The HBO series is peppered with references to real-life personages and historical events—but it lacks the anything-goes energy of the era in which it’s set.

It takes a large ensemble of actors and actresses — some very heavy Broadway hitters — and more to bring 'The Gilded Age' together for HBO.

Sanditon holds onto a similar kind of romantic tension and social themes that The Gilded Age touched upon. Adapted from the most iconic literary icon, Jane Austen, and her final unfinished novel, Sanditon follows Charlotte Heywood as she finds her way to a seaside town looking for something more fulfilling for herself.