The long-awaited return of Downton Abbey on PBS’ Masterpiece series is so close you can almost reach out and touch it. We are in countdown calendar mode, folks. The Crawley family returns a mere 6 weeks from today or 42 days if that makes it seem even closer. Or, how about the fact that there […]
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Approximately three years removed from his brilliant portrayal of Dr. Gregory House, the pain medication-dependent, unconventional, misanthropic medical genius, TVLine.com reports that Hugh Laurie is returning to the small screen to join the cast of Veep, the HBO political comedy series which stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus as the country’s vice-president-turned-Commander-in-Chief. While this will be Laurie’s first […]
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If you’re Lily James, it’s a long, long way from her accustomed upstairs Lady Rose lifestyle in Downton Abbey to her newest poor servant girl covered in ashes ‘downstairs’ lifestyle in Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella. Ok, there was that one time she did wear that downstairs maid outfit in series four when she met up with […]
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In the ‘let’s tear things down that have a history attached to it and build something that will make a lot more money’ era that we all seem to live in, it was bound to happen, unfortunately. Following on the heels of the recent closure of BBC Television Centre, Teddington Studios, the home for years to Thames Television and where much of the magic happened during Britain’s Golden Age that has been seen by generations of television viewers, is set for demolition in the not-too-distant future.
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Finally, there is scientific evidence that supports what we have all known for some time. Downton Abbey is TV perfection. Radio Times reports on a recent study carried out at Bournemouth University which found that the Crawleys’ aristocratic dramas are the closest we can get to televised perfection. Researchers assessed the most popular TV episodes […]
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While there will forever be the inevitable comparison to the greatness of the Cornetto Trilogy, the Worricker Trilogy may just have a minor leg up given the insanely brilliant combination of Bill Nighy and Christopher Walken. As we reported earlier this month, The Worricker Trilogy, which began with Page Eight, is set to continue tomorrow […]
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Fresh on the heels of the BBC announcement that there will be a 5th series of Call the Midwife comes the brilliant news from PBS and ITV that there will, indeed, be a 6th series of Downton Abbey. As the finale of series 5 is set for this Sunday on ITV in the UK (rest […]
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While we all see the work on screen of the Dame Maggie Smith’s and Hugh Bonneville’s of the world in Downton Abbey, the hard work is the behind-the-scenes never-ending work of Lisa Heathcote. As the food stylist for Downton Abbey, Heathcote sums up her efforts by acknowledging the biggest challenge, “OK, this food has got […]
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The BBC commissioning process is on that we have all have collectively gotten to know too well over the years. In most cases, viewers have to wait until after a season has ended before word comes down from on high as to whether or not there will be another series. For loyal followers of a […]
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The rumor mill is in overdrive this week in the UK as we are down to the last few episodes in the 5th series of Downton Abbey. With only 3 episodes left (2 plus the Christmas special), what could Downton Abbey creator/writer, Julian Fellowes, possibly be thinking? As if the death of Lady Sybil wasn’t almost too much to take during series 2, he provided the ultimate kick to the stomach on Christmas Day in the series 3 finale by ending Matthew Crawley’s time at Downton. For those that are not quite up to speed on the series as it has played out so far, I’m sorry to report that Lord Grantham’s pride and joy, Isis, was looking a little peaked and a bit listless this past week.
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