In 2012 Channel Seven’s marquee drama Downton Abbey was the second-highest rating international series on Australian television, after top ranking couture-clad soap-on-steroids Revenge, and Seven executives and Downton fans alike will be thrilled with the confirmation that the period melodrama has been renewed for a fifth season.
“We promise all the usual highs and lows, romance, drama and comedy,” the show’s EP Gareth Neame said in a rote statement written by his PA (probably).
The fourth season is currently underway (premiering on UK television in September) but I’ll reveal nothing of its major plot twists and story arcs for those fearful of #SPOILERS. This season will cap off 2013 with yet another Christmas episode, in which roast beasts, crab apples and lurid scandals will feature prominently.
The trailer for Season Four:
