Image via Wikimedia Commons. Carrie Coon, who plays Bertha Russell in The Gilded Age.
The Gilded Age is back — and if the early verdicts are anything to go by, Season 4 is the HBO period drama at its most confident. The premiere, "Ring the Bells", airs on Sunday, November 1 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max, opening an eight-episode weekly run through to the finale on December 20.
What critics are saying about Season 4 Episode 1
Decider's Stream It or Skip It verdict is an emphatic "STREAM IT", calling Season 4 "the HBO hit at its most confident" and "the best escapist entertainment on TV today", with Carrie Coon singled out as the show's MVP — her Bertha a rare mix of ruthless ambition and tender love. Kelley Curran, upgraded to the main cast as Enid Winterton, is praised as a scene-stealing delight.
A spoiler-free review of "Ring the Bells" calls the premiere "just fun", paced so well viewers won't reach for their phones, with costumes that somehow top every season before it. Its standout observation is a different Bertha: for once, Coon plays her not as a schemer, but as a mother first — a shift the review says shows Coon as good as she has ever been. Rotten Tomatoes' early Season 4 notices echo the praise, with reviewers calling the season lavishly costumed, beautifully acted and, in one assessment, the show's best season yet.
What happens in "Ring the Bells" — spoiler-light
Per the episode synopsis, Bertha faces Gladys's difficult childbirth, Peggy achieves a milestone, and Agnes makes plans to host a prestigious dinner. The wider season, as previewed in our Gilded Age Season 4 premiere guide, centres on serious marital strain for the Russells — Bertha in England watching over her pregnant daughter Gladys, now a Duchess, while estranged from husband George — and on Agnes van Rhijn seizing an opportunity to restore her social standing, with a presidential dinner on the horizon.
Season 4 episode schedule
| Episode 1, "Ring the Bells" | Sunday, November 1, 9 p.m. ET on HBO / HBO Max |
| Episode 2 | Sunday, November 8, 9 p.m. ET |
| New episodes | Every Sunday at 9 p.m. ET |
| Finale | Sunday, December 20 |
| Season length | Eight episodes |
For more on the show's leading lady, see our Carrie Coon biography, and for the full premiere-night details, cast and how to watch, see the Season 4 premiere guide.
Read More: The Gilded Age Season 4 Premiere Tonight: Episode 1 'Ring the Bells', Reviews and How to Watch
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