The Gilded Age, HBO's period drama from Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes, is being praised for going further than its predecessor by consistently spotlighting the social issues of its 1880s setting rather than staying confined to the concerns of its wealthy central families. Where historical dramas often risk becoming insular studies of the upper classes, the show has used its main storylines to engage directly with the era's labour struggles, racial discrimination and gender barriers, giving it a broader social relevance than Downton Abbey achieved.

In its second season, the series tackled the rise of labour unions through George Russell's workers striking for better pay, explored anti-Black racism in the American South via Peggy Scott and T. Thomas Fortune's dangerous trip to Alabama's Tuskegee Institute, and highlighted gender discrimination in engineering through the real-life story of Emily Warren Roebling's secret role in completing the Brooklyn Bridge. These storylines run alongside the domestic lives of servants working for the van Rhijn and Russell families. Season 4 of The Gilded Age has been confirmed for release this November, and the show currently ranks as the number one TV series on HBO Max.