'The Gilded Age' fans are all saying the same thing about Cynthia Nixon after first episode

The Gilded Age has arrived, meaning the wait is finally over for period drama fans who have been eagerly anticipating Julian Fellowes' new series.

The opulent drama, set in1880s New York, might have only aired one episode but has already won the hearts of fans who are billing it a cross between Downton Abbey and Bridgerton. 

Fans were thrilled by the glossy fashion and fancy houses as the story of Marian Brook (played by Louisa Jacobson, who also just happens to be Meryl Streep's daughter) unfolded, seeing her forced to leave small-town Pennsylvania following the death of her father, and move to New York and live with her old-money aunts. 

But while Christine Baranski of Mamma Mia! and Chicago fame perfectly portrays fiery aunt Agnes van Rhijn, it is Cynthia Nixon who has got fans talking. 

Viewers will know the star best as Miranda Hobbes from And Just Like That and Sex and the City, and while Aunt Agnes is strict and set in her old-money ways, Cynthia's Aunt Ada has clearly got a rebellious streak, often quietly challenging her older sister while at the same time respecting her wishes. 

Fans were thrilled to see the actor in something so far removed from her Sex and the City alter ego, especially after Miranda has taken something of a personality transplant in recent episodes of And Just Like That when she announced she wanted a divorce from Steve so she could be with Carrie's podcast boss, Che.

Thankfully fans seem to be much happier with Cynthia's new HBO role and took to social media to praise her in the period drama...

The first episode of The Gilded Age also saw Louisa Jacobson shine as the lead role, and fans were loving the new friendship blossoming between her character Marian and Peggy Scott, played by Denée Benton (Hamilton). 

Marian's African American friend Peggy, who is an ambitious writer, comes into her life when Marian has her ticket to New York stolen during a scuffle at the train station in Pennsylvania. Thankfully, Peggy offers to fund Marian's journey and soon finds herself living at her new friend's family home in New York when she takes up a job working for Marian's Aunt Agnes. 

The pair were already proving to be friends when Peggy helped Marian sneak out to the Russell family party across the road... a soiree that Aunt Agnes refused to go to because the family were 'new money'.

But will Marian forge her own way in life, clearly already pushing the boundaries of her aunt's wishes as she gets caught up in the social whirl? Or will she find herself stuck in the city’s class warfare and settle into a family rich with tradition as Agnes wants?

The next episode of The Gilded Age airs on Monday, Jan. 31 on HBO in the US and on Tuesday, Feb. 1st on Sky Atlantic in the UK. Here's how to watch The Gilded Age online from anywhere.