“Places like that were very much the product of the new money of the time, as you can see in ‘The Gilded Age,’” said David Ray, a longtime Newport resident and owner of the Bannister’s Wharf complex and the Clarke Cooke House restaurant. “There was one-upmanship at any cost.”

HBO has handed a Season 4 renewal to Julian Fellowes’ period drama The Gilded Age. The pickup comes ahead of the Season 3 finale on August 10, which will wrap some storylines while setting up more drama and intrigue.

How did Gilded Age get this popular? The surprising TV show I’m obsessed with. The only set photos I want to see. A Passion of the Christ…sequel? Mariah Carey, forever perfect. What will become of the Clock Twink?

HBO has struck gold with The Gilded Age. The period drama from Downton Abbey’s Julian Fellowes is enjoying its strongest season yet, with season 3 racking up 20 percent more viewers than season 2 and social engagement rising nearly 60 percent week over week,

Though HBO's The Gilded Age often chided for its low-stakes approach—as if we have nothing better to concern ourselves with than the trials and travails of the show's mostly ultra-rich cast of characters—there's an addictive quality to its particular blend of drama,