AOLTv

by Maureen Ryan, posted Nov 3rd 2011 12:15PM

Here in the U.S., we haven't even seen the second season of 'Downton Abbey' yet (it arrived in the U.K. weeks ago but doesn't air here until Jan. 8), but it's good to know that there will be a third season of the acclaimed period drama.

A U.K. newspaper announced the news today, as did Newsweek/Daily Beast writer Jace Lacob (update: PBS confirmed the third season via email as well). Julian Fellowes, who created the drama, will continue to write the saga of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants, and the third season will follow the characters into the 1920s.

"I have grown very fond of my Downton family and I certainly do not want to say goodbye to them quite yet," Fellowes told the Mirror.

Fellowes has said that he envisions chronicling the lives of the Crawley family and their servants through various upheavals of the 20th Century, and I look forward to seeing how the characters on the show respond to the cataclysm of World War 1 in season 2. (For more on what happens when the show returns, check out this feature on the upcoming season).

As for season 3, "in the '20s there are big changes, new inventions, different expectations I can't wait to explore," Fellowes said recently.

Follow @MoRyan on Twitter