Review
2025 is the biggest year yet for The Gilded Age and Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes. Premiering in 2010, Downton Abbey became a global phenomenon, lasting for 6 seasons and three feature films, with Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale set to the final chapter of the Crawley family. In 2022, Fellowes launched The Gilded Age on HBO. The «American Downton Abbey» was set in 19th-century New York City’s high society. The Gilded Age is another hit for Fellowes, with season 3 soon to premiere on HBO.
Julian Fellowes won an Academy Award for writing Gosford Park in 2001, but Downton Abbey is what Fellowes is best known for. Beginning in 1912 and spanning into 1930 in Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, the saga of the Crawley family and their loyal servants, has delighted audiences for 15 years. With The Gilded Age, however, Fellowes proved he could translate Downton‘s soapy formula into an American setting. The Gilded Age’s themes of wealth, class, excess, have proven to be as addictive as Downton. In 2025, audiences will have an embarrassment of Downton Abbey and The Gilded Age riches.
Why 2025 Is The Biggest Year Yet For The Gilded Age Creator Julian Fellowes
2025 Is Even Bigger Than 2022
Julian Fellowes is poised for a monumental 2025 with The Gilded Age season 3 and Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale premiering in the summer and fall. The Gilded Age season 3 arrives June 22 on HBO, bringing audiences to 1884 as Bertha Russell (Carrie Coon) continues her climb up New York high society and threatening to upend her family by promising her daughter, Gladys (Taissa Farmiga), to marry the Duke of Buckingham (Ben Lamb). Meanwhile, Agnes Van Rhijn (Christine Baranski) must cope with her sister, Ada Forte (Cynthia Nixon), becoming the new mistress of their home.
On September 12, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale premieres in theaters. The third Downton movie arrives just a month after The Gilded Age season 3’s finale, which is peak Julian Fellowes for his legions of fans. In 2022, The Gilded Age season 1 premiered in January with Downton Abbey: A New Era ing in May. However, The Gilded Age had to prove it could match Downton’s success, and A New Era suffered from movie theaters still recovering from COVID-19 lockdown. In 2025, The Gilded Age is a bona fide hit in its own right, and Downton Abbey‘s final film is a must-see poised to make history.
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale Is The End Of An Era
Audiences Are Saying Farewell To The Crawleys
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale promises to be the final Downton film, and the end of the Crawley family’s story as audiences have come to know it. Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale brings the Crawleys into the 1930s, where «they must embrace change, and welcome a new chapter,» according to the film’s official logline. Most of the Downton Abbey cast reassembled for the conclusion to their cinematic trilogy, with Paul Giamatti reprising his role as Harold Levinson, Cora, Countess of Grantham’s (Elizabeth McGovern) brother.
The Downton Abbey story has always been about how the Crawleys face change.
Sadly, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale will the first Downton project without Maggie Smith, who played Lady Violet, the Dowager Countess of Grantham. Maggie Smith passed away in September 2024, but Downton Abbey: A New Era ended with Lady Violet’s death after she announced she was ill in Downton Abbey (2019). The Downton Abbey story has always been about how the Crawleys face change, with Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) transitioning into the head of the family.
The Gilded Age Season 4 & Downton Abbey Spinoffs Could Happen
Will Young Violet Crawley Appear In The Gilded Age
The Gilded Age has been a sturdy performer for HBO, and season 2 was more highly rated on Rotten Tomatoes than season 1. While HBO hasn’t ordered The Gilded Age season 4 yet, there’s no reason to expect the new episodes will be less well-received by audiences. It’s unknown if Julian Fellowes has a master plan for how long The Gilded Age could run, but the NYC-set series has been embraced by Downton Abbey fans and has found its own appreciative audience.
With Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale ending the original Crawleys saga, there has long been speculation about spinoffs, perhaps set later in the 20th century, about Lady Mary’s son, George, and the youngest Crawley generation. Fellowes has also entertained the idea of a Downton Abbey prequel about young Lady Violet, and he speculated about Lady Violet appearing in The Gilded Age during the conception of HBO’s series. Whatever happens next, 2025 is truly a banner year for fans of Julian Fellowes’ soapy historical dramas.
