The Gilded Age Season 4 is gearing up to start filming, and HBO has a big casting update and new plot details that reveal Peggy’s (Denée Benton) answer to William’s (Jordan Donica) proposal. It also hints at a time jump, but that’s unconfirmed by HBO.
Here’s the official description for The Gilded Age Season 4: “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. In this new era, you must be careful what you wish for.”
William proposed to Peggy in the Season finale’s final moments, but we didn’t see her answer. Now, we know that she said yes! Elsewhere, the Russell family is in turmoil, but what exactly Bertha (Carrie Coon) did to change New York society is unclear. She made waves among Manhattan’s elite when welcoming divorced women back into the fold, so we’d bet that it’s about that.
The Gilded Age has promoted Donica and Ashlie Atkinson to series regulars for Season 4 and cast Dennis Haysbert, Taylor Trensch, James Scully, Maggie Kuntz, Neal Huff, and Bonnie Milligan in new roles.
Donna Murphy, who plays Mrs. Astor in the HBO period drama, shared an update on Season 4 production on Instagram on February 12, teasing a two-year time jump between the third and fourth seasons.
Here, we’re compiling all of the latest news about The Gilded Age Season 4, including recent updates from Cynthia Nixon and Carrie Coon.
Who is in The Gilded Age Season 4 cast?
The only returning stars who are confirmed so far play the characters mentioned in the new Season 4 description and the casting update. Those are Coon, Christine Baranski, Louisa Jacobson, Benton, Donica, and Atkinson.
Additional cast details will be announced at a later time, but Season 3 starred the above as well as Morgan Spector, Taissa Farmiga, Harry Richardson, Nixon, Kelli O’Hara, Murphy, Audra McDonald, John Douglas Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Blake Ritson, Ben Ahlers, Kelley Curran, Jack Gilpin, Simon Jones, Debra Monk, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Taylor Richardson, Claybourne Elder, and Patrick Page.
Elder will most likely not be back in Season 4 following the death of his character, John Adams, in the final moments of Episode 6. We’d wager that Page will be back as Clay, but that could be a very contentious character, as he’s suspected of hiring the hitman who shot George in the penultimate episode.
Here are the new Gilded Age cast members and the recurring characters they’ll be playing, courtesy of HBO.
- Taylor Trensch (Tony nominee) as Oliver, a new addition to the van Rhijn household
- James Scully as Lee Klein, an artist who sells his first painting at an unforgettable Society event, and an apprentice to the famed artist William Merritt Chase
- Dennis Haysbert as Dr. Reginald Harris, William Kirkland’s mentor, who visits New York to fundraise for the Freedman’s Hospital in Washington, DC, and makes a surprising connection
- Maggie Kuntz as Fiona Summers: cousin to the prominent Astors, Fiona is a free-spirited young woman from a good family who is not afraid to explore the limits of convention
- Neal Huff as John D. Rockefeller, the famed businessman and oil tycoon. A thin, self-made man of humble origins, now one of the richest and most powerful in the world. A devout Baptist and philanthropist, he does not always see eye to eye with his fellow robber barons
- Bonnie Milligan (Tony winner) as Mrs. Knapp Curtis, the trailblazing editor of the popular periodical The Ladies Home Journal
Has The Gilded Age Season 4 started filming?
According to The Associated Press, filming begins on February 23. Murphy revealed on Instagram that she’s recently done her first costume fitting for the new season. Her caption says that the season is set in 1886. Season 3 was set in 1884.
“And here we go! 1st fitting for Lina Astor for Season 4 of @gildedagehbo w/dressmaker extraordinaire @ericwinterlinginc, his assistant Alexa, & of course our BRILLIANT costume designer @kasia_walicka_maimone & associate @is_simone,” Murphy captioned her reel. “Corset & boots laced up, & happy to be stepping into 1886.”
At an awards season For Your Consideration event on November 18, Nixon told TV Insider, “I’m hearing that we’ll be getting the first three [scripts] very soon, so that’s exciting.”
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When does The Gilded Age Season 4 premiere?
The Gilded Age Season 3 finale aired in August 2025 on HBO. There’s no official premiere date yet, but HBO did include the historical drama in its teaser for its 2026 programming slate.
What happens in The Gilded Age Season 4?
The biggest burning question on every fan’s mind is whether George and Bertha Russell are really done for good. George’s near-death experience made him rethink his life entirely. While it seemed at the Newport Ball that that meant he was going to reconcile his grievances with Bertha about Gladys’ (Farmiga) arranged marriage, the finale’s last seconds shocked viewers by having George leave Bertha.
They’re not divorced yet, but it’s more possible than ever. And the couple on which the characters are loosely based, William and Alva Vanderbilt, famously got divorced after marrying their daughter, Consuelo, off to a British duke. Sound familiar? It would be a crying shame for one of TV’s best and hottest power couples to fall, but the fallout would be delicious drama. Bertha, in the meantime, is trying to make life better for divorced women.
At the November FYC event, Coon addressed the possibility that the show will continue to pull major inspiration from the famous Vanderbilt divorce with George and Bertha Russell.
“We haven’t followed the [Vanderbilt] storyline yet, not to a T, so I’m hopeful,” she told TV Insider. “Also, Bertha is so tenacious. She never gives up. If she wants George back, that’s what she’s going to get.”
Larry (Richardson) and Marian (Jacobson) are kind of back together as of the finale, but not yet re-engaged. Gladys and Hector are expecting their first baby, so hopefully that’s a very happy tale and nothing close to the trauma of Lady Sybil’s (Jessica Brown Findlay) first child in Julian Fellowes‘ Downton Abbey. (Could a Gilded Age and Downton Abbey crossover happen? We ponder the possibilities here.) The good news on that front: Consuelo Vanderbilt lived to 88, so if they’re going to continue molding Gladys after her, that’s a great sign.
When does The Gilded Age take place?
The Gilded Age Seasons 1 and 2 were set in 1882. The Gilded Age Season 3 was set in March 1883 at the beginning. Without an official plot description for Season 4, we can’t say when exactly Season 4 will take place, but Murphy says it’s 1886. This would be the show’s biggest time jump so far. Usually, it only jumps ahead a couple of months between seasons.
We’d love to see the new episodes pick up immediately after that gut-wrenching final shot of the season, when Bertha wept on a windowsill while watching George ride away. But perhaps a two-year time jump will give even more intriguing updates about the state of George and Bertha’s marriage.
