July 14, 2025
With the addition of actresses Deneé Benton, Phylicia Rashad, and Audra McDonald, the interval drama has deepened its portrayal of Black aristocracy within the 1800s.
When HBO premiered “The Gilded Age” in 2022, the interval drama sparked early comparisons to Julian Fellowes’ earlier hit, “Downton Abbey,” which centered nearly solely on white British aristocracy. Nonetheless, because the sequence, created and written by Fellowes, has progressed, its scope has broadened, increasing to incorporate the often-overlooked tales of Black People through the Gilded Age.
In response to The New York Occasions, the present’s expanded narrative is essentially because of the contributions of acclaimed historian Erica Armstrong Dunbar, who serves as its historic marketing consultant, and actress Deneé Benton, who performs Peggy Scott—an formidable journalist, Agnes van Rhijn’s secretary, and a member of Brooklyn’s Black upper-middle class.
As Sonja Warfield, who shares showrunner duty with Fellowes, advised the outlet, the addition of Phylicia Rashad as Elizabeth Kirkland, along with Benton’s Scott and her mom, Dorothy, performed by Audra McDonald, has allowed for a higher complexity of portrayals that align with the histories of Black upper-class households in New England and New York Metropolis.
“As a result of it’s so small, what was fascinating about Newport in that point interval was that Black and white communities blended greater than they did in different areas,” Warfield stated. “The college system was, actually, built-in. In case you have been Black or white, you would have neighbors across the nook from you who have been Black or white.”
She continued, “Elizabeth Kirkland is the Mrs. Astor of Black elite society in Newport. So usually, once we see Black characters depicted on this time interval, it’s only one story, and it’s all in relation to slavery or sharecropping. What individuals don’t know is that, actually, these individuals existed.”
The three actresses, largely thought of Black Broadway royalty, additionally shared ideas on how their characters hook up with the colorist and classist attitudes of each the Eighteen Eighties and the current day, which they mentioned in a June interview with New York Occasions critic Salamishah Tillet.
Benton famous the similarities between herself and her character, telling Tillet that she feels an in depth connection to Scott, and in addition mirrored on the work she did with Armstrong Dunbar to persuade the present’s creator to increase The Gilded Age’s depiction of Black aristocratic society.
“It makes me emotional to consider how far we’ve come since 2019 with the present. Initially, we have been going to observe Peggy stroll a really slender path and see her dad and mom typically. And Dr. Erica Dunbar and I have been capable of be like: “We now have a chance to point out one thing that’s by no means been onscreen. We now have to widen this lens.” And now we have now a sturdy Black forged on this present. We now have Black writers; we have now a lot richness,” Benton stated.
Rashad additionally famous that the conventions of Eighteen Eighties society aren’t terribly totally different from a few of right now’s social media-driven discussions of colorism, featurism, and different intra-community points.
“I need to say, in rising up, I knew a few women who have been Elizabeths, who didn’t need their youngsters out within the solar and no one was ever going to be ok for his or her son. It occurs to individuals right now — if it’s not about coloration, it’s about one thing else. Folks being locked right into a previous that they didn’t create however that was handed to them,” Rashad advised Tillet.
At one level, the ladies shared a touching alternate that highlighted their mutual respect and Broadway ties. Benton turned emotional upon studying McDonald would play her mom, saying, “I didn’t notice tears had began popping out of my face,” and recalling how she studied McDonald’s performances obsessively in her youth. She added, “Audra feels about Ms. Phylicia the best way I really feel about Audra.”
McDonald adopted by reflecting on Rashad’s profound affect, sharing that attending to know her and her household held deep that means, as Rashad stays a legend, even amongst fellow icons.
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