Tune In: Masterpiece: Downton Abbey airs Sundays at 8:00 p.m. beginning January 6. It repeats Tuesdays at 2:00 a.m. beginning January 8 and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. beginning January 12.
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he Great War is over and the long-awaited engagement of Lady Mary and Matthew is on, but all is not tranquil at Downton Abbey as wrenching social changes, romantic intrigues and personal crises grip the majestic English country estate for a third thrilling season. The returning cast includes Hugh Bonneville, Dame Maggie Smith as the Dowager Countess of Grantham, Elizabeth McGovern, Dan Stevens, Michelle Dockery, Jim Carter, Penelope Wilton, Joanne Froggatt, Brendan Coyle and a host of others, joined by Shirley MacLaine (Best Actress Oscar winner for 1983’s Terms of Endearment), who plays Martha Levinson, the very American mother of Cora, Countess of Grantham (McGovern). Years earlier, Cora rescued Downton Abbey with her American wealth by marrying Robert, Earl of Grantham (Bonneville). Now, New World and Old World are about to clash as Cora’s mother locks horns with Robert’s redoubtable mother, Lady Violet, played by Maggie Smith. Among the intertwined storylines of the 18 primary characters populating Downton Abbey, the most central is the one involving Lady Mary (Dockery), the eldest of Lord and Lady Grantham’s daughters, and her distant cousin Matthew Crawley (Stevens), the reluctant heir to the Downton estate. Last season closed with Matthew recovered from his war wounds and ready to tie the knot with Lady Mary. Meanwhile, Mary’s youngest sister, Sybil (Jessica BrownFindlay), has eloped to Ireland with the political-minded chauffeur, Branson (Allen Leech), and is expecting a child. A tantalizing glimpse ahead: head housemaid Anna (Froggatt) and valet Bates (Coyle) face new ordeals in their star-crossed marriage. Downton’s
impeccable butler, Carson (Carter), breaks in a new footman, who happens to be the nephew of the scheming lady’s maid O’Brien (Siobhan Finneran). Following Matthew and Mary’s engagement, Robert sticks to his duty to maintain Downton more firmly than ever—even as other great houses are crippled psychologically and financially in the wake of World War I. Everyone associated with Downton Abbey has been tight-lipped about any more details from season three. In a conversation published in Interview magazine, Dockery said that paparazzi were climbing trees trying to get a glimpse of Lady Mary’s wedding dress as she and Bonneville rode in a carriage with blacked-out windows. Her only description of it: “The dress is so beautiful, and it may not be what people are expecting.” Downton Abbey season two was the most-watched Masterpiece series on record. The series has enchanted— and influenced—viewers the world over. An article in Sydney, Australia’s The Telegraph revealed that a British domestic-training agency reported a leap in requests for butlers from wealthy families living as far away as China, seeking to emulate Lord and Lady Grantham. In 2012, the agency placed 430 butlers, four times the number they placed in 2010. Written and created by Julian Fellowes, seasons one and two of Downton Abbey have together won nine Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe for Best Miniseries. Season three airs over seven Sundays beginning with a two-hour premiere on January 6 and concluding with a 90-minute finale on February 17. Lest any viewer feels down about Downton’s conclusion, take heart from this news: season four is on the horizon.