Shonda Rhimes' 'Gilded Lilys' Fills Out Cast With 'Mad Men,' 'Homeland' Actors

Matt Long, Maury Sterling and Brigid Brannagh have jumped aboard 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.

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Long (Mad Men, Love Bites) nabbed the coveted lead role of John Kidd, a lower-class survivor with an adventurous spirit and a romantic soul. Homelands’ Sterling will take on the role of Jasper, while Army Wives’ Brannagh is set to play Elizabeth, the beautiful matriarch of the Lily family. The trio join previously cast Brian F. O'Byrne, Blythe Danner, Sarah Bolger and Madeline Zima.


Gossip Girl scribe K.J. Steinberg is penning the project, with Rhimes and her Shondaland partner Betsy Beers executive producing for ABC Studios.

Long is repped by UTA; Sterling and Brannagh are repped by Innovative Artists.