Spoilers for The Gilded Age.

The first two seasons of The Gilded Age are so enjoyable and low-stakes. Just regular old society drama in the 1880s – a new opera house, the formation of the Red Cross, multiple storylines involving soup, a reverend with a crush on a spinster, a ne’er-do-well breaking off an engagement with a young heroine after convincing her to run away and elope. But everything picked up in a major way in Season 3. Two seasons of world-building and now Julian Fellowes is just packing on the high-stakes drama in every single episode. God, I love it! The Gilded Age is an amazing show, and more people are watching it now, with this third season. The past three episodes have been getting millions of live viewers, and that doesn’t count all of the people who watch it after the premiere. It’s become something of an HBO phenomenon. Well, HBO has decided that the Gilded Age’s dedicated fans deserved a little treat: the announcement that they have greenlighted a fourth season! HURRAY!!

HBO has handed a Season 4 renewal to Julian Fellowes’ period drama The Gilded Age. The pickup comes ahead of the Season 3 finale on August 10, which will wrap some storylines while setting up more drama and intrigue.

The Gilded Age, which leans into the New York theater community for its strong — and expansive — ensemble cast, has been a true word-of-mouth phenomenon. Launching on HBO’s lower-profile Monday night, it defied the odds and drew a solid viewership to earn a Season 2 renewal. Moving to HBO’s marquee Sunday night, The Gilded Age has been on an upswing since, finding a new gear with its current third season.

Premiere-night viewing has grown for five consecutive weeks, with Episode 5 drawing a new series high of 4 million U.S. cross-platform viewers within its first three days of availability. It was accompanied by a new weekly viewership high on HBO Max. Season-to-season, The Gilded Age is running up by 20%.

“We couldn’t be prouder of the undeniable viewership heights The Gilded Age has achieved this season,” said Francesca Orsi, EVP, HBO Programming, Head of HBO Drama Series and Films. “Transporting us to 1880s New York City, Julian Fellowes and the enormously talented cast and crew have created a “cant-miss it” entertainment experience from week to week, and we’re delighted to continue exploring these characters’ grand ambitions for what we promise will be a thrilling fourth season.”

[From Deadline]

This used to be a more regular occurrence in the TV landscape – a good show has the support of the network, but it takes a few years or a few seasons for the show to really build its audience. These days, networks and streamers cancel shows so swiftly, no one gets a chance to organically build an audience anymore. But Julian Fellowes was allowed to! The Gilded Age was allowed to, and I could not be happier.

My dreams for season 4: I hope we get to see a Larian wedding! While I love the story of Peggy’s pseudo-love-triangle, I don’t think she should marry Dr. Kirkland (they have great chemistry though) and obviously, Mr. Fortune is a no-go. I want to see George’s face when Larry tells him about the copper mines! I think that’s coming in next week’s episode. I also think Larry blames Bertha for Marian calling off the engagement, which is funny because it is absolutely something Bertha would have done if she had the time. Is Gladys going to stick it out as the Duchess of Buckingham?? And is Aurora going to survive the divorce? I certainly hope Charles Fane does not survive the divorce. Also: Jack is going to invent something else, right? He’s working on a standing or handheld mixer, judging from his drawings.

Photos courtesy of HBO/Avalon.