'Downton Abbey' creator Julian Fellowes to develop 'The Gilded Age' for NBC

Drama to depict the financial tycoons of late 19th century New York

By Alan Sepinwall Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 1:45 PM

Julian Fellowes

Credit: Tim O'Sullivan

American fans of Julian Fellowes' "Downton Abbey" have had to wait months past their British counterparts for the show to cross the Atlantic and air on PBS — the third season will debut here on January 6, and ITV has already ordered a fourth — but that won't be an issue for Fellowes' next series, a 19th century drama called "The Gilded Age" that he'll write and produce for NBC. It's currently just in development, but with a significant penalty if a pilot isn't ordered.

NBC describes "The Gilded Age" as "an epic tale of the princes of the American Renaissance and the vast fortunes they made — and spent — in late nineteenth century New York."

"This was a vivid time," Fellowes said in a statement, "with dizzying, brilliant ascents and calamitous falls, of record-breaking ostentation and savage rivalry; a time when money was king."

In addition to creating the Emmy-winning "Downton," Fellowes is also an Oscar-winning screenwriter for "Gosford Park," and other screenplay credits include "Vanity Fair," "The Young Victoria" and "The Tourist."

Alan Sepinwall
Sr. Editor, What's Alan Watching

Alan Sepinwall has been reviewing television since the mid-'90s, first for Tony Soprano's hometown paper, The Star-Ledger, and now for HitFix. His new book, "The Revolution Was Televised," about the last 15 years of TV drama, is for sale at Amazon. He can be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com

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Dean Winchester

I love Downton... but I'm already dreading the promos for Gilded Age. There is no way that NBC won't make them as awful as humanly possible, and then run them non-stop.

Additional worry- is NBC pre-agreeing to keep this show on the air at 5 million viewers a week? Because that's what Downton does, and whats the point of making this show if they're only going to axe it after 5 episodes for doing exactly the kind of numbers one might reasonable expect.
November 27, 2012 at 3:10PM EST Reply to Comment
MoreTears

Earlier this year ABC had a pilot called The Gilded Lilys set in 1895 Boston. I was disappointed that didn't get picked up, so let's hope the Fellows name and Downton's fame spell better success for this project. I love Westerns, but I have always thought it ridiculous how American film and television would have the public believe there was no such thing as an American urban EAST in the 19th century.
November 27, 2012 at 3:28PM EST Reply to Comment