Blythe Danner, Sarah Bolger Join Shonda Rhimes' ABC Period Drama 'Gilded Lilys'

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Blythe Danner and Sarah Bolger

Blythe Danner and Sarah Bolger are the newest edition to the Shondaland family.

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Shonda Rhimes' Period Drama Gets Pilot Order at ABC

The actresses have become the first castings in Shonda Rhimes' ABC period pilot Gilded Lilys.

The drama centers on the opening of the first luxury hotel in New York City in 1895 and the stories of love, treachery and disdain between the classes set against a backdrop of vicious family rivalries, scandalous secrets and conflict and co-mingling of the classes. The Lily family has reigned over New York's elite for decades but a recent family scandal has undermined their fortunes both financially and societally.

Danner will play Caroline Lily, the ruthless but wickedly funny matriarch who has ruled the roost of New York society for decades. Bolger will play Violet Langton Lily, the wealthy, aristocratic and rebellious daughter of hotel owners Edwin and Elizabeth Lily.  

From Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice creator Rhimes, ABC gave pilot ordersto the project last month. Rhimes, meanwhile, is prepping to launch her third series on the network -- D.C.-set political fixer drama Scandal, starring Kerry Washington, in April.

For Emmy winner Danner, the casting represents her first TV series commitment since Showtime's Hank Azaria drama Huff, for which she won a supporting actress Emmy. Repped by Anonymous Content, she most recently guest starred on NBC's Up All Night andShowtime's Nurse Jackie.

Bolger, meanwhile, played Mary Tudor on Showtime's The Tudors. She was attached to Josh Friedman's Locke & Key pilot last year for Fox. She is repped by CAA and Mosaic

Both roles are series regulars.  

Gossip Girls cribe K.J. Steinberg is penning the project, with Rhimes and her Shondaland partner Betsy Beers exec producing for ABC Studios.

Email: Lesley.Goldberg@thr.com; Twitter: @Snoodit