Everything To Know About The Gilded Age Season 2

Shows about wanting to be accepted by New York society aren’t necessarily new. Gossip Girl and Inventing Anna are prime, albeit young, examples of that. But strolling down 5th Avenue and rubbing elbows with Manhattan’s elite at soirées is one thing, entering the extravagant world of uppity, old-moneyed families in New York in 1882 is another. That’s probably why The Gilded Age got the green light from HBO and partner Universal Television for another season on Feb. 14, even before its first season finished airing.

Julian Fellowes, who wrote Downton Abbey, is also responsible for this period drama, so it’s filled with similar salacious twists, turns, and sharp-tongued comebacks that made the British series a hit. “The first season of The Gilded Age is the beginning of an epic story that introduced a fascinating world full of intriguing characters,” Universal Television’s President Erin Underhill said in a statement. Underhill also added that Fellowes’ vision, influenced by New York’s historical “Gilded Age,” is “ambitious.” “We’re thrilled to continue to explore the depths of this fascinating era with HBO,” she said.

Here’s everything to know about The Gilded Age Season 2 — from when to tune in to what you should remember from Season 1.

The Gilded Age Season 2 Plot

In Season 1, fans followed the story of Marian Brook, played by Meryl Streep’s daughter Louisa Jacobson in her TV debut. After Marian’s father died, she moved from rural Pennsylvania to live with her wealthy aunts Agnes van Rhijn (The Good Fight’s Christine Baranski) and Ada Brook (Sex and the City’s Cynthia Nixon). Marian’s aunts, who are from the old money set, were extremely against opening their social circles to outsiders and scoffed at the nouveau riche.

Agnes and Ada were particularly vexed by their new neighbors, railroad mogul George Russell (Morgan Spector) and his “ambitious” wife Bertha (The Sinner’s Carrie Coon), who desperately and shamelessly tried to social climb into high society.

Throughout the season, Bertha was continuously shunned by the peers she desperately sought acceptance from, while George had battles of his own. He was embroiled in a legal battle after several men from his railroad company died, and he was set up by those who wanted to see him fail. During the finale, Bertha and George finally made some strides when they manipulated their wealthy peers — including neighbors Agnes and Ada — into attending their party.

As for Marian, her loyalty to her family, her aspiring writer friend, Peggy Scott (Denée Benton), and the status quo were challenged throughout the season. There was also the not-so-small matter of marriage. Who Marian marries and what for — money or love — had been a major plot point during the first season despite her building a romance and planning to elope with the lawyer Tom Raikes (Thomas Cocquerel). But during the finale on March 21, Marian’s engagement to him abruptly ended after he cheated on her and ghosted her on their wedding day.

The dramatic finale set up the second season to explore a whole new love arc for Marian. She already seems to have set her sights on Larry (Harry Richardson), the Russells’ heir, which will likely not sit well with her aunts. Meanwhile, her friend Peggy had back-to-back revelations this season. Her secret — that she had previously been married and gave birth to a stillborn child — was revealed. During the finale, Peggy uncovered another secret: her son is alive. And she wants him back. Season 2 could explore Peggy’s search for her long-lost child.

As for the Russells, George and Bertha now both have a place in Manhattan’s elite — but it may be a precarious one. According to HBO’s official synopsis, viewers will “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” in Season 2.

Meanwhile, “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.”

The Gilded Age Season 2 Release Date & Teaser

The Gilded Age Season 2 will return on Oct. 29, HBO announced in a new teaser.

The Gilded Age Season 2 Cast

The Gilded Age stars Carrie Coon as Bertha, Christine Baranski as Agnes, Cynthia Nixon as Ada, Morgan Spector as George, Louisa Jacobson as Marian, Denée Benton as Peggy, Ben Ahlers as Jack, Michael Cerveris as Mr. Watson, Kelley Curran as Miss Turner, Taissa Farmiga as Gladys, Jack Gilpin as Mr. Church, Simon Jones as Mr. Bannister, Sullivan Jones as T. Thomas Fortune, Celia Keenan-Bolger as Mrs. Bruce, Debra Monk as Mrs. Armstrong, Donna Murphy as Caroline, Kristine Nielsen as Mrs. Bauer, Kelli O’Hara as Aurora, Patrick Page as Richard, Harry Richardson as Larry, Taylor Richardson as Bridget, Blake Ritson as Oscar, Douglas Sills as Monsieur Baudin, Erin Wilhelmi as Adelheid, Nathan Lane as Ward McAllister Audra McDonald as Dorothy, John Douglas Thompson as Arthur, Ashlie Atkinson as Mamie Fish, and Ward Horton as Charles.

New faces joining Season 2 include Laura Benanti as Susan, Nicole Brydon Bloom as Caroline Stuyvesant, Christopher Denham as Robert, David Furr as Dashiell, Matilda Lawler as Frances, and Robert Sean Leonard as Reverend Matthew Forte.

This post will be updated as more details about The Gilded Age Season 2 are released.