Bertha Russell (Carrie Coons), one of New York's wealthiest women, is prepared to wage war to be granted access to the city's elite social circles in season two of HBO's The Gilded Age.

You conquered New York. You dine in the best houses. But are you sure it's wise to start the war with New York society? Aren't you asking for trouble?” asks social dilettante Ward McAllister (Nathan Lane).

Yes, and you'll need to pick a team,” she replies.

Meanwhile, her uber-wealthy husband, George Russell (Morgan Spector) is facing his own battle with the union that's growing at his Pittsburgh steel plant. Across the street at the older-monied Brook House, Marian (Louisa Jacobson) begins secretly teaching at a girls school while much to everyone's surprise sweet aunt Ada (Cynthia Nixon) begins a new courtship. Of course, Agnes (Christine Baranski) approves of none of it. And in Brooklyn, Peggy (Denée Benton) taps into her activist spirit through her work with T. Thomas Fortune (Sullivan Jones) at the NY Globe.

The series also stars Ben Ahlers, Michael Cerveris, Kelley Curran, Taissa Farmiga, Jack Gilpin, Simon Jones, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Debra Monk, Donna Murphy, Kristine Nielsen, Kelli O'Hara, Patrick Page, Harry Richardson, Taylor Richardson, Blake Ritson, Douglas Sills, Erin Wilhelmi, Audra McDonald, John Douglas Thompson, Ashlie Atkinson, Laura Benanti, Nicole Brydon Bloom, Christopher Denham, David Furr, Ward Horton, Matilda Lawler and Robert Sean Leonard.

The Gilded Age is created, written and executive produced by Downton Abbey's Julian Fellowes. It's also executive produced by Gareth Neame, David Crockett, Bob Greenblatt, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Michael Engler, who also directs, and Sonja Warfield, who also writes. The series is a co-production between HBO and Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.

The Gilded Age returns for season two on Sunday, October 29 at 9 p.m. ET/PT and will be available to stream on Max.