Critic Reviews

Fellowes has attempted to recapture the magic of Downton Abbey in other projects, like Doctor Thorne and Belgravia. Here, though, he actually pulls it off. Each new episode left me more ravenous for more. ... It has all the escapist charm of the historic costume drama blended with the savage energy of most evening soaps. It is the show Downton Abbey fans have been waiting for.

“The Gilded Age” is easily the best new series of 2022 and sets a high bar for shows that will follow.

If this is the end for “The Gilded Age,” bravo to the series for delivering two near-perfect seasons. But I do hope we’ll get to spend more time with these fantastic characters.

While the five episodes of this series provided in advance to critics have yet to hit that "Poor Mr. Pamuk" sweet spot of scandal, the potential is here for a simply delicious period soap opera.

The Gilded Age doesn't waste any time before thrusting you right back into its realm of unadulterated glamour, cutting ambition, and precarious scandal, all set to the Gregson-Williams brothers' sweeping orchestral score.

The performances remain stellar. .... The season’s only misstep comes in the finale. .... But it’s a small quibble, and after three increasingly enjoyable seasons, perhaps it’s best to trust that Fellowes and Warfield know what they’re doing.

It's early to pronounce this fully as another "Downton"-like addiction, with one movie and another on the way. Yet Fellowes has laid out the foundation for a period soap with that lofty potential, in what is already a very enticing piece of "Abbey"-adjacent real estate.

A triumph of dazzling production and costume design, The Gilded Age astonishes with its opulence and entertains with its colorful depiction of class warfare in corsets. [31 Jan - 13 Feb 2022, p.4]

It’s an upscale version of the classic primetime soap and one that’s perfect to get lost in when real life drama is too much.

It’s an undeniable series best, one which allows its actors the grace of consuming witty material, transforming it into biting commentary on wealth, community and desire as it flows out of their mouths.