The Gilded Age has put another feather in the cap of HBO. The show, which was created by Downton Abbey‘s Julian Fellowes, follows the clash between the various classes in New York City in the late 1800s. The ensemble cast of the show, which premiered season 2 on October 29, includes Carrie Coon, Morgan Spector, Louisa Jacobson, Denée Benton, Taissa Farmiga, Simon Jones, Cynthia Nixon, and Christine Baranski.
Rotten Tomatoes has tabulated the score for The Gilded Age season 2 to be a Certified Fresh 94%. This makes it the sixth major HBO scripted show to pass the 90% threshold in 2023, not counting Max exclusives. The other shows that have passed this benchmark are The Last of Us season 1 (96%), Barry season 4 (96%), Succession season 4 (97%), Somebody Somewhere season 2 (100%), and The Righteous Gemstones season 3 (100%).
Could The Gilded Age Have the Longevity of Downton Abbey?
With this kind of critical reception, it seems possible that The Gilded Age could run just as long as Fellowes’ Downton Abbey, which ran for six seasons and two movies. The two shows boast many other similarities including the Gilded Age cast positioning Christine Baranski as an analog to Downton Abbey‘s sharp-tongued Dowager Countess, played by Maggie Smith. However, one impediment to The Gilded Age‘s possible continuation is the fact that audiences have consistently given the show a Rotten score on the platform.
Despite both seasons being Certified Fresh (season 1 holds a 79% critic score), The Gilded Age season 1 has a 53% score from audiences while season 2 has 55%. The Gilded Age season 2 episode 1 is the only episode to have aired at the time of writing, so the season’s score could fluctuate as more episodes are added. Regardless, Downton Abbey was much better received by audiences, infrequently earning audience scores below 90% in addition to its strong critic scores. To compare, check out the critic and audience scores for each Downton Abbey entry below:
Title | Critic Score | Audience Score |
|---|---|---|
Downton Abbey season 1 | 80% | 94% |
Downton Abbey season 2 | 100% | 92% |
Downton Abbey season 3 | 80% | 93% |
Downton Abbey season 4 | N/A | 89% |
Downton Abbey season 5 | N/A | 90% |
Downton Abbey season 6 | 91% | 95% |
Downton Abbey (2019) | 84% | 94% |
Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022) | 86% | 97% |
The Gilded Age will have to work hard to build up that level of audience interest. Considering its highest audience score is still 34% below Downton Abbey‘s lowest, the show’s viewership may flag before it is able to run even half as long. However, it remains to be seen how the rest of season 2 is received, as there are still seven more weekly episodes remaining in its run.
The Gilded Age airs on HBO Sundays at 9PM.
