The Best Miniseries of 2011 Returns for Season Two
One of the most phenomenally popular series in MASTERPIECE history is back for an exciting second season: Downton Abbey Season 2 resumes its story of love and intrigue at an English country estate, now mobilized for the trauma of war. With a returning cast including Dame Maggie Smith, Elizabeth McGovern, Hugh Bonneville, Dan Stevens, Michelle Dockery, Siobhan Finneran, and many more, Downton Abbey Season 2 airs over seven weeks beginning this Sunday.
Downton Abbey was recently honored in the US with an impressive six Primetime Emmy® awards, including Outstanding Miniseries or Movie, plus awards for Supporting Actress Dame Maggie Smith, Writer Julian Fellowes, and nods for Directing, Cinematography, and Costumes.
“MASTERPIECE viewers took Downton Abbey to heart and they won’t be disappointed with season two,” says MASTERPIECE Executive Producer Rebecca Eaton. “The cast we love is back and screenwriter Julian Fellowes is in top form. No one can equal him at breathing life into a world that vanished almost a century ago.”
About thirteen million MASTERPIECE viewers tuned into the first season including one million who streamed it online—spellbound as Lord Grantham (Bonneville), the father of three daughters and no sons, welcomed an unexpected new heir, his handsome, marriageable, but proudly middle-class distant cousin, Matthew Crawley (Stevens). The inevitable courtship between Matthew and Lord Grantham’s eldest daughter, Mary (Dockery), was as bewitching as it was unresolved. Then there was Lady Grantham (McGovern), the mistress of Downton who reacted with impressive cool when social Armageddon threatened to bring down the family. Of equal interest were the members of the downstairs staff, with their own romances and schemes, including the most scheming of them all, Lady Grantham’s Machiavellian maid, Miss O’Brien (Finneran).
Last season opened with the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, which had dire consequences for Downton Abbey. The new season picks up in the middle of another disaster, World War I, which affected every aspect of life in England, accelerating the social change that was already transforming an age-old system of class and privilege.
The second season promises to be as satisfying as the first, with thwarted and rekindled romances, forgotten and fresh scandals, and enough new plot twists to weave a tapestry with Lord Grantham’s family crest.
BEGINS Sunday, January 8 through February 19 at 9 p.m.
This show is spendid! A show the calibur of Downton Abbey will never be broadcast by the Networks. The story line leaves much to the imagination, and does'nt have to hit you like "a ton of bricks". My husband and I watch it together, it is the fastest show on television. Thank you, thank you!!! It is with great anticipation we will await Season Three.
Loved the Season 2 Premier and am so looking forward to the story unfolding. Great TV viewing!!!
I absolutely loved the first season of Downton Abbey and watched it all over again in its rerun. I loved the scenery, costumes, characters, acting, story line and feel of the show. I am looking very much forward to the second season! Bravo!
I suppose I'm just lacking in sophistication and good taste, because I very much enjoyed the first season of Downton Abbey, and I'm looking forward to the second season.
The write up on the first season of "Downton Abby" first season was shear drivel. While the production values, cast and acting was of a high order, was of a high order, the story line and the writing were really bad.
It may have won prizes, but I would suspect that was because it was a "Masterpiece" production rather than becuase of the merits of the piece in particular.
While the production values and cast was up to British "gravel cruncher" standards the story development was so bad as to make watcjing it second time awaste of time.
I hope the coming season's six episodes will show a great improvement, if not I would expect viewership to taper off dramatically.
For me the first season of "Downton Abbey" was a major disappointment from the "Masterpiece Theatre."
We are asked to be courteous. That will be tough. The critic quoted above, orconn, surely missed out. I enjoyed the storyline and was surprised a few times, especially by the unveiling of multilayered and evolving characters. The staff were particularly intriguing. I can't imagine exactly what orconn would anticipate might happen. The family is loaded with females who could only do so much given the period of the story. Is orconn simply missing vampires or hairdressers or perhaps people from the swamp?
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