The Gilded Age: What the Must Watch reviewers think
Every week, the Must Watch podcasters review the biggest TV and streaming shows.
This week Scott Bryan and Hayley Campbell review The Gilded Age on Sky Atlantic. The latest period drama from Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes follows a girl who moves to New York after her father’s death. Things get complicated when she meets the family of a railroad tycoon.
Heyday Productions/LLC/Universal Television LLC
Scott says: “Cliché after cliché”
“It’s a Must Watch for Downton Abbey fans but for a lot of people it’ll just feel like cliché after cliché. The first big drama in the first half hour is in regards to whether someone can stay round because there’s a storm. There’s also a lot of scale and showing how elaborate the budget is but not that much spent on characters and plot.
“The fact that Julian Fellowes has a done a lot of research for this will be appreciated by a lot of people and especially for those who love his stuff. For others they may find it a yawn-fest…like I did.”
Heyday Productions/LLC/Universal Television LLC
Hayley says: “If you like his other boring shows you might like this one”
“I’ve spoken before about my allergy to Julian Fellowes but I bravely took an antihistamine and watched this one. It’s more of what Julian Fellowes does. I can’t tell if it’s more or less good than his other shows because, to me, they're all the same. Although it does feel like the characters are a little less filled out compared to, say, Downton Abbey. These seem like shallow cliches and even brilliant actors like Christine Baranski can’t make me like them, whereas in Downton there are magnetic characters even if the show itself is not your thing.
“Personally, I can’t find a way to care about a story in which rich people worry about what other rich people think of them or will they be accepted into rich people society or if they’ve chosen the right curtains. To put it bluntly: if you like his other boring shows you might like this one.”
Heyday Productions/LLC/Universal Television LLC
The Gilded Age is available now on Sky on Demand and NOW with new episodes released weekly.
Must Watch is released as a podcast every Monday evening from BBC Sounds and all other good podcast providers.
This week, the team speak to Spencer Jones about series 2 of The Mind of Herbert Clunkerdunk on BBC Two. Plus reviews of The Responder on BBC One and Trigger Point on ITV.
