Is HBO's 'The Gilded Age' a prequel to 'Downton Abbey'? ... That series, set in an English manor house in the 1910s and 1920s, wooed audiences with its soapy drama and posh theatrics.

Julian Fellowes chased his new series, “The Gilded Age,” for a decade. Call it his white whale. Beginning Monday on HBO, you can watch it drag him and a large, talented cast beneath the waves.