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Could Julian Fellowes' two hit period dramas share more than just a creator? Join us as we explore the tantalizing possibilities connecting these historical series! From the Titanic tragedy to Cora Crawley's American roots, the evidence for a shared universe is compelling. Would the Dowager Countess clash with Agnes van Rhijn? Could young Violet appear in The Gilded Age?
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00:00Oh, well, the gang's all here, I see.
00:03Is that American for hello?
00:06Welcome to Ms. Mojo.
00:07And today, we're exploring the possible connections
00:10that could lead to the most elegant crossover in TV history.
00:13I don't think we should be afraid of new things.
00:16Or new people.
00:19Two shows, different eras.
00:21In 2010, audiences got their first taste of Downton Abbey,
00:24the historical drama that both celebrates
00:26and satirizes early 20th century English aristocracy.
00:30From the upstairs machinations of the counts
00:32and countesses of Downton
00:33to the foibles and dramas of the downstairs staff,
00:36it became a sensation at home and abroad.
00:39He might do well in America, Mr. Barrow.
00:41Seems a bit drastic.
00:42Why should he go abroad?
00:43Keep your nose out of it.
00:45Stirrings of an American Downton
00:47had been around as early as 2012.
00:49The Gilded Age began airing on HBO in 2022.
00:53I was looking up at those rows of windows,
00:54only this morning wondering what lies behind them.
00:57Then you must cross the road and see.
00:59Isn't that cell glass?
01:00Both shows have come to represent
01:01a specific kind of historical fiction,
01:04one that is as entertaining as it is enlightening
01:06about the history it depicts.
01:08But could the shows be connected?
01:10Julian Fellows, producers, and fans across the internet
01:13have weighed in on the possibility.
01:15Have you seen this?
01:16I can't control what they write.
01:18I assure you the last thing I want
01:19is for our lives to be gossip column fodder.
01:22The Fellowsverse
01:23I feel so guilty pushing into a family celebration.
01:27You'd be an ornament at any gathering.
01:28Oh, how nice. Thank you.
01:30Downton Abbey and the Gilded Age
01:32share more than history,
01:34shady grand dames,
01:35and gorgeous gowns.
01:36Full logic in that.
01:38Quite.
01:39There's an alliance that does not bode well.
01:43Julian Fellows is the writer behind both.
01:45Of course, fans have taken this to mean
01:47that the shows could potentially have some crossover.
01:50What a good idea.
01:53We need that, Julian.
01:55We really need that.
01:56I'll bury the mind.
01:57The events of the Gilded Age
01:59take place in America in the 1880s.
02:01Downton takes place in England
02:03nearly three decades later.
02:04However, that hasn't stopped fans
02:06from wondering just how characters
02:08like Cora Crawley and the Dowager Countess
02:10could end up rubbing elbows
02:11with the Van Ryn sisters.
02:13Are the shows part of a shared Fellowsverse?
02:15Well, I suppose we still have
02:16some things to talk about.
02:17And of course, you remember Gladys.
02:21Gladys, we have much to look forward to.
02:24A shared history.
02:25Tell us about these people.
02:28Oh, well, they were all rather marvelous
02:32and sort of living that life.
02:35Given that both shows deal
02:36with real-life historical eras,
02:38that alone might be enough
02:39to put them in the same universe.
02:41If the Gilded Age takes a long gap
02:43between seasons,
02:44we could see a future season
02:45catapulting the characters forward
02:47a few decades.
02:48But it might not even take
02:49that dramatic a shift.
02:51It's safe to assume
02:52that some of the older Downton characters
02:53are walking around England somewhere,
02:55while the Americans in the Gilded Age
02:57are building railroads
02:58and throwing balls.
02:59I was just telling Mrs. Russell
03:01of all your friends you made in Europe,
03:03not least the Duke of Buckingham.
03:05Theoretically,
03:06there could be a time jump
03:07that puts the characters
03:08in proximity to each other.
03:10Would Bertha Russell
03:11go toe-to-toe with Cora Crawley?
03:12Could an elderly Agnes Van Ryn
03:14withstand a put-down
03:15from the Dowager Countess?
03:17I've already said,
03:18if necessary,
03:19we can quarrel with her later.
03:20The Titanic Connection.
03:22That's John Jacob Astor,
03:24the richest man on the ship.
03:26His little wifey there,
03:27Madeline, is my age
03:28and in delicate condition.
03:30One specific connection
03:31between the shows
03:32is the tragic and oft-retold story
03:34of the RMS Titanic.
03:35The Grand Ocean Liner
03:36began its maiden voyage
03:38at Southampton, England
03:39on April 10, 1912.
03:41It never made it to New York.
03:43The real-life sinking of the ship
03:44touches off much of the action
03:45in Downton Abbey,
03:46where Mary Crawley's intended husband
03:48is deemed a victim of the disaster.
03:50This alters everything.
03:53You won't try to deny it.
03:56You must challenge the end tale now,
03:59surely.
03:59But can't we at least wait
04:00until we know they're dead
04:01before we discuss it?
04:02Don't talk as if I'm not brokenhearted,
04:04because I am.
04:05If the Gilded Age follows history,
04:07Mrs. Astor,
04:08the show's old-money grand dame,
04:10will lose her as-yet-unseen son
04:12in the tragedy.
04:13The real Caroline Astor's son,
04:15wealthy magnate
04:15John Jacob Astor IV,
04:17was one of the 1,500 people
04:19who never made it to New York.
04:20Cora Crawley even claims
04:22to know Astor
04:22in the show's first episode.
04:24It's too awful for any words.
04:27Did J.J. Astor get off?
04:30Of course, that new wife of his
04:31is bound to have been rescued.
04:32Cora Crawley's American Beginnings
04:35If the Lady of Downton Abbey herself
04:37is proof of anything,
04:38it's that even Americans
04:39can show up in a stuffy
04:40British noble family.
04:42It's not really how we do it.
04:44How you used to do it?
04:45Oh, come on.
04:46It might be fun.
04:47I agree.
04:48We'll all pull together
04:49and it'll be great fun.
04:50Cora Crawley is an anomaly.
04:52She is an American
04:53among the most British people imaginable.
04:56Originally hailing
04:57from Cincinnati, Ohio,
04:58Cora Levinson's family money
05:00saved Robert Crawley
05:01and his family
05:02from financial ruin,
05:03establishing her as a countess.
05:05If I were to tell you
05:06she'd made me very happy,
05:07would that stretch belief?
05:09It's not why you chose her.
05:11Above all those other girls
05:13who could have filled my shoes
05:14so easily.
05:15If you must know,
05:16when I think of my motives
05:18for pursuing Cora,
05:19I'm ashamed.
05:20There's no need
05:21to remind me of them.
05:22The Gilded Age
05:23was actually supposed
05:24to cover Cora's coming of age
05:26in New York City society.
05:27Somewhere along the line,
05:28that idea shifted away
05:30from a prequel series
05:31and became the one
05:32we know now.
05:33Perhaps Cora's plotline
05:34would have been similar
05:35to that of new money heiress
05:37Gladys Russell.
05:38You promised I could marry
05:39for love, father.
05:40You gave me your word.
05:42The marriage is a real opportunity.
05:44Do you want us to stop
05:45our daughter becoming
05:46one of the most famous
05:47women of her generation?
05:49Are Cora's relatives
05:50in New York?
05:51Apparently there was
05:52an internet theory
05:53floating around
05:54during the first two seasons
05:55of the Gilded Age.
05:56Is Bertha Russell's
05:57off-mentioned sister
05:58a pre-Downton Cora Crawley?
06:00I doubt it.
06:01I live in Albany.
06:02Will you come this way, Monica?
06:03Unfortunately,
06:04the math just isn't
06:05math-ing on this one.
06:06Bertha's family
06:07comes from humble beginnings,
06:09and Cora's family wealth
06:10is one of the biggest reasons
06:11she even married
06:12into the Crawley family.
06:13You mean you needed
06:14the Levinson cash
06:16to keep the Crawleys on top?
06:18I'm not sure
06:18we'd put it that way.
06:20I'm quite sure
06:21we would not.
06:22When we finally meet
06:23Bertha's sister, Monica,
06:24she is definitely iconic.
06:26But she's definitely
06:27not Cora.
06:28Still,
06:29it's not outside
06:29the realm of possibility
06:30that Cora has some
06:31long-lost relatives
06:32living in New York
06:33in the 1880s.
06:34Maybe we'll meet them
06:35in season four.
06:36Jumping the Pond
06:58A major difference
06:59between the two shows
07:00comes with the territory.
07:01In England,
07:02the upper clusters
07:03are nobles
07:04with land and titles.
07:05In America,
07:06the social hierarchies
07:07are a bit more permeable.
07:08The old have been in charge
07:10since before the revolution.
07:11They ruled justly
07:13until the new people invaded.
07:15It's not quite as simple as that.
07:17Yes, it is.
07:18New money
07:18and old money
07:19jostle for position.
07:21But on the Gilded Age,
07:22the Russells make a huge splash
07:24by marrying their daughter Gladys
07:25to the Duke of Buckingham.
07:26It's a bid for respectability
07:28that could put them
07:28in the path of some
07:29of our favorite nobles,
07:31ladies and duchesses.
07:32Well, they'd certainly
07:32like to meet you.
07:34What's this?
07:35Gladys is curious
07:36about the estate.
07:38She's going to get Forrester
07:38to explain it all.
07:39Julian Fellows has said
07:41that he's not opposed
07:42to having a crossover
07:43now that storylines
07:44have taken some
07:45of the Gilded Age's
07:46characters to England.
07:47However,
07:48he's ominously said
07:49that it probably wouldn't be
07:50in the way fans expect.
07:52I think women should stick
07:53to their proper sphere.
07:55Then should the queen
07:56have stuck to her proper sphere
07:58and refuse the crown?
07:59Bertha,
07:59I think we must go easy
08:01on my poor sister.
08:02I was just curious,
08:03but of course,
08:04if she'd rather not answer.
08:05The Dowager Countess
08:06versus the United States.
08:08You Americans
08:09never understand
08:10the importance
08:11of tradition.
08:13Yes, we do.
08:14We just don't give it
08:15power over us.
08:16If there's one thing
08:17Dowager Countess
08:18Violet Crawley
08:19can't tolerate,
08:20well, there are so many things
08:21the Countess of Grantham
08:22can't tolerate,
08:23but Americans
08:24are at the top
08:25of the list.
08:25Being the stateside
08:26version of Downton Abbey,
08:28the Gilded Age
08:28is chock full of Americans
08:30for her to take down
08:31a few pegs.
08:32I'm so looking forward
08:33to seeing your mother again.
08:35When I'm with her,
08:36I'm reminded
08:37of the virtues
08:38of the English.
08:40But isn't she American?
08:41Exactly.
08:42The great thing is
08:43that Violet Crawley,
08:44as one of the oldest
08:45characters in Downton Abbey,
08:47is probably one of
08:48the few characters
08:49who is an adult
08:50during the events
08:50of the Gilded Age.
08:51Julian Fellows
08:52drew some major attention
08:53when he mentioned
08:54that a young Violet
08:55could make an appearance.
08:57We're still waiting.
08:58You cannot be so contrary.
09:00I'm a woman, Mary.
09:02I can be as contrary
09:03as I choose.
09:04A whole new show.
09:05Given the major time gap
09:07between the two shows,
09:08one possibility
09:09for a crossover
09:09might be a whole new show.
09:11If you want to cook an omelet,
09:12you have to learn
09:12to break a few eggs.
09:14Says the woman
09:15who hasn't cooked
09:15an omelet in 20 years.
09:16I may not have made an omelet,
09:18but I have made a future.
09:20And I'm here
09:20to help you do the same.
09:22Although neither show
09:23would be the same
09:23without Christine Baranski,
09:25Cynthia Nixon,
09:26or the late Maggie Smith,
09:27there are plenty
09:28of characters to choose from.
09:30Taking place between
09:30the 1880s and the 1910s,
09:33a third show could cover
09:34the younger generation
09:35of the Gilded Age
09:36finding their way to England.
09:37What is that in your hair?
09:39Why?
09:40My mate suggested them
09:41and I liked the idea.
09:42You don't seem to understand.
09:44This isn't New York.
09:45There, the younger Russells
09:47and Marion Brooke
09:48might make contact
09:49with some of the Downton denizens
09:50in turn-of-the-century London.
09:52The opportunities for class
09:53and culture clash
09:54are almost too delicious.
09:56Are you quite well?
09:58Why shouldn't I be?
10:00I thought when you stood
10:02without waiting for me,
10:03you must be ill.
10:12I'm so glad if I was wrong.
10:13Before we continue,
10:15be sure to subscribe
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10:28and switch on notifications.
10:30But will it ever happen?
10:31Even if they never
10:32cross paths narratively,
10:34Downton Abbey
10:34and the Gilded Age
10:35are already spiritual companions.
10:37Maybe that's enough.
10:38I want more than that.
10:40But what is there
10:41more than that?
10:41You'll see
10:42when I find
10:42what I'm looking for.
10:43Given that they share
10:44a creator
10:45and are both
10:46about the tensions
10:46between elite classes
10:48and the goings-on
10:49of their downstairs staff,
10:50it's not outside
10:51the realm of possibility.
10:52Some fans may prefer
10:53the two shows
10:54stay separate.
10:55Despite many similarities,
10:57they're tonally
10:58very different.
10:59Cheer up.
11:01Come the revolution,
11:02it may be useful
11:03to have a contact
11:04on the other side.
11:05The way wealth works
11:06on both shows
11:06is not really the same
11:07due to differences
11:08between the American
11:09and British cultures.
11:11A crossover between the two
11:12would require
11:12some pretty specific circumstances.
11:15Whether or not
11:15it'd be satisfying
11:17remains to be seen.
11:18You stop at nothing
11:19to get your own way,
11:20isn't that the truth?
11:22Indeed.
11:23It is a quality
11:24I share with Marlborough,
11:27Wellington,
11:27and my late mother.
11:29Do you think
11:30Downton Abbey
11:30and the Gilded Age
11:31are connected
11:32by more than just
11:33a shared history?
11:34Tell us in the comments.
11:36thank for you.
11:43We may be listening
11:44in.
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