NBC Orders Period Drama ‘The Gilded Age’

NBC has ordered 10 episodes of a period drama from Universal Television called “The Gilded Age” from “Downton Abbey” creator Julian Fellowes, who will write and executive the series with “Downton Abbey” executive producer Gareth Neame. The logline: The Gilded Age in 1880s New York City was a period of immense social upheaval, of huge fortunes made and lost, and of palaces that spanned the length of Fifth Avenue. In the series, 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 rakish and available son Larry, and his 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 in a statement. “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.”