Thanks Perdy, I'll start watching it this week then. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Perdita
Printable View
Thanks Perdy, I'll start watching it this week then. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Perdita
Ive watched all series- thought there was a bit ofQuote:
Originally Posted by Dazzle
a dip after first couple of series but still enjoyed it.
Think this last series was really back on top form.
Thanks MM, I'm looking forward to watching it now. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by maidmarian
The future of ITV hit Downton Abbey could be in doubt after it emerged that writer Julian Fellowes has yet to commit to a seventh series of the popular period drama.
It follows reports that this autumn’s series could be the last after some of the show’s younger stars were said to be in talks to follow in the footsteps of star Dan Stevens and pursue work in America.
Joanne Froggatt, who plays Mrs Bates, Laura Carmichael (Lady Edith) and Allen Leech – who played the now-departed Tom Branson – were all named in a report in the Daily Mirror as having meetings with producers when they were in Los Angeles for the recent Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Although the award-winning period drama still pulls in huge audiences and is not due to be recommissioned until the autumn, the report also said that Fellowes wants to start writing his long-awaited US drama for NBC The Gilded Age.
There has been speculation about the future of Downton since the second series and particularly after executive producer Gareth Neame from producers Carnival said last year: “I’m not sure what its lifespan will be, but it won’t be 10 years. In the short term, I’m sure it’s going to be around for a few more years, but I don’t think it will be a show that will last that long. I want it to be a show that people enjoy when they’re watching it now, and then, in 10 years’ time, they still look back on it incredibly fondly and remember it.”
Production sources say the key to the future of Downton is its creator, the author and actor Fellowes.
One said that makers Carnival and its parent company NBC Universal and ITV want to do more episodes – unsurprising given the huge audiences it generates in the UK and its popularity in the US but the question is, does Fellowes?
Fellowes is currently writing the sixth series of Downton, which is due to go into production next month and air later this year, but sources close to him say that he will not necessarily be writing The Gilded Age next.
His agent declined to comment on whether or not he wants to write another series of Downton beyond the next one.
Since its debut in the US, the realistic British period drama "Downton Abbey" has transported viewers back in time to the early 1900s. But do you ever wonder what the cast looks like in real life? Since the 5th season premieres on Jan. 4, click to see how different they all look without the garb from another century -- starting with Michelle Dockery, who plays the oldest of three daughters, Lady Mary Crawley.
The cast of 'Downton Abbey' revealed
Irish actor Leech has left Downton so it is no surprise that he is in talks about other roles but it is not known what is in store for Carmichael and Froggatt’s characters this series as Fellowes has not yet delivered all the scripts.
However, a spokeswoman for the show also pointed out that Downton films for six months of the year, leaving the cast plenty of time to do other work; Hugh Bonneville filmed two other projects, including BBC2 satire W1A, in the time between series five and six, while Michelle Dockery (Lady Mary) has filmed dramas such as Restless. They also highlighted the fact that Downton only airs eight Sundays of the year, leaving 44 others for other producers to fill
Downton’s ratings have slipped a little with the premiere of the fifth series of ITV’s Downton Abbey drew an average audience of 8.4 million in September – the lowest debut since the show’s launch in 2010. But it still does big numbers for ITV - its top-rated 2014 edition had 10.8 million viewers in early November, making it ITV’s highest-rating drama after soap Coronation Street.
ITV usually recommissions the show on a yearly-basis, with negotiations – which are detailed due to the expense and talent availablity – tending to start in early spring and be completed by November.
Inevitably the network has been thinking about the future of the schedule without Downton, with sources saying that a number of independent producers have shows in development that could fill the all-important Sunday night drama slot should the hit show come to an end.
An ITV spokesman said: “We wouldn’t comment on speculative stories about our programmes.”
Downton Abbey's upcoming sixth series will be its last, ITV has confirmed.
The broadcaster has announced that the period drama will air its final episode during the Christmas season in the UK.
http://i2.cdnds.net/14/50/618x410/uk...-special-2.jpg
The Downton Abbey Christmas special
© ITV / Carnival/Nick Briggs
9 actors who have left Downton Abbey for better... or worse
The final episode of Julian Fellowes' drama will follow an eight-episode series, which is scheduled to air this autumn.
Fellowes said: "The Downton journey has been amazing for everyone aboard. People ask if we knew what was going to happen when we started to make the first series and the answer is that, of course we had no idea.
"Exactly why the series had such an impact and reached so many people around the world, all nationalities, all ages, all types, I cannot begin to explain. But I do know how grateful we are to have been allowed this unique experience.
"I suspect the show will always be a principal marker in most of our careers as we set out from here, and if so, I consider that a blessing and a compliment."
http://i2.cdnds.net/14/45/618x435/uk...8-finale-8.jpg
Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary & Laura Carmichael as Lady Edith Crawley in Downton Abbey S05E08: The season finale
© ITV / Nick Briggs
Michelle Dockery and Laura Carmichael as Lady Mary and Lady Edith
Executive Producer Gareth Neame explained that it is important to end the series when it "felt right and natural for the storylines to come together".
Peter Fincham, ITV's director of television, added: "When Julian Fellowes and Gareth Neame brought us the idea for Downton Abbey six years ago, we thought it would be a great Sunday night series for ITV, but we had no way of knowing that it would become a global phenomenon playing to hundreds of millions of viewers around the world.
"What a ride it's been - for everyone involved in the production, for the cast, and most of the all for the audience. We all thought very carefully about the right moment to bring something so special to a close that felt editorially right, and left viewers wanting more.
http://i2.cdnds.net/15/11/618x417/du...ownton-pic.jpg
Caption:LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 12: Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (C) poses with cast, crew and producers of Downton Abbey during an official visit to the set of Downton Abbey at Ealing Studios on March 12, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Chris Jackson - WPA Pool/Getty Images)
© Chris Jackson - WPA Pool/Getty Images
The Duchess of Cambridge recently visited the set of the ITV period drama
"Christmas Day on ITV this year will certainly be one to remember, as the concluding special brings a series to an end that started as a leap of faith for all of us, and ended surpassing all expectations."
The announcement brings an end to months of speculation about the show's future, following rumours that the end was nigh for the Crawley family.
Maggie Smith recently suggested that the sixth series would be her last, even if the show continued past that point.
Downton Abbey will return to ITV later this year. The programme airs on PBS in the United States.
I am gutted it will come to an end but then all good things must ... I have thoroughly enjoyed every episode :heart::clap::bow:
https://youtu.be/WPwaCjE8DcY
Downton Abbey Season 6 NEW promo
Downton Abbey starts Sunday 20 September on ITV http://www.picgifs.com/smileys/smile...py-0431816.gif
Episode: 1 of 8
Series 6 Sun 20 Sep 2015
Time: 9.00pm - 10.30pm
We return to Downton Abbey in 1925, and secrets and rifts threaten the unity of the family, while those below stairs navigate social changes which put their futures in jeopardy.
Mary’s past catches up with her when an unwelcome visitor delivers an ultimatum, and news about the running of Downton Hospital puts Violet on the warpath. Friends of the Crawleys, the Darnleys, have been forced to sell their ancestral home, and Daisy’s good intentions at the Mallerton House auction have disastrous consequences. With friends in debt and fashions changing, Robert is feeling the pressure to make staff cutbacks at Downton. Carson is concerned that Mrs Hughes is having second thoughts about their impending matrimony, and judgement day finally arrives for Anna and Bates.
News
Downton Abbey's Thomas the under-butler may not survive the final series of the period drama, according to the actor who plays him.
Robert James-Collier hinted that his character has a big storyline in the closing episodes of the ITV show.
Asked how he would like the drama to end for Thomas, James-Collier said: "Well, Julian [Fellowes, Downton creator] said to me at the read-through, 'I hope you're prepared to be the tragic hero', so that could mean anything, couldn't it?
"Am I going to die? I don't know."
He added: "Listen, I don't have any - and never had any - expectations for Thomas. He's been one of the more complex characters so he's always had these tremendous rollercoaster rides. It's all or nothing with Thomas and this season it very much continues in that vein, so I'm happy."
The final season begins next week and will see a number of storylines wrapped up.
Fellowes said: "The theme of the season is resolution. The fact that everyone watching it knows this is the end means they will, I hope, indulge us and accept more resolution than we normally go for."
Hugh Bonneville, who plays the Earl of Grantham, said he hoped the show would end with him and Cora (Elizabeth McGovern) leaving Downton for a more carefree existence.
"I think Cora and he should jump in an open top car and speed off to the south of France. They should leave everyone behind and go off and enjoy their twilight years. I'm intrigued to see how Julian wraps it up - whether the Crawleys will turn out to be survivors or whether they are going to fall victim to the new era," he said.
“Downton has been close to the brink in the past but there’s a definite feeling that Robert and the Crawley family are drinking in the last chance saloon."
One episode will see the Crawleys open Downton to the public for the first time in a storyline that foretells the rise of the National Trust and the changing role of Britain’s country houses.
Gareth Neame, the show’s executive producer, explained: "This isn’t the National Trust or a 365-day-a-year revenue initiative; this is a one-off and very informal and impromptu. This storyline is important, though, because for almost all of us, our relationship with these historic houses is that we purchase a ticket and go and visit them.
“In doing so, we immerse ourselves in a piece of living history, at the same time as preserving such places for generations to come.
“I’d love the audience to now see these characters as people they might know and recognise… Mary, Edith and Sybil’s children could just about be alive today. And although we inhabit a radically different early 21st century, we’re still inextricably linked to that era. It wasn’t just a place and time on its own – this is part of where we come from.”
2 of 8
Sun 27 Sep 2015
9.00pm - 10.00pm
Mary’s meddling gets Mr Carson into trouble with Mrs Hughes as planning for their wedding gets underway, and Cora and Violet are pitted against each other over plans for the hospital takeover. Thomas’s job search continues, and an idea of Mary’s takes Anna to London and offers new hope. Edith faces challenges at the magazine but it’s a problem closer to home that reaches breaking point. What begins as a happy day out for the family and servants ends in panic and leaves Robert with a difficult decision to make.
Oh dear, someone has rattled The Dowager's cage. But who? Find out in Series 6!
https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...81&oe=56A69569