The Gilded Age season 2 casts Netflix's A Christmas Prince and Supergirl stars

The Gilded Age season 2 has sought inspiration from the casts of A Christmas Prince and Supergirl.

According to Deadline, Ben Lamb (known for playing King Richard in the former) and Laura Benanti (Alura and Astra in the latter) are both joining Julian Fellowes' HBO period drama as newcomers The Duke of Buckingham and Susan Blane.

Christopher Denham (Billions), David Furr (The Blacklist), Matilda Lawler (Station Eleven), Dakin Matthews (Desperate Housewives), (son of the great Andre) Michael Braugher, Nicole Brydon Bloom (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit) and Robert Sean Leonard (House) will all enter the fray too, following Thomas Cocquerel's recent exit as Tom Raikes.

Related: Downton Abbey boss' new show The Gilded Age future revealed

As for Lamb's character, he's described as a "posh British nobleman" who's just arrived in the Big Apple.

Susan is a newly widowed, "very beautiful" and "glamorous" Newport resident who hires Larry Russell as her architect for a major house renovation.

With the show's opening season bringing more than mere Downton Abbey vibes, here's an official logline for what's to come: "The Gilded Age was a period of immense economic change, of huge fortunes made and lost, and of fierce rivalry between old money and new.

"Nowhere is that rivalry more apparent than on East 61st Street, where Marian Brook and her thoroughly old money aunts, Agnes van Rhijn and Ada Brook, live opposite the stupendously rich George and Bertha Russell. The Russells are both fiercely ambitious, he financially, she socially, and they are determined to reach the highest echelons of New York.

Related: The Gilded Age mishandles Black representation

"Meanwhile in Brooklyn, Marian's friend and confidant Peggy Scott forges her own path in the world of the Black elite. In this glittering world on the brink of the modern age, will the established rules of society prevail, or will the game change entirely?"

If you're into the art of costume design, don't miss Digital Spy's exclusive chat with The Gilded Age's Kasia Walicka-Maimone, where she spoke about corsets and bustles.

The Gilded Age airs on Sky Atlantic, as well as the streaming service NOW, in the UK. It airs on HBO and HBO Max in the US.

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Dan Seddon

Reporter, Digital Spy 

Dan is a freelance entertainment journalist. Beginning his writing career in 2014, Dan's work first graced the pages of cult publications Starburst magazine and Little White Lies before moving onto Total Film, Digital Spy, NME and Yahoo Entertainment. 

In the film and TV universe, he kneels at the altar of Jim Carrey, Daniel Plainview, Mike Ehrmantraut and Paulie Walnuts.