It was a big bummer back in the day when longtime Downton Abbey producer Gareth Neame mentioned a “crossover” was unlikely between the beloved British series and its American counterpart The Gilded Age. Yet, series creator Julian Fellowes has always been more of the “never say never” opinion, and now that The Gilded Age has wrapped on Season 3 and is coming back for Season 4, not to mention we're about to get a third Downton movie, the topic has come up again.
In fact, Fellowes was doing some press ahead of the upcoming 2025 movie release, and was asked once more about the possibility of a crossover between the two projects. This time, he got a little more specific about why a possible crossover could work. (Though he also told TV Line there is no official news on this front.)
Well, obviously there’s an opportunity to [stage a crossover], because they are both in England. Things like the shooting season or whatever would incorporate many great houses for all of these families, as they would travel around England. We can bring about a conjunction whenever we wish, really, but we haven’t got one planned yet, so we’ll have to see.
Spoilers ahead if you plan to watch The Gilded Age Season 3.
During Season 3 of The Gilded Age, Carrie Coon’s Bertha got her wish and married off her naive daughter Gladys to a Duke, which made her a duchess, but led her own marriage into rocky waters. Gladys then headed to England, and ended the recent season pregnant. So, as Fellowes notes, if the show wants to tie in with Downton in the future, there is potential for a character, family, or even location crossover when Season 4 comes around.
Fellowes has also been candid that getting HBO and Focus Features on the same page might be the biggest task. Back when Gareth Neame had commented on the prospect, he had also mentioned the crossover potential was there, as well. He said that while Dame Maggie Smith’s character would have been alive during the 1880s time frame The Gilded Age is set in (and was memorably wooed by a Russian in St. Petersberg), “nothing was planned" at the time.
It’s a separate universe, but they’re both fictions set in the 1880s. Downton Abbey, in its own fiction, was definitely there. A younger version of the Maggie Smith character would be living there, I guess. But it’s not really planned.
That was back in Season 1. Now, we’re heading into Season 4, and there’s plenty more time to explore some possible nods and winks. I think the fanbase is ready for them, too. I certainly am.
Unfortunately, it's doubtful we'd get any sort of crossover in the new movie, given the trailer for Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale proved it will be set in the 1930s-- around fifty years after the stories in The Gilded Age. But I'm still always enthusiastic about any upcoming Fellowes projects, and without the late, great Maggie Smith in the fold, I am interested in how the original series will finally wrap, and what that will mean for future projects overall.
Tickets for Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale are already on sale. In addition, you can catch up on the franchise with Focus Features' new video.
