#Wonderfalls cast series#

Much of that ingredient comes from their new neighbors Bertha and George Russell, played by Carrie Coon and Morgan Spector, social climbers whose objectives to not only carve out a niche for themselves in wealthy circles but grow their already-impressive fortune earn them plenty of enemies in the process.Ĭoon's performance in The Gilded Age is astounding, a delicate balancing act that lands somewhere between ambition and callousness, with her character's outwardly collected facade crafted by a combination of draping her figure in devastatingly gorgeous dresses (serious hat tip to costume designer Kasia Walicka-Maimone) and pretending not to care what anyone thinks about her. Cynthia Nixon is a much gentler foil as Agnes' sister Ada, a spinster who depends wholly on her sister's generosity and shares her home - and the Odd Couple-esque dynamic between the two injects a much-needed dose of levity into what would otherwise be an acutely harsher drama. Christine Baranski plays socialite Agnes van Rhijn, who descends from an older generation of wealth and is compelled to retain her status even as newer millionaires move in right across the street - and while she is capable of uttering the most withering remarks over a delicate teacup, she also occasionally reveals her kinder side toward those she deems worthy of those glimpses.

#Wonderfalls cast series#

While Downton Abbey was home to many actors from across the pond who became wider household names - and used the series as a springboard into other, bigger projects (looking at you, Dan Stevens), The Gilded Age is a show that feels inherently New York, inherently American, because of the talent that makes up its cast, many of them with their origins on the Broadway stage to boot. There is nudity, yes, but what stands out more starkly than that is a particular ruthlessness and ambition amongst the characters, some of them in spite of their economic circumstances - and all done while wearing the kind of fashion made for jaw-dropping entrances. The resulting advantage is a platform that allows The Gilded Age to embrace some of its sexiest and simultaneously darkest aspects without having to tone down the material in order to comply with broadcast network standards and practices. When it later became its own original show, it was intended for NBC in 2018 but then made the jump over to HBO by the following year - which, in hindsight, may have been the best move made for this not-a- Downton show. The irony is that The Gilded Age was actually supposed to be a Downton prequel to begin with, with Fellowes first envisioning it as a spinoff book and then a series that would follow the beginnings of the romance between Lord and Lady Grantham. This is a show where the phrase 'great gowns, beautiful gowns' isn't a backhanded compliment, although The Gilded Age is much more than its pretty window-dressing there's snark, scheming, and plenty of men and women alike who plot against one another behind closed doors and bite back their barbs in favor of too-polite smiles. It's the creator's first series outing since Downton Abbey, and marks a tonal shift, like a more diabolical - and in some instances, almost crueler - American cousin by comparison.

On the surface, The Gilded Age is very much a Julian Fellowes joint - the historical drama heralded by an orchestral score that soon introduces a sprawling ensemble of faces.