NEW YORK — Julian Fellowes may be TV's preeminent chronicler of the British aristocracy, but his latest series, "The Gilded Age," finds the writer in uncharted terrain: America.
The lavish HBO series, which premiered last month, is set in 1882 New York City. Taking a page or two from Edith Wharton, it centers on two wealthy families who live in neighboring mansions on Fifth Avenue and represent opposing forces in New York society: the Old Money Van Rhijns, who proudly tout their pre-Revolutionary roots, and the nouveau riche Russells, who are determined to use their railroad fortune to conquer Manhattan.
But in an unusual twist for this kind of society tale, "The Gilded Age" also follows the Scotts, a prominent Black family from Brooklyn that includes Peggy, an aspiring writer who works as a secretary to the prickly Agnes Van Rhijn (Christine Baranski).
