When does gilded age season 2 start

The Gilded Age, HBO's period drama about 19th century New York City from the creator of Downton Abbey, is getting a second chapter. Here's what we know so far.

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The Gilded Age is officially coming back for a second season.

HBO broke the news of the renewal in February 2022. “Julian Fellowes and the entire GILDED AGE family have thoroughly captivated us with their tale of late 19th century New York City extravagance,” said Francesca Orsi, executive VP of programming at HBO. “Along with our partners at Universal Television, we couldn't be prouder to embark on a season two journey with this extraordinarily talented team.”

A teaser video released in tandem with the premiere of House of the Dragon confirmed new episodes of The Gilded Age will premiere in 2023, but a specific date has yet to be released.

Production has started on the new season.

Filming started on The Gilded Age’s second season in May 2022.

The team behind The Gilded Age started thinking about what comes next for these characters even before the show was officially renewed.

"The truth is, we're always getting the second season ready long before we know whether it goes ahead or not," executive producer Gareth Neame told Radio Times. "Because, you know, the moment we know we're going ahead, we have to start—the cameras have to start rolling. So you sort of have to prepare."

"So we're already underway with ideas for the second season," he continued.

Director Salli Richardson-Whitfield also told the publication, "there are all sorts of ideas and dreams" for new storylines, should the series get renewed.

Filming officially started on The Gilded Age's second season in May 2022, but has been met with controversy over working conditions for some of the animals involved in the show.

HBO released a statement in August saying, "Safety is the top priority for HBO’s productions, and we will continue to maintain our high standards and rules above to ensure the well-being of all animals, crew members and actors."

Cynthia Nixon and Christine Baranski in The Gilded Age.

The majority of the cast—including Christine Baranski, Carrie Coon, Cynthia Nixon, and Audra McDonald—is returning.

With such a large cast of heavy hitters, it might have been difficult to find a time to film season two that would work for everyone's schedule. However, Deadlinereports that 11 of the 12 series regulars from season one are returning, including Christine Baranski, Cynthia Nixon, Louisa Jacobson, Blake Ritson, Carrie Coon, Morgan Spector, Taissa Farmiga, Harry Richardson, Denée Benton, Simon Jones, and Jack Gilpin. The only series regular not returning is Thomas Cocquerel, who played Tom Raikes, Marian's love interest.

Baranski, who plays the show's grande dame Agnes van Rhijn, was definitely interested in returning, even before a season two was announced. "I could definitely, happily continue with this show and with these actors, and with this particular marvelous writer, Julian," she told T&C before the season two announcement, noting that if it does get renewed, she might have to film The Gilded Age while also filming The Good Fight. "Unfortunately because of COVID and everything else, if The Gilded Age does start again, it's going to be parallel lines. I might be shooting two shows at once, but this is what you call a champagne problem."

Audra McDonald, Nathan Lane, John Douglas Thompson, Ashlie Atkinson, Claybourne Elder, and Ward Horton are all set to return in their recurring roles.

Thirteen actors have been promoted to series regulars.

Kelli O’Hara as socialite Aurora Fane and Donna Murphy as Mrs. Astor will be series regulars in season two.

In addition, eleven actors who play the various housemaids, butlers, and staff in the Gilded Age world—Debra Monk, Kristine Nielsen, Taylor Richardson, Ben Ahlers, Kelley Curran, Douglas Sills, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Michael Cerveris, Erin Wilhelmi, Patrick Page, and Sullivan Jones—will all be series regulars in the second season of The Gilded Age,meant to deepen "the Upstairs, Downstairs feel of the show," per Deadline.

The world of the Gilded Age will keep expanding.

The casting directors have hinted that new roles will continue to be played by Broadway stars. Adam Caldwell, one of the casting directors, told Variety, "It’s still a part of the recipe of what we think works because of the talent and the experience. It can keep expanding. We might get a little bit more of a glimpse into the Black elite world. Historical figures pop up too and it’s fun to jump in and play around in the sandbox with everyone."

Notably, Laura Benanti and Robert Sean Leonard were just announced as recurring guest stars, as were Christopher Denham, David Furr, Ben Lamb, Matilda Lawler, Dakin Mathews, Michael Braugher, Nicole Brydon Bloom, and Rebeca Haden, per Deadline.

As the digital director for Town & Country, Caroline Hallemann covers culture, entertainment, and a range of other subjects 

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