The Gilded Age fans are counting down the days until the Emmy Award-nominated HBO drama series returns with its fourth season on Sunday, Nov. 1. It's felt like it's been a lot longer than it's actually been since the season 3 finale left us with a cliffhanger surrounding the state of George (Morgan Spector) and Bertha's (Carrie Coon) marriage, but there's another twist up ahead.
Before The Gilded Age season 4 kicks off this fall, we received an unexpected update about the hit series. We're going to be seeing two fewer familiar faces in the expansive ensemble cast this time around. Over the course of the series, the cast has fluctuated with comings and goings, but in season 4, Richard Clay and T. Thomas Jones won't be back in the main or recurring cast.
Deadline reported on the departures of actors Patrick Page and Sullivan Jones a few weeks before the fourth season beings rolling out on HBO. While their exits from the cast aren't necessarily a shakeup for the series, they are still two major players who will no longer appear in season 4, though it's possible that both or either characters could drop by for an appearance in the future.
Page and Jones have both been in The Gilded Age since the first season, in which they recurred before joining the main cast in the second season. While Page remained a series regular in season 3 as George's secretary Richard Clay, Jones switched back to a recurring player in season 3 as T. Thomas Fortune, Peggy's (Denée Benton) editor at the New York Globe.
It's not unreasonable that Richard Clay and Thomas Forture have been written out of the show after the arcs they completed in season 3. George fired Richard when he wasn't able complete a lucrative business deal, and after joining forces with one of George's fiercest rivals, he stood out as a potential culprit when George was shot and nearly died.
Likewise, T. Thomas Fortune seemingly completed his own character arc when he overstepped a major boundary with Peggy. He joined her on an assignment outside of New York, continuing to be weird toward her and try to have a bigger presence in her life. Ultimately, Peggy's eventual husband-to-be Dr. William Kirkland (Jordan Donica) takes matters into his literal own hands.
Thankfully, we don't have to worry about any addition casting shakeups in season 4, unless the new episodes have tricks up their sleeves that will take us by surprise. The remainder of the main cast will be back in their roles, and we will also be meeting a handful of new characters played by Taylor Trensch, James Scully, Dennis Haysbert, Maggie Kuntz, Neal Huff, Bonnie Milligan, Jim Gaffigan, Dallas Roberts, Andrew Burnap, Elizabeth Marvel, and Adrienne Warren.
The Gilded Age season 4 picks up in the aftermath of the season 3 finale and continues to build toward the latest developments, like Gladys' (Taissa Farmiga) pregnancy, Peggy's impending marriage, Marian (Louisa Jacobson) and Larry (Harry Richardson) rekindling their relationship, and Ada (Cynthia Nixon) and Agnes (Christine Baranski) continuing to spar over society standings.
We'll be more than entertained, no matter which characters are saying goodbye, throughout the eight-episode season, which premieres on Nov. 1 on HBO and HBO Max.
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