Cover HBO’s hit show ‘The Gilded Age’ brings the clash between old money families and ambitious upstarts like Bertha Russell (Carrie Coon) to life. (Photo: IMDB)
HBO’s hit show ‘The Gilded Age’ brings the clash between old money families and ambitious upstarts like Bertha Russell (Carrie Coon) to life. (Photo: IMDB)
1 / 1
These period dramas dive into the power plays and social rivalries that make ‘The Gilded Age’ so addictive
Writer Mark Twain coined the term “Gilded Age” in 1873 to describe a time when America’s glossy surface—booming industry, sprawling mansions and new fortunes—hid deep social unrest. From the 1870s to 1900, the country transformed from a rural economy into an industrial giant, generating immense wealth but also staggering inequality. HBO’s hit show The Gilded Age, now in its third season, brings this tension to life through the clash between entrenched old money families like Agnes van Rhijn (Christine Baranski) and upstarts like railroad tycoon George Russell (Morgan Spector) and his calculating wife Bertha (Carrie Coon).
In case you missed it: 8 non-fiction works that were turned into brilliant fictional films and TV shows
Set in 1882 New York, the show—created by Downton Abbey’s Julian Fellowes—runs on the drama of tradition versus ambition. With no aristocratic titles in America, power plays out through rigid social codes, where families like the van Rhijns fight to maintain their status while new millionaires push their way into high society. It’s a distinctly American story of reinvention and resistance, but the themes of class, ambition and power struggles resonate far beyond.
If you’re drawn to the opulence, intrigue and social chess of The Gilded Age, here are more shows and movies that channel that same energy.
‘The Age of Innocence’ (1993)
Martin Scorsese’s adaptation of Edith Wharton’s novel is set in 1870s New York. Wealthy lawyer Newland Archer (Daniel Day-Lewis) finds his world upended when he falls for his fiancée’s (Winona Ryder) worldly and ostracised cousin, Countess Ellen Olenska (Michelle Pfeiffer). This film provides the definitive look inside the traditional fortress that Agnes van Rhijn defends, perfectly capturing the oppressive social codes and subtle cruelties of a society that prizes appearances above all else.
‘The Forsyte Saga’ (2002 to 2003)
This epic British drama spans three generations of the wealthy Forsyte family from the 1880s to the 1920s. The central figure, Soames Forsyte (Damian Lewis), is a successful solicitor who views everything, including his beautiful but unhappy wife Irene (Gina McKee), as property. His possessiveness leads to a tragic love triangle and bitter feud that haunts their children for decades. The Forsytes represent the quintessential new money class of professionals and industrialists, obsessed with accumulating wealth, status and property while remaining acutely aware of their modest origins.
‘Upstairs, Downstairs’ (1971 to 1975)
The definitive “upstairs, downstairs” drama chronicles the aristocratic Bellamy family and their servants at 165 Eaton Place, London, from 1903 to 1930. This series documents how major historical events impact both classes under one roof, from the sinking of the Titanic to the Wall Street Crash. It explores the same themes of class division and historical change as The Gilded Age but with a more realistic lens, masterfully showing the complex relationships between masters and servants.
‘The House of Mirth’ (2000)
Based on another Edith Wharton masterpiece, this film tells the tragic story of Lily Bart (Gillian Anderson), a beautiful but penniless socialite in turn-of-the-century New York. To maintain her status, she must marry wealthy, but her pride and social missteps send her into a devastating downward spiral. Lily serves as the tragic anti-Bertha Russell: where Bertha conquers society through wealth and will, Lily becomes a victim of its rigid rules and her inability to be ruthless.
‘Downton Abbey’ (2010 to 2015)
Julian Fellowes’s landmark series follows the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants from 1912 through 1928. The narrative navigates the impact of historical events like World War I on the British social hierarchy, with a focus on preserving the family’s estate in a changing world. As the direct predecessor to The Gilded Age, it shares signature “upstairs, downstairs” dynamics and features a witty dowager matriarch in Violet Crawley (Maggie Smith), who clearly inspired Agnes van Rhijn’s character.
‘The Buccaneers’ (2023)
Based on Edith Wharton’s unfinished novel, this story follows new money American heiresses in the 1870s. Snubbed by New York society, they travel to London to trade their fortunes for aristocratic titles, only to find cultural clashes and matters of the heart more complicated than imagined. This directly explores the clash between American new money and the even more established British aristocracy, highlighting the transactional nature of marriage amongst the elite.
‘Howards End’ (1992)
This adaptation of EM Forster’s novel explores class relations in Edwardian England through three intersecting families: the intellectual Schlegel sisters, the wealthy Wilcox capitalists and the working-class Basts. Their lives become intertwined through romance and tragedy. Like The Gilded Age, it examines class and money, but explores the vast chasm between all social classes rather than focusing solely on conflicts within the upper class.
‘Belgravia’ (2020)
Julian Fellowes’ miniseries begins at a ball on the eve of the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. A secret born that night ripples through two decades, entangling the newly wealthy Trenchard family with the established aristocratic Bellasis family. This concentrated dose of Fellowes’s favourite themes explores the friction between aristocracy and nouveau riche, showing how long-buried secrets can shape a family’s destiny for generations.
‘Doctor Thorne’ (2016)
Adapted by Julian Fellowes from Anthony Trollope’s novel, this drama centres on Doctor Thorne (Tom Hollander) and his penniless niece, Mary (Stefanie Martini). Her love for Frank Gresham (Harry Richardson), heir to a financially ruined estate, is opposed by his mother, who insists he must marry money to save the family. This serves as a direct thematic precursor to Marian Brook’s (Louisa Jacobson) storyline in The Gilded Age, featuring an intelligent but impoverished young woman navigating a society where choosing between love and money dictates her future.
After more than a decade in lifestyle media, Clifford has mastered the art of writing seriously about things that are fun—and writing fun things about people who take themselves very seriously. At Tatler Asia, he helped steer its flagship lists, Tatler’s Most Influential and Asia’s Most Stylish. And today, he leads T-Labs, Tatler Asia’s content innovation hub, where he continues the noble pursuit of lifestyle storytelling, spinning stories on wealth, entertainment, necessary style, Hallyu, Hollywood, beauty and more for audiences across Asia.
