Downton Abbey 3 is officially in production, Deadline reported.
The main cast members are reprising their roles and new additions will join them in creator Julian Fellowes’ hit TV series. Simon is attached to direct after he helmed the feature sequel Downton Abbey: A New Era, released in 2022.
Focus Features and Carnival Films announced on X (formerly Twitter) that Academy Award nominee Paul Giamatti will reprise his role in the series as Harold Levinson, Cora, the Countess of Grantham’s (Elizabeth McGovern) brother.
The Crawleys and the newcomers
New to the franchise are Joely Richardson, Alessandro Nivola, Simon Russell Beale (Ser Simon Strong in House of the Dragon) and Arty Froushan (Ser Qarl Correy). Dominic West will return to reprise his role from the second film, Guy Dexter.
McGovern will be joined by the returning main cast including Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Phyllis Logan, Robert James-Collier, Joanne Froggatt, Allen Leech, Penelope Wilton, Lesley Nicol, Michael Fox, Raquel Cassidy, Brendan Coyle, Kevin Doyle, Harry Hadden-Paton, Sophie McShera and Douglas Reith.
There are no plot details as of the moment. Fellowes wrote the script and served as producer along with Gareth Neame and Liz Trubridge.
Downton by the numbers
Downton Abbey started out as a series on ITV in 2010 and moved to the US’ PBS in 2011. It ran for six seasons from 2010 to 2015. The two films released in 2019 and 2022 earned a combined $287.3 million worldwide.
When the show premiered more than a decade ago, it almost instantaneously became a cultural phenomenon. The story follows the lives of the aristocratic Crawleys and their home estate, Downton Abbey. The first episode started in 1912 and continued into the Roaring ’20s with the last season beginning in 1924.
The show was inspired by the 1971 BBC series Upstairs, Downstairs about the relationship between the upstairs nobility and the downstairs servants. While there is no actual Downton Abbey, the series was filmed at the Highclere Castle in Hampshire, England, the country seat of the 8th Earl and Countess of Canarvon. It was their residence since 1679, under the reign of King Charles II.
The show won 15 Primetime Emmys, including Outstanding Drama Series for every season except the first when it won Outstanding Miniseries. The first episode began with the sinking of the Titanic and what the death of a Crawley relative meant for the family.
Two-time Academy Award-winning Dame Maggie Smith’s Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham, was a constant fan favorite due to her elegantly acerbic wit.
Downton Abbey is still the most-watched series in PBS’ 45-year history. Its sixth season premiere in 2016 attracted 9.9 million viewers, comparable to the finales of Breaking Bad, 10.3 million viewers, and Mad Men, 4.6 million.
While there were critics who didn’t look on the show favorably, that didn’t matter much to the audience. On Rotten Tomatoes, the show has earned an average 87% critics score, but an impressive 93% audience rating.
Downton Abbey in the movies
The first movie, released three years after the series’ finale, revolved around a royal visit to Downton Abbey, the mystery of a royal assassin and an inheritance issue. It earned an 84% critics’ score and a 94% audience rating.
The second movie, released in 2022, was less financially successfully than the first, has the Crawley family traveling to the South of France and the end of the silent films.
While details of the third movie’s plot has not been disclosed yet, logically speaking, it would be set in the early 1930s. This means that one of the biggest plots would be the Great Depression in the United Kingdom, also known as the Great Slump.
While the subject may be literally depressing, there’s pressure on the studios and on the series creator Fellowes who also wrote the previous two movies. The second movie only earned $92 million against the first’s $194.7 million.
Follow Us
Subscribe
