‘The Gilded Age’ Season 4 Trailer Takes Leave of Its Manners
The drama of 'The Gilded Age' is heading right for us as HBO gears up for the debut of Season 4.
The drama of The Gilded Age is heading right for us as HBO gears up for the debut of Season 4. The series originally debuted on HBO in January 2022, four months before Warner Bros. Discovery was formed when AT&T divested itself of the network’s parent company, Warner Media. Season 4 will now be one of the first HBO series to premiere after the Skydance merger closed.
While no one at Warner will probably acknowledge this as a mid-sized miracle in any official capacity, we are officially bestowing “Little Series That Could” status (though perhaps “Oversized Ensemble Series That Could” is more accurate) on the production. Very few HBO shows that were on the air when WBD CEO David Zaslav took over survived his tenure; therefore, it is only right to recognize The Gilded Age for surviving the entire Warner Bros. Discovery era without being canceled, shelved, or written off for tax purposes.
It helped that the production, recognizing it was likely heading for Zaslav’s purge pile of shuttered shows, went balls-to-the-wall for Season 3, trading the previous campy storylines for the kind of serious historical plot machinations that made the series that inspired it, Downton Abbey, such a massive hit. The show not only finally earned critical acclaim, but also a Season 4 order, and perhaps even ensured a Season 5. While the latter hasn’t come to pass (yet), the Season 4 trailer is here, and it certainly looks like the show intends to follow the same path that made Season 3 such a resounding success.
Here’s the Season 4 synopsis:
Bertha Russell changed Society at a cost. Now, her family must reckon with the consequences as Agnes van Rhijn seizes an opportunity to regain her position. Meanwhile, Marian forges a new path for herself, and Peggy works to be accepted by her future in-laws. In this new era, you must be careful what you wish for.
The Gilded Age’s core roster has settled into four main families. On the Manhattan side of the East River, there are The Russells: Carrie Coon (Bertha), Morgan Spector (George), Harry Richardson (Larry), Taissa Farmiga (Gladys), and Ben Lamb (the Duke of Buckingham); and The Van Rhijn/Fortes: Christine Baranski (Agnes), Cynthia Nixon (Ada), Blake Ritson (Oscar), and Louisa Jacobson (Marion). On the Brooklyn side, there are The Scotts: Denée Benton (Peggy), Audra McDonald (Dorothy), and John Douglas Thompson (Arthur); and The Kirklands: Jordan Donica (William), Brian Stokes Mitchell (Frederick), and Phylicia Rashad (Elizabeth).
(Karolina Wojtasik/HBO)
The larger ensemble (currently one of the largest ensemble casts on television, with over two dozen major speaking roles) includes characters from both upstairs and down. Upstairs includes several characters based on real-life figures from the era, including Donna Murphy as Mrs. Astor; Amy Forsyth as her daughter, Miss Carrie Astor; Ashlie Atkinson as Mamie Fish; Nathan Lane as Ward McAllister; Claybourne Elder as John Adams IV; and Kate Baldwin as Nancy Adams Bell. Fictional upstairs characters include Ward Horton and Kelli O’Hara as Charles and Aurora Fane, as well as former downstairs residents Kelley Curran and Ben Ahlers as Mrs. Enid Winterton and Jack Trotter, both of whom have risen above their stations over the show’s run.
Meanwhile, Downstairs includes Patrick Page and Rachel Pickup as George Russell’s secretary, Richard Clay and Bertha Russell’s lady’s maid, Miss Andre; Jack Gilpin and Simon Jones as Russell and Van Rhijn/Forte butlers Church and Banister; Celia Keenan-Bolger and Debra Monk as the two families’ housekeepers, Mrs Bruce and Miss Armstrong; Douglas Sills and Kristine Nielsen as their chef/cooks, M. Baudin and Mrs. Bauer; and Erin Wilhelmi and Taylor Richardson as housemaids Adelheid and Bridget.
(Karolina Wojtasik/HBO)
New guest stars for the forthcoming season so far include Elizabeth Marvel (House of Cards), James Scully (Modern Love), Neal Huff (Mare of Easttown), Andrew Burnap (Under the Banner of Heaven), Dallas Roberts (Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery), Taylor Trensch (Evil), Dennis Haysbert (Lucifer), Maggie Kuntz (John Proctor is the Villain), Bonnie Milligan (And Just Like That), and comedian Jim Gaffigan as Grover Cleveland, the 22nd (and later 24th) President of the United States.
Julian Fellowes (Downton Abbey) created and wrote The Gilded Age, with Salli Richardson-Whitfield as co-writer; both return to pen Season 4, with Erica Dunbar continuing as the historical consultant. Director Michael Engler helms episodes, as does Richardson-Whitfield. All are executive producers, along with Sonja Warfield, Gareth Neame, and Bob Greenblatt.
The Gilded Age Season 4 will debut on HBO and HBO Max on Sunday, November 1, 2026, and will air and stream weekly episodes through the holidays.
Seasons 1 through 3 are streaming on HBO Max. Season 5 has not been greenlit yet. Voices of the Gilded Age: The Christmas Album will be available at all music retailers starting Friday, November 6, 2026.
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