The Gilded Age producers explain why the labor landscape of season 2’s 1880s might feel familiar to today.
Peggy Scotts plotline takes a deeper look into African-American society beyond the city.
Theres also a new cast of guest stars and supporting characters creating tension for our established characters.
Season one left off withGeorge Russell (Morgan Spector) successfully avoiding financial ruinbecause of the railroad accident.
This was the beginning of the labor movement, Crockett adds.
The first Labor Day Parade was in 1882 and then Labor Day became a holiday in the 1890s.
Later episodes will show the conflict from Georges perspective and the perspectives of the men leading the organizations efforts.
In the Gilded Age, like today, theres incredible income inequality.
And so the workers were not valued, Warfield says.
The Troy- Albany area keeps giving us these gifts, Shaw says.
So even though its supposed to be a steel mill, we used what remains.
George later on in the season travels to Pittsburgh to confront the threat of a strike.
So we had to build the inside of his private train car.
And its incredibly elaborate.
We even had special carpeting woven for the floor.
Balancing the perspectives of George and his employees was one of the main challenges the creative team faced.
We really want to check that we get the labor story right, Crockett says.
George is one of our main characters, so we really want to do him justice.
Morgan [Spector] was really involved in portraying the complexities of the character.
The labor unions are one of several main arcs this season.
These stories were telling resonate because they are true and people are being people, Crockett adds.
How will George react to the rise of labor unions?
Will he be able to avoid the violence of similar strikes from the 1880s?
Look out in the middle of the season for a follow-up.
