"The Gilded Age" and the trouble with American period pieces

The Gilded Age delighted audiences with it's lavish sets, decadent costumes and social sniping when it debuted. Lucky for us, the period drama just returned to HBO Max with a second season. But if we look a little closer at the show, it reveals what we truly want out of period pieces: to remake the past with our modern sensibilities and values. As Brandon Taylor wrote in his essay called "morgan spector pls break me in half," The Gilded Age engenders "self-delusion" about our history – because to reflect our past more accurately, would be "too horrifying" for a somewhat soapy show. Brittany Luse sits down with Brandon to discuss sentimentality, why we're particularly drawn towards watching this era and how it might be done better.

This episode was produced by Liam McBain. It was edited by Jessica Placzek. Additional support came from Veralyn Williams, Barton Girdwood, Alexis Williams, and Corey Antonio Rose. Our executive producer is Veralyn Williams. Our VP of programming is Yolanda Sangweni and our senior VP of programming is Anya Grundmann.