Season 3 of the HBO drama, created by Julian Fellowes, finds a balance between frivolous and substantive for its best season yet.

Set during the 1880s, "The Gilded Age" explores themes of social mobility, wealth, class, and the changing American society during a time of immense industrial growth.

The Gilded Age is back, and the stakes are higher than Bertha Russell’s ceilings. HBO’s lush period drama, from Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes, has made a glamorous sport out of power plays and polite takedowns in 1880s New York.