As a telly watcher, I love this time of year as you begin to be inundated with all kinds of teasers for upcoming Fall programming. Finally, one of the most anticipated series on either side of the pond, ITV’s Downton Abbey, returns and has entered the arena with a few teaser clips of its own for the long-awaited series 3 which premieres in September in the UK and January 2013 in the States as part of PBS’ Masterpiece series.

The Dowager Countess awaits the arrival of Martha Levinson

Even though series 3 will follow the Crawley family and their servants into the early 1920s as they all try and put the hardships of the Great War behind them, this simple :20 of a clip will up the ante on the desire to see series 3 around the planet. Pre-Matthew and Mary wedding, The Dowager, in all her greatest Dowager-ness, sets the tone for series 3 as new arrivals attempt to rattle the established hierarchies of the Crawley family and their servants, particularly Martha Levinson (Shirley MacLaine).

We meet again

The Dowager Countess and Martha Levinson cross paths again and attempt to school each other in the importance of tradition….or not, depending on how you look at it.

Are you ready for some Downton?