NEWPORT, R.I. — A landmark on the Salve Regina University campus in Newport, R.I., is the first thing viewers see in the new season of The Gilded Age. The fourth season of the period drama premiered Sunday, and its opening scenes were shot inside Ochre Court.
In the show, the mansion plays Sidmouth Castle, the house where the Duke of Buckingham, Hector, lives with his new bride, Gladys Russell. Ochre Court is the centerpiece of the school’s campus along the ocean, and it was designed by Richard Morris Hunt, one of the best-known architects of the Gilded Age itself.
It is far from the only Newport property that shows up in the series, which has used several of the city’s historic buildings as sets. Salve also hosted crews for earlier work, with episodes from the prior season filmed on campus.
The university had a few of its own people in front of the camera, too. Three current students and one recent graduate worked as background extras in period costume, hair and makeup this season.
Universal Television and HBO make the drama together, and Julian Fellowes is its creator. The ensemble this season features Cynthia Nixon, Denée Benton, Christine Baranski, Morgan Spector and Carrie Coon, and new episodes are streaming now.
For Newport, the series keeps turning the city’s grand homes into a backdrop that millions of viewers recognize, a draw for a town where mansion tours are a major part of the visitor economy and where the period the show depicts left its mark on Bellevue Avenue and the cliffs.
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