Fun with a Downton Abbey sneak preview Several hundred people turned out for our Downton Abbey Season 3 sneak preview event, getting an advance look at Shirley MacLaine’s character tangling with the Dowager Countess (Maggie Smith). Some attendees got into the spirit by coming dressed in clothing from the time period of the Masterpiece series, and staff from the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts brought costumes that might have been worn by the characters in the drama.