.
“It was unreasonable to ask a broadcast network to devote a sizable budget to cover period sets and costumes,” Fellowes explained. “And if I’m honest, it seemed a very natural fit when we arrived at HBO.”
When the drama series was released, it was HBO’s best Monday night debut since their award-winning limited series Chernobyl.
“The first season of The Gilded Age is the beginning of an epic story that introduced a fascinating world full of intriguing characters. The scope of Julian’s vision is ambitious, and we’re thrilled to continue to explore the depths of this fascinating era with HBO,” Universal Television President Erin Underhill said in a statement via THR.
The first season of The Gilded Age will wrap on March 21st. The show stars Carrie Coon (Avengers: Infinity War), Morgan Spector (Homeland), Louisa Jacobson (Gone Hollywood), Denee Benton (Our Friend), and Taissa Farmiga (The Final Girls).