Downton Abbey Renewed for Season 4

ITV has confirmed they’ll be bringing Downton Abbey back for a fourth season. Filming’s expected to begin in February 2013 on eight new episodes, with season 4 airing in autumn 2013 on ITV, followed months later by a run in the U.S.
 
Season four will also include an extended special Christmas episode as well as feature-length opening and closing episodes, as Downton Abbey fans have come to expect. Shooting will take place at Highclere Castle and Ealing Studios.
 
“Viewers can look forward to more drama, comedy, love, hatred, jealousy, rivalry, ambition, despair and romance,” said Gareth Neame, Managing Director of Carnival Films, the show’s makers and Executive Producer of Downton Abbey.
 
Laura Mackie, Director of Drama at ITV, stated: “We’re thrilled to welcome back a drama series that has become a much anticipated part of all our lives every autumn and achieved success around the globe.
 
Downton Abbey season three will premiere on Masterpiece on PBS in the U.S. on January 6, 2013.
 
“Downton has a whole life beyond the episodes themselves. It has leapt out of the television set and become part of both the national and global conversation,” explained Gareth. “It is now part of culture and society and that’s a very different experience for all of us involved in making the show.”
 
Source: ITV
 
—Posted by Rebecca Murray