HBO’s The Gilded Age is catching on like crazy.
Monday night’s episode was 10% higher than the previous week. The show from Downton Abbey’s Julian Fellowes brought in a robust 750,000 viewers on HBO Prime.
Since the premiere, “The Gilded Age” has shot up 62% altogether. That’s amazing considering how clunky it was in the first couple of installments.
Little by little the period piece has settled down, with the soap opera plots coming together and character becoming more defined. The real winners are Christine Baranski and Cynthia Nixon as the batty van Rhijn sisters, Morgan Spector as Mr. Russell, and Denée Benton as Peggy Scott. Louisa Jacobson has been terrific, too, as the show’s ingenue. The other standout in the main cast is Simon Jones as Bannister.
“The Gilded Age” has been renewed for a second season. There are a couple of actors who should work on their cadences during that time. They’re good actors but their speaking style is sticking out like sore thumbs. Otherwise, HBO has a hit on its hands. Baranski and Spector are headed to Emmy Awards. The question is, how will HBO handle a Baranski vs. Zendaya race at the Emmys? A bounty of riches!
