The Age of Innocence Gets Its Netflix Date

Old New York is having a moment on screen, and Netflix has now put its stake in the ground. The Age of Innocence, Emma Frost’s limited series based on Edith Wharton’s 1920 novel, premieres 18 February 2027, with all eight episodes arriving at once on Netflix. The streamer marked the date with a set of first-look photos that lean hard into the period: ballrooms, opera boxes and candlelit drawing rooms.

The timing is pointed. With HBO‘s The Gilded Age already owning the territory, Netflix is answering with the novel that defined the genre, and with a binge drop rather than a weekly roll-out.

The triangle at the centre

Wharton’s story is set in 1870s New York high society. Newland Archer (Ben Radcliffe), the perfect society gentleman, is newly engaged to May Welland (Kristine Froseth), the perfect society young woman. Ellen Olenska (Camila Morrone) is the third point of the triangle, and in this world every glance across a crowded room is a risk.

Frost, who serves as showrunner and executive producer, wrote all eight episodes. “The story is about the choice between following your heart or staying with duty and convention,” she told Tudum, adding that the title “also refers to a world that’s lost its innocence.”

Shannon Murphy directs, with Lisa Brühlmann and Natalia Leite also behind the camera. Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping and Tracey Cook executive produce alongside Frost.

A deep bench of society matrons

The supporting cast is where the series signals its ambitions. Margo Martindale plays the formidable family matriarch Mrs. Manson Mingott, and Hayley Mills plays Louisa van der Luyden, opposite Michael Cochrane as Henry van der Luyden.

Also cast: Fiona Glascott as Augusta Welland, Belinda Bromilow as Adeline Archer, Emma Shipp as Janey Archer, Ryan Morgan as Lawrence Lefferts, Kel Matsena as Ned Winsett, Lucia Balordi as Nastasia, Steven Pacey as John Welland, Will Tudor as Sillerton Jackson, Elly Roberts as Edith Mingott, Jack Cutmore-Scott as Julius Beaufort, Anna Madeley as Aunt Medora and John Light as Lovell Mingott.

Living with the Scorsese shadow

Any new Age of Innocence has to reckon with Martin Scorsese’s 1993 film, which earned five Academy Award nominations and one win. Eight hours gives Frost room the film never had, particularly for May, often the most underestimated figure in the novel, and for the society that polices all three leads.

It also slots neatly into Netflix’s recent appetite for literary period drama, following its Pride and Prejudice series. For viewers who have already toured the Newport and Troy locations behind The Gilded Age, February offers another way back into the ballrooms of old New York.

Key dates

• 18 February 2027 (Thursday): All eight episodes premiere on Netflix.

Where to watch

• The Age of Innocence, Netflix, US, all eight episodes from Thursday 18 February 2027
• The Age of Innocence, Netflix, Canada, all eight episodes from Thursday 18 February 2027

Sources

• Netflix Tudum: Meet the Cast of Emma Frost’s The Age of Innocence, first-look photos and premiere date