'Downton Abbey' creator returns with new series 'The Gilded Age'

"The Gilded Age" is "Downton Abbey" but in New York City.

ByABC News via logo
February 1, 2018, 10:33 AM

— -- It's "Downton Abbey," but in New York City.

That's how you'd describe "The Gilded Age," a new NBC series from Julian Fellowes, creator of the critically-acclaimed television series, "Downton Abbey," which went off the air in 2015 after six seasons.

The 10-episode series, which will start airing in 2019, is set in 1880s New York, an era known as the Gilded Age thanks to its rapid economic growth and immense wealth.

In a statement Fellowes said, "I have been fascinated by this period of American history for many years and now NBC has given me the chance to bring it to a modern audience."

PHOTO: Writer Julian Fellowes arrives at an event at the Writers Guild Theater on June 6, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Writer Julian Fellowes arrives at an event at the Writers Guild Theater on June 6, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Amanda Edwards/WireImage/Getty Images

He added, "The truth is, America is a wonderful country with a rich and varied history, and nothing could give me more pleasure than be the person to bring that compelling history to the screen."

PHOTO: Rob James-Collier, Sophie McShera, Julian Fellowes, Phyllis Logan, Gareth Neame and Joanne Froggatt attend a "Downton Abbey" event at Paramount Studios on May 3, 2014 in Hollywood, Calif.
Rob James-Collier, Sophie McShera, Julian Fellowes, Phyllis Logan, Gareth Neame and Joanne Froggatt attend a "Downton Abbey" event at Paramount Studios on May 3, 2014 in Hollywood, Calif.

The show follows Marian Brook, a woman who attempts to marry into a wealthy family next door. That family, which made their money in the railroad industry, is shunned as "new money" by the even-more-wealthy Astors and the Vanderbilts, the families who ruled the social scene at that time.

Jennifer Salke, president of NBC Entertainment, described the show in a statement as a "delicious new take on both the emerging rich and the working class who were intricately entwined in opulent New York in 1882."

"It’s an addictive new universe of fabulous people with the same signature style, wit and emotional resonance for which Julian is famous," she added.