DOWNTON ABBEY Creator Julian Fellowes to Write and Produce THE GILDED AGE for NBC

NBC and Universal Television have entered into a deal with Oscar, Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning writer-producer Julian Fellowes (DOWNTON ABBEY, Gosford Park) to create and produce his next dramatic television series, it was jointly announced today by Jennifer Salke, President, NBC Entertainment, and Bela Bajaria, Executive Vice President, Universal Television.

Fellowes, creator of DOWNTON ABBEY, will write and produce THE GILDED AGE, an epic tale of the princes of the American Renaissance, and the vast fortunes they made -- and spent -- in late nineteenth-century New York. "This was a vivid time," says Fellowes, "with dizzying, brilliant ascents and calamitous falls, of record-breaking ostentation and savage rivalry; a time when money was king."

"We at the network are all so thrilled to be working with the immensely talented Julian Fellowes, who is universally admired for his critically and commercially appealing productions,” said Salke. “Having him on our team represents a major creative coup and everyone is looking forward to his first NBC project in THE GILDED AGE."

“Having been thoroughly impressed by Julian’s wit, eloquence, vast historical knowledge and collaborative nature in my past development experience with him, I’m thrilled to be continuing our relationship at Universal Television,” said Bajaria. “The opportunity to work with him again was a goal of mine at Universal Television and I’m very excited about this potential new series.”

Fellowes is the creator, writer and executive producer of DOWNTON ABBEY, the Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning television program that now continues in its third season and was recently renewed for a fourth. Fellowes will continue in those roles as he begins work on his new production deal with Universal Television.

Fellowes won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for the film Gosford Park. His screenplay credits include the films Vanity Fair, The Young Victoria, and The Tourist. He made his directorial debut with Separate Lies for which he also wrote the screenplay. He also wrote and directed the independent film From Time to Time and the four-hour mini-series Titanic. In addition, Fellowes wrote the “book” for the Tony-nominated stage production of "Mary Poppins," now running off-Broadway. Fellowes most recently wrote the script for a new production of "Romeo & Juliet" directed by Carlo Carlei.