The Gilded Age cast: who stars with Christine Baranski and Carrie Coon in drama, and what UK channel is it on?

The Gilded Age begins on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV in the UK on January 25
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Morgan Spector as George Russell & Carrie Coon as Bertha Russell (Credit: Alison Cohen Rosa/Heyday Productions)Morgan Spector as George Russell & Carrie Coon as Bertha Russell (Credit: Alison Cohen Rosa/Heyday Productions)
Morgan Spector as George Russell & Carrie Coon as Bertha Russell (Credit: Alison Cohen Rosa/Heyday Productions)

Julian Fellowes’ period drama The Gilded Age has started on HBO in the US, and will be available to watch in the UK from January 25 on Sky Atlantic and Now TV.

The series stars Christine Baranski and Carrie Coon, as well as a number of other recognisable actors. It features a lot of actors who are well-known from Broadway in particular, who were available to do television work because theatres were closed due to the pandemic.

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Here’s everything you need to know about the cast of The Gilded Age.

Christine Baranski as Agnes van Rhijn

Christine Baranski as Agnes van Rhijn, holding a cup of tea (Credit: Alison Cohen Rosa/Heyday Productions)Christine Baranski as Agnes van Rhijn, holding a cup of tea (Credit: Alison Cohen Rosa/Heyday Productions)
Christine Baranski as Agnes van Rhijn, holding a cup of tea (Credit: Alison Cohen Rosa/Heyday Productions)

Who does Christine Baranski play in The Gilded Age? Baranski plays old money socialite and widow Agnes van Rhijn, who’s both very well off and very set in her ways. She’s essentially The Gilded Age’s equivalent to Maggie Smith’s Dowager Countess in Downton Abbey.

Where do I know Christine Baranski from? You might recognise her from television roles in The Good Wife and The Big Bang Theory, or maybe from her role in the Mamma Mia films.

What should I watch next if I like her performance in this? Christine Baranski is the lead in legal drama The Good Fight, which is one of the best television shows of the past few years.

Cynthia Nixon as Ada Brook

Cynthia Nixon as Ada Brook & Christine Baranski as Agnes Van Rhijn (Credit: Alison Cohen Rosa/Heyday Productions/HBO)Cynthia Nixon as Ada Brook & Christine Baranski as Agnes Van Rhijn (Credit: Alison Cohen Rosa/Heyday Productions/HBO)
Cynthia Nixon as Ada Brook & Christine Baranski as Agnes Van Rhijn (Credit: Alison Cohen Rosa/Heyday Productions/HBO)
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Who does Cynthia Nixon play in The Gilded Age? Nixon plays Ada Brook, Agnes van Rhijn’s sister – she’s generally much kinder and more gentle than her sister.

Where do I know Cynthia Nixon from? Probably from Sex and the City and its revival And Just Like That, or maybe from her New York gubernatorial bid a few years ago. (Andrew Cuomo won the Democratic nomination instead.)

Carrie Coon as Bertha Russell

Carrie Coon as Bertha Russell in The Gilded Age (Credit: Alison Cohen Rosa/Heyday Productions)Carrie Coon as Bertha Russell in The Gilded Age (Credit: Alison Cohen Rosa/Heyday Productions)
Carrie Coon as Bertha Russell in The Gilded Age (Credit: Alison Cohen Rosa/Heyday Productions)

Who does Carrie Coon play in The Gilded Age? Carrie Coon plays Bertha Russell, a new money debutante who’s determined to break into old money polite society.

Where do I know Carrie Coon from? You might recognise her from her recent supporting role in the new Ghostbusters film.

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What should I watch next if I like her performance in this? You should absolutely watch The Leftovers, which stars Carrie Coon as probably the best television character ever, Nora Durst.

Morgan Spector as George Russell

Morgan Spector in The Gilded Age (Credit: Alison Cohen Rosa/Heyday Productions)Morgan Spector in The Gilded Age (Credit: Alison Cohen Rosa/Heyday Productions)
Morgan Spector in The Gilded Age (Credit: Alison Cohen Rosa/Heyday Productions)

Who does Morgan Spector play in The Gilded Age? Spector plays George Russell, a newly powerful railroad magnate – the archetypical robber baron of the real life Gilded Age.

Where do I know Morgan Spector from? You might recognise him as Mayor Bobby Novak from Suits and its spinoff Pearson, or from his lead roles in The Mist and Homeland.

What should I watch next if I like his performance in this? Spector also starred in The Plot Against America, another expensive HBO period drama (although admittedly that’s overstating the similarities between it and The Gilded Age, just a little).

Louisa Jacobson as Marian Brook

Louisa Jacobson in The Gilded Age (Credit: Alison Cohen Rosa/Heyday Productions)Louisa Jacobson in The Gilded Age (Credit: Alison Cohen Rosa/Heyday Productions)
Louisa Jacobson in The Gilded Age (Credit: Alison Cohen Rosa/Heyday Productions)
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Who does Louisa Jacobson play in The Gilded Age? Jacobson plays Marian Brook, the nominal protagonist of The Gilded Age who goes to live with her aunts after the death of her father.

Where do I know Louisa Jacobson from? This is Jacobson’s television debut, so unless you go to a lot of theatre in America you probably don’t recognise Jacobson – although you might recognise her mother, Meryl Streep.

Denée Benton as Peggy Scott

Denée Benton as Peggy Scott (Credit: Alison Cohen Rosa/Heyday Productions)Denée Benton as Peggy Scott (Credit: Alison Cohen Rosa/Heyday Productions)
Denée Benton as Peggy Scott (Credit: Alison Cohen Rosa/Heyday Productions)

Who does Denée Benton play in The Gilded Age? Benton plays Peggy Scott, a young Black woman who wants to be a writer.

Where do I know Benton from? You might recognise her from Unreal, but otherwise Benton is another of actor from The Guilded Age who’s best known for her theatrical work.

Who else stars in The Gilded Age?

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Nathan Lane (The Lion King), Audra Macdonald (The Good Fight), Taissa Farmiga (Higher Ground), Simon Jones (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) and Jeanne Tripplehorn (Basic Instinct) all appear in The Gilded Age as well.

Who wrote and directed The Gilded Age?

The Gilded Age was written and created by Julian Fellowes. Fellowes is a Conservative peer in the House of Lords, and previously wrote Downton Abbey and Gosford Park.

The series is directed by Downton Abbey stalwart Michael Engler and American director Salli Richardson.

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