Cynthia Nixon and Christine Baranski to play sisters in new period drama

The iconic pair will star in the new series from Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes.

Cynthia Nixon and Christine Baranski

Cynthia Nixon and Christine Baranski are set to co-star in anew series from the creator of Downton Abbey. Source: Getty Images

Lights, camera - EMMY.

Queer TV viewers are expressing their utter joy at the news that Cynthia Nixon and Christine Baranski will be co-starring in The Gilded Age, a new period drama from Julian Fellowes, the creator of Downton Abbey.

Not only that, but the fabulous pair will be playing sisters.

According to , Baranski is set to play Agnes van Rhijn, “a proud and stubborn aristocrat who will never accept the world has changed and old values are being replaced by new ones."

Baranski's character description continues: "She found herself penniless as her parents’ plantation was foundering even before the Civil War but managed to catch a husband just in time. She worships her son Oscar, but the ardor isn’t mutual.”
Meanwhile, Nixon play's Baranski's sister, Ada Brook, who is “another victim of the old South, but unlike sister Agnes, she didn’t find a way out until it was too late and was forced back on her sister’s charity.

"Not naturally confrontational, she’s nonetheless capable of standing up for what she believes.”

Set in the 1800s, the 10-episode series around a yet-to-be-cast character named Marian Brook, their niece, “the orphaned daughter of a Southern general, who moves into the home of her rigidly conventional aunts,” and Peggy Scott, an African-American woman “masquerading as her maid.”

Naturally, fans are excited for the development.

"I've said it so many times and I will forever mean it, I want my life to be narrated by Christine Baranski," one Twitter user wrote.

"Cynthia Nixon is the bisexual cherry on top."

Christine Baranski also stars in the Good Fight. You can watch Season three of 'The Good Fight' on

Share
Published 27 September 2019 1:36pm
Updated 27 September 2019 2:21pm
By Samuel Leighton-Dore


Share this with family and friends


SBS News in your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS On Demand
SBS News
SBS Audio

Listen to our podcasts
Join host Yumi Stynes for Seen, a new SBS podcast about cultural creatives who have risen to excellence despite a role-model vacuum.
The day's top stories from SBS News.
Ease into the English language and Australian culture. We make learning English convenient, fun and practical.
Get the latest with our sbs podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch SBS On Demand
Over 11,000 hours

Over 11,000 hours

News, drama, documentaries, SBS Originals and more - free.