Never the New

This series has potential, and I'll wait it out for more episodes. Right now the acting seems a little self conscious, as though the actors aren't quite comfortable with the "gilded age" way of speaking, and some wooden delivery from a few of the players kept me from giving a higher rating for this first episode. I hope the storyline gives more than a "new money/old money" focus. That will get old soon.

I should have thought that when Julian Fellowes announced he was making an American Downton Abbey all of Hollywood would have been clamoring to be in it. Alas, that is not the case, as we have nobodies and B rate actors.

A very mediocre beginning that's worth at least a few more viewings, but I'm very dubious. Of course, we've already gotten a heavy dose of woke.

UPDATE: Beware, the influencers and paid reviewers are rallying to the cause. You always know these people because they review the negative reviews, not the show, and they sprinkle 10's like Unicorn dust.

The pilot episode was not as bad, nor as good, as previous reviews state. It was fair to middling, but good enough to warrant tuning in for episode two.

The same is true of Louisa Jacobson's performance as Marian Brook; adequate, let's see if she and her character grow on us.

There certainly was more wokeness and political correctness than I was expecting, but not overly so as suggested by some other reviews.

The success of Downton Abbey may have had many of us tuning in with high expectations. A few more episodes should tell us if those expectations will be met or disappointed. I am looking forward to finding out which it will be.

Things have been set up for two mega-rich families and their courts in late eighteenth century New York City. This time the Capulets and the Montagues are the old and the new rich and there is the conflict. The Russells build this enormous house with garish furnishings and throw down the gauntlet. Unfortunately, wealth is not the answer to everything for the old families, a who's who of robber barons, hostelers, industrialists, and so on. Names like Astor and Rockefeller are the old families. Things revolve around Mrs. Russell trying to run things and causing sparks to fly, insulting those she desires as "new" friends. This series looks quite promising with the Julian Fellowes touch of excess.

The pompous old society, the ridiculous 'rules' they lived by, the overdone everything - and yes, this was America. With just one episode in, it looks to be entertaining and fun. Of course, the haters, bigots, and wanna-be's won't like it, but the rest of us will have a blast!