Photo: Courtesy of PBS.
It's official: The Crawleys are here to stay for another year. Those of us on this side of the pond may still be waiting with bated breath for season four, but over in England, audiences are already anticipating season five. ITV, the British channel responsible for the show, just announced that Downton has been renewed for one more year. Of course, that's no huge surprise, given the fact that its days-of-yore drama is beloved all across the globe. In fact, season four, which recently wrapped in the U.K., was the country's top-rated drama.
Downton's executive producer promised audiences the same high-quality hijinks for season five, saying, "We promise all the usual highs and lows, romance, drama, and comedy played out by some of the most iconic characters on television. All the actors and makers of the show continue to be humbled by the extraordinary audience response and want to take the show from strength to strength next year." For those of us stateside who just became more than a little impatient, season four will air on PBS beginning January 5. It's going to be a happy new year, indeed. (The Guardian)