HBO’s Hit Period Drama Officially Reaches a Massive Viewership Milestone

Season 4 of HBO’s The Gilded Age premiered on Nov. 1, and already, it’s topping the streaming charts. The show also just hit a major milestone.

Per FlixPatrol, The Gilded Age is the No. 1 most-watched TV show in the United States and in the world. Not only that, but The Gilded Age has just reached 100 days in the HBO Max U.S. Top 10. The show is also No. 1 in 27 countries.

The Gilded Age Characters Deal With Consequences in Season 4

The Gilded Age is set in New York City during the 1880s. The series features a large ensemble cast that includes Carrie Coon, Christine Baranski, Cynthia Nixon, Morgan Spector, Louisa Jacobson, Denée Benton, Taissa Farmiga, Harry Richardson, Bill Camp, Phylicia Rashad, Jim Gaffigan, and Dallas Roberts.

The show follows Marian Brook (Jacobson), a young woman struggling to make a life for herself in the 1880s, when she’s taken in by her estranged and wealthy aunts. Marian soon finds herself in Gilded Age high society, put in the middle of rivalries between old and new money aristocrats.

Season 3 of The Gilded Age ended in multiple major upheavals. George has lost his right-hand man, and Bertha has forced their daughter, Gladys, to marry someone she has no romantic interest in.

Spector previously said, “In [Season 3], we see [George] plowing ahead despite his better judgment, and that costs him his ally in Clay and it threatens his marriage. I don’t know that George is headed in a productive direction. There’s something about where he’s gotten in terms of his own business success that has driven him a little crazy.”

Coon also explained, “Everything Bertha has done for Gladys is actually out of love. Everything she’s doing to set Gladys up in English society, which would reflect well on them in New York, is something to help George and his business interests.”

The Season 4 logline reads, “Bertha Russell changed Society at a cost. Now, her family must reckon with the consequences as Agnes van Rhijn seizes an opportunity to regain her position. Meanwhile, Marian forges a new path for herself, and Peggy works to be accepted by her future in-laws.”

Season 4 Adds New Characters

Season 4 of The Gilded Age also brings a few new characters, while cutting others. Two recurring stars, Patrick Cage and Sullivan Jones, who play secretary Richard Clay and New York Globe publisher T. Thomas Fortune, respectively, will be absent from Season 4. Both actors have been a part of the series since its first season. In Season 2, they were promoted to series regulars, then bumped back down to recurring actors in Season 3. In Season 4, they will be left out entirely.

However, Season 4 also brings a number of newcomers to the cast. Confirmed additions include Taylor Trensch, James Scully, Dennis Haysbert, Maggie Kuntz, Neal Huff, Bonnie Milligan, Jim Gaffigan, Dallas Roberts, Andrew Burnap, Elizabeth Marvel, and Adrienne Warren.

The Gilded Age is streaming on HBO Max. New episodes drop every Sunday until the finale on Dec. 20.

Release Date

January 24, 2022

Network

HBO Max

Showrunner

Julian Fellowes

Directors

Deborah Kampmeier, Salli Richardson-Whitfield

Writers

Julian Fellowes

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  Carrie Coon

  Bertha Russell

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  Morgan Spector

  George Russell