‘The Gilded Age’ Season 2: Thomas Cocquerel Exits, 13 Actors

Toodle-oo, Mr. Raikes. Thomas Cocquerel is leaving The Gilded Age as the HBO drama ups 13 cast members to series regulars for Season 2.

The new series regulars for the Julian Fellowes period drama are Kelli O’Hara (Aurora Fane), Donna Murphy (Mrs. Astor), Debra Monk (Armstrong), Kristine Nielsen (Mrs. Bauer), Taylor Richardson (Bridget), Ben Ahlers (Jack Trotter), Kelley Curran (Turner), Douglas Sills (Baudin/Borden), Celia Keenan-Bolger (Mrs. Bruce), Michael Cerveris (Watson), Erin Wilhelmi (Adelheid Weber), Patrick Page (Richard Clay), and Sullivan Jones (T. Thomas Fortune), per Deadline.

Christine Baranski, Cynthia Nixon, Carrie Coon, Morgan Spector, Louisa Jacobson, Denée Benton, Blake Ritson, Taissa Farmiga, Simon Jones, Harry Richardson, and Jack Gilpin will return as series regulars in The Gilded Age Season 2. And Nathan Lane, Audra McDonald, John Douglas Thompson, Ashlie Atkinson, Claybourne Elder, and Ward Horton will return in their recurring roles.

So far not announced as returning Season 2 recurring cast members are Jeanne Tripplehorn (Sylvia Chamberlain), Katie Finneran (Anne Morris), Amy Forsyth (Carrie Astor), John Sanders (Stanford White), and Linda Emond (Clara Barton).

The series is jam packed with Broadway stars (there are more than 20!). And according to The Gilded Age casting directors, even more Broadway actors will be cast in Season 2. Bernard Telsey and Adam Caldwell of The Telsey Office told Variety they’ve already cast two Tony-winning actors plus a two-time Tony nominee in major roles for the upcoming season, to be announced at a later date. Telsey joked having a Tony is basically a prerequisite to being cast.

“It can keep expanding. We might get a little bit more of a glimpse into the Black elite world,” Caldwell teased on Season 2. “Historical figures pop up too and it’s fun to jump in and play around in the sandbox with everyone.”

Alison Cohen Rosa/HBO

Marian struggled to conform to her Aunt Agnes van Rhijn’s strict code of conduct in Season 1. Under Agnes’ rules, no one in their family or household staff were to consort with the likes of the city’s “new money,” especially not their new neighbors, the Russells. The Season 1 finale saw Bertha Russell triumph in her season-long attempt to meet Murphy’s Mrs. Astor — the queen of the old money social scene.

The season’s drama came to a head at the Russell’s coming out ball for Gladys Russell (Farmiga), which brought together the city’s elite and the van Rhijn and Russell house staffs. With Murphy being upped to series regular, it seems Mrs. Russell and Mrs. Astor’s rivalry (or possibly brewing friendship) could take center stage as Baranski’s Agnes continues to struggle to get with the times.

The Gilded Age is a HBO and Universal Television production.

The Gilded Age Season 2, Premiere Date TBA, HBO

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