With HBO's The Guilded Age, Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellows basically airlifts Downton's

soapy plots, its bobbles and ballgounds, its sneering servants and quipiol ladies out

of Yorkshire and plops them down on the corner of 61st Street and 5th Avenue in the Manhattan

of 1882.

This time, however, the show's central conflict isn't that of upper versus lower classes,

exactly, but something more quintessentially American.

It's constantly striving for more money, more status, more acceptance.

It's old money versus new money with new money, the odds on favorite.

I'm Glenn Weldon and today we're talking about The Guilded Age on pop culture happy

hour from NPR.

Joining me today is Christina Tucker of the podcast, wait is this a date from Auto Straddle?

Hey Christina.

Hello Glenn.

Welcome and also with us is Greta Johnson, host of the beloved nerdet podcast from WBEZ.

Welcome Greta.

Hey Glenn.

Okay let's get to it, this is going to be fun in The Guilded Age young Marion Brook

played by Luisa Jacobson is left with nothing when her father dies.

She moves to New York City to live with her two aunts or I should probably say aunts.

The stern agnes and the warm-hearted Ada played by Christine Baranski and Cynthia Nixon

respectively.

Agnes is very clear, their family is old money and Marion is to have nothing to do with

...