It's hard to think of Cynthia Nixon playing anyone else except Sex And The City's Miranda Hobbes. But as the heated debate around Miranda's story arc in And Just Like That rages on, the actress is travelling back in time to a very different New York in new period drama The Gilded Age on Sky Atlantic. Swapping Miranda's wardrobe for corsets and bustles, Cynthia stars alongside The Good Fight's Christine Baranski and Louisa Jacobson aka Meryl Streep's daughter.
Written by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes, you can expect lavish balls, society scandals, and forbidden romances across the class divide. Here's what else you need to know about the show...
What is The Gilded Age about?
Set in 1880s New York, The Gilded Age focuses on changing society, with 'old money' pitted against 'new money', something show runner Julian Fellowes explored in Downton Abbey too. The series starts in 1882, when the orphaned Marian (Louisa Jacobson) moves to New York to live with her upper class aunts, Ada (Cynthia Nixon) and Agnes (Christine Baranski) - talk about a dream acting duo. While Agnes is a wealthy widow, Cynthia's character Ada has never married and is forced to rely on her uppity sister's charity.
Marian winds up stuck in a social war between her traditional aunts and their ambitious new money neighbours George (Homeland's Morgan Spector) and Bertha Russell (Carrie Coon, who you might recognise from The Sinner and The Leftovers).
Where was The Gilded Age filmed?
The exterior street scenes of 1880s Manhattan were filmed in the city of Troy in upstate New York, where the 1850s architecture in the city's historic district provided the perfect backdrop. According to the show's location manager Lauri Pitkus, they dumped huge amounts of dirt on the streets to cover the tarmac.
For the ridiculously grand homes the wealthy families live in, production headed to Newport, Rhode Island, filming at three of the area's opulent 19th century mansions: The Elms, The Breakers and Chateau-sur-Mer.
The one scene which was filmed on location in Manhattan is a scene in Central Park by the iconic Bethesda Fountain.
Will there be a crossover with Downton Abbey?
Some Downton fans had been hoping there would be some crossover with The Gilded Age, as creator Julian Fellowes was reported to be planning an American-set sequel that would focus on the early romance of Lord Grantham (Hugh Bonneville) and his American wife Cora (Elizabeth McGovern).
However, it seems this spin-off idea has been abandoned, and it doesn't look like we will get a glimpse of a young Cora in New York. But The Gilded Age definitely shares many of the elements that fans enjoyed about Downton: amazing costumes, sumptuous sets, bitchy gossip, and lots of family drama.
What have reviews said about The Gilded Age?
Early reviews have been a bit of a mixed bag. While The Guardian gave it one star, The Telegraph gave it a much more enthusiastic four. Some critics have dismissed it as a 'dime-store Downton', but others praise it as a 'rich social drama'.
Viewers have been split too, with many embracing the more trashy elements and taking to Twitter to describe it as 'Gossip Girl with corsets' (only a positive in our books) while others complained they didn't need another show about squabbling rich people.
If you loved Downton, and are in the mood for a lightweight period drama, then you'll probably enjoy The Gilded Age. It's glossy, gossipy and the cast is great. But maybe it won't be winning any awards.
How do I watch The Gilded Age?
The nine-part series will air weekly, every Tuesday night at 9pm on Sky Atlantic and will be available to stream on NOW.
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