THE GILDED AGE on HBO 2/12/26

I never thought that I would be interested in watching an HBO series titled THE GILDED AGE, taking place in the late 1880s, situated in fashionable mansions, on cobblestone streets of NYC, where the fierce determination and manipulations of business tycoons compete and conjoin for control of industry, mining, railroad expansions, etc., in an era of unlimited, unregulated possibilities. Class hierarchy, social standing, and lineage determine who is accepted into NY’s “high society”; being challenged by new money “nouveau riche” interlopers whose personal and cultural maneuvering is creating upheaval among the established society. 

This series successfully probes issues of homophobia, race, and ethnic malignancy, as well as the awakening of women to the Suffragette Movement, raising awareness of rights that have been denied women in marriage, divorce, and every aspect of their lives. 

Visually, the costumes and settings are lavish; the New York City Mansions exhibit extraordinary architectural detail, and spaces are inhabited by ornate dresses that seduce with their delectability of color and style. 

 Within this milieu we are introduced to the Van Rhijn family, two sisters - one who, when we first meet is considered a “spinster” ( beautifully acted with a lovely delicacy) by  Cynthia Nixon (Ada) the antithesis of her formidable, adhering to the “rules of etiquette” outspoken sister, superiorly acted by Christine Baranski (Agnes) a forceful presence straddling the old and new eras, timorously enveloped by it with an awakening humility. Her son, considered by his mother to be a ne’er-do-well, Oscar is one of the most tragic characters in THE GILDED AGE, oppressed by the secret of his passionate attachment and love for another man - a touching and heartrending relationship.

THE GILDED AGE focus is also on the younger,  ambitious, arriviste Russell family. Carrie Coon plays Bertha Russell, married to George, a ruthless Railroad Magnate. Mrs.Russell, akin to a mole, laboriously spends her time digging her way into the pinnacle of NY society, which years earlier would have excluded and disdained her from entering. Her opportunism and aspirations to be a leading member of the elite blind Bertha to the desires and needs of her family. The steps up to the throne of high society are strewn with the tears and heartache of self-absorptive narcissism.

Also of genuine interest are the layers of status in the African-American Scott family. The compassionate, perceptive daughter Peggy Scott (sensitively acted by Denée Benton) is an aspiring writer and journalist, living with the Van Rhijn family as a secretary to one of the sisters and friends with their tender niece Marion, who is also featured in the series. Peggy's life and loves create divisions and loving beneficence within the black social set, though the ever-present scourge of racism blankets their lives, no matter how insulated they believe they have become.

What makes THE GILDED AGE so compelling is that many of the issues are as prevalent today, 150 years later, as mankind seems to wallow in the muck of greed, race, and class division. We are familiar with today’s “barons” of technology colliding with one another, envisioning a future where the personal profiteering of the few will still reign.

THE GILDED AGE  series has completed three seasons and continues on HBO for another season soon..