Julian Fellowes’ Gilded Age Drama Lands at NBC

Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes has landed a ten-episode order for his new drama The Gilded Age at NBC.

Writer and executive producer Gareth Neame, who worked with Fellowes on Downton Abbey, is on board as well. Fellowes and Neame will executive produce the new series, which will be produced by Universal Television. The Gilded Age is being positioned for 2019.

The series is set in New York City in the 1880s, which was a period of social upheaval, vast fortunes made and lost, and of palaces that spanned the length of Fifth Avenue. In The Gilded Age, Marian Brook is the wide-eyed young scion of a conservative family who will embark on infiltrating the wealthy neighboring family dominated by ruthless railroad tycoon George Russell, his son Larry and ambitious wife Bertha, whose “new money” is a barrier to acceptance by the Astor and Vanderbilt set.

“To write The Gilded Age is the fulfillment of a personal dream,” Fellowes said. “I have been fascinated by this period of American history for many years and now NBC has given me the chance to bring it to a modern audience. I could not be more excited and thrilled. The truth is, America is a wonderful country with a rich and varied history, and nothing could give me more pleasure than be the person to bring that compelling history to the screen.”

“Julian Fellowes has the peerless ability to create complex characters and relationships set against a fantastic backdrop,” said Jennifer Salke, the president of NBC Entertainment. “We’re thrilled that NBC and Universal Television will bring you his delicious new take on both the emerging rich and the working class who were intricately entwined in opulent New York in 1882. It’s an addictive new universe of fabulous people with the same signature style, wit and emotional resonance for which Julian is famous.”