Have you got a Buccaneers or Gilded Age-shaped hole in your life? Well, I've got some good news for you. A new Netflix show promising a "delicious portrait of forbidden love and lust in Gilded Age New York society" is on the way – and it sounds truly unmissable. The Age of Innocence is a new limited series from showrunner Emma Frost, who is known for her work on The White Queen, The White Princess, Jamaica Inn and Shameless. Based on the iconic 1920 novel by Edith Wharton, The Age of Innocence follows the classic story of forbidden love in 19th-century society.
As a self-professed period drama obsessive, I can’t wait for this one. Not only is the showrunner behind one of my favourite shows (The White Queen), but the stellar talents of Kristine Froseth and Camila Morrone are not to be missed.
What to expect from The Age of Innocence
In a style similar to The Buccaneers, Netflix's new adaptation of The Age of Innocence offers a fresh take on the classic novel. The official synopsis continues: "The Age of Innocence follows a passionate and heartrending will-they-or-won't-they love triangle while exploring themes of freedom, duty, identity and love in all its forms.
"The new take promises to be true to Wharton's novel but will speak to a new generation as it traverses the ballrooms and bedrooms of its young characters, asking what is love – and what is lust. And should we ultimately be driven by our heads, or by our hearts?"
Who are the cast members in The Age of Innocence?
Four starry names have already been attached to the project – and I can't wait to see how they bring the iconic characters to life! Kristine Froseth (The Buccaneers, Oh, Canada) is set to play the "kind and genuine" May Welland. Starring opposite her as May's intelligent cousin is Camila Morrone (Daisy Jones & the Six, Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen) as Ellen Olenska. Ben Radcliffe (Masters of the Air, Anatomy of a Scandal) stars as high-society gentleman Newland Archer, while Margo Martindale (The Americans, Justified) plays Mrs Manson-Mingott, May and Ellen's entertaining grandmother.
The Age of Innocence novel
Edith Wharton first penned The Age of Innocence in 1920 and made history as the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for it. It has also gone on to inspire multiple adaptations, including Martin Scorsese's 1993 film starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer and Winona Ryder; an off-Broadway play in 2010 written by Douglas McGrath; and a 1975 BBC miniseries starring Tony Britton and Katherine Moffat.