HBO’s Perfect Period Drama’s Resounding Success Explained Ahead of Season 4: ‘It Forms a Community’

One of the executive producers of The Gilded Age breaks down the reasons for the period drama’s resounding success. The series has been a major critical favorite, and will soon return for Season 4.

Speaking to People, executive producer Sonja Warfield discussed the various reasons for the series’ success, noting, “It’s on HBO and it’s on one night a week. And so I think in our world, our world is very isolated and we’re in our silos and people are watching this show on this platform and people are watching another show on another platform, and they can watch that entire series, right?”

“But our show comes out every week,” Warfield continued. “I think it forms a bit of a community and we haven’t had that in a long time. We don’t really necessarily have that water cooler talk because people are watching all different things at different times.

Created by Julian Fellowes, who co-writes alongside Sonja Warfield, The Gilded Age premiered in 2022 and drops audiences into the early 1900s during New York City’s eponymous era of excess luxury. The Gilded Age largely revolves around Louisa Jacobson’s Marian Brook, a poor young woman who ends up being forced to live with her estranged and extravagantly wealthy aunts following a personal tragedy.

Alongside Jacobson, The Gilded Age features a sprawling, star-studded ensemble cast including Christine Baranski as Agnes van Rhign, Cynthia Nixon as Ada Forte, Carrie Coon as Bertha Russell, Morgan Spector as George Russell, Denée Benton as Peggy Scott, Taissa Farmiga as Gladys Vere, and Harry Richardson as Larry Russell. Season 3 marked the introduction of several new characters, such as Paul Alexander Nolan’s business magnate Alfred Merrick and Andrea Martin’s seemingly clairvoyant Madame Dashkova.

Throughout three seasons so far, The Gilded Age has received glowing reviews from critics, which have only gotten better as the series has gone on. As of the time of writing, The Gilded Age holds an 89% “Fresh” rating via review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, with Seasons 1, 2, and 3 holding 79%, 94%, and 95% approval ratings, respectively.

What Can Fans Expect from The Gilded Age Season 4?

Currently, The Gilded Age fans are eagerly awaiting any and all updates they can get regarding the hotly-anticipated Season 4, which is currently expected to arrive either late this year or in early 2027. Regarding what fans can look forward to when The Gilded Age Season 4 arrives, Season 3 left off with more than one major plot thread yet to be fully unraveled.

Among the most shocking of these plot threads was the arranged marriage set up by Carrie Coon’s Bertha Russell, which drove a deep wedge between her and her husband, Morgan Spector’s George Russell. “George is usually very calculating,” Spector said of the developments throughout Season 3 back in August 2025.

“In this season, we see him 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.”