Christmas cliffhanger = Downton Abbey 3? Brendan Coyle went on to say: “There are three shocking twists in store that no-one could have imagined – including us”.

By Bill Young ⋅ October 7, 2011 ⋅

As the UK inches towards the conclusion of the highly-anticipated and delivering on every moment second series of Downton Abbey, the States are still in the highly-anticipating mode as the second set is not scheduled to premiere until Sunday, January 8, 2012 as part of PBS’ Masterpiece series.

Whether you are in the ever-patiently waiting U.S. audience or the every Sunday evening edge of your seat UK audience, there’s some news of great interest coming out of the Downton Abbey camp this week. According to Brendan Coyle, who plays John Bates, the valet, the concluding Christmas Day episode will end on a cliffhanger, with viewers not knowing who lives and who dies – suggesting this series will not be the last. Coyle went on to say: “There are three shocking twists in store that no-one could have imagined – including us”.

This on the heals of last weeks bombshell by Michelle Dockery, who plays Lady Mary, that teased viewers of the ITV1 DA2 drama by saying: “…there’s a wedding, a funeral and a sex scene and I’m in one of those”.

Both Coyle or Dockery thankfully have been able to dodge the repeated questions about their respective characters and their potential love interests of maid, Anna, and Matthew Crawley, respectively. Doyle’s tease will have to hold UK viewers until Christmas Day and US viewers until early 2012 by saying: “I can’t tell you that, but I will say Anna’s a very determined woman and isn’t

prepared to give up Bates.

Can you say Downton Abbey 3? Anyone?

Tellyspotting

A Downton Abbey Christmas

By Bill Young ⋅ November 18, 2011

 

 

As avid U.S. viewers of Downton Abbey are acutely aware, lucky UK telly watchers have already been treated to an early Christmas with the recent completion of the second series of the hit ITV series. But wait. There’s one more present to unwrap. Even though the Downton Abbey Christmas Special broadcast schedule has not yet been set, early pictures are starting to surface. Thanks to Ian Wylie (@ianwylie), a stellar UK journalist who has spent many an evening at Highclere Castle the past couple of years, for sharing the photo depicting residents of Downton Abbey in a really cool looking sepia-tone photo. The new special will take viewers into the new year of 1920.

While UK viewers will be able to open the gift the world is waiting for either on Christmas Day or Boxing Day, U.S. viewers will have to wait until early March 2012 which will be the end of the PBS Masterpiece broadcast of season two which premieres Sunday, January 8, 2012. While Christmas can’t come soon enough for telly watchers in the UK, fear not, U.S. fans of Downton Abbey, January 8 is just around the corner.

Telespotting