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Downton Abbey
Grab your best cup of tea and get ready to swoon all over again because Downton Abbey is now on Netflix! The hit Masterpiece on PBS drama was one of the defining pop cultural moments of the early ’10s and became one of the first major binge-worthy shows to land on Netflix in the streamer’s early years. However, for the past few years, Downton Abbey has been missing from Netflix. The show has popped up on Prime Video, PBS Passport, BritBox, and finally Peacock, but Downton Abbey has never been back on Netflix. Until now. Downton Abbey snuck onto Netflix with the June 2021 new releases which means you now have a brand new period drama to revisit or binge for the very first time…
Created by Gosford Park alum Julian Fellows, Downton Abbey told the “upstairs, downstairs” story of nobles and servants living at a fictional great house called Downton Abbey in the early 20th century. The story kicks off with the sinking of the Titanic. The kindly Earl of Grantham (Hugh Bonneville)’s last male relatives died on board, meaning there is tension over who will inherit the land, titles, and fortune tied to Downton Abbey. The law says everything must go to a middle class distant cousin, Matthew Crawley (Dan Stevens). However the Earl’s American heiress wife, Lady Cora (Elizabeth McGovern) and his mother, the intimidating Countess of Grantham (Maggie Smith), want Cora’s family funds and some part of Downton to go to eldest daughter, Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery).
The thing about Downton Abbey is it managed to make what sounds like a very fussy period drama feel like a vibrant, sexy, and classy soap opera. The show subverted expectations, flinging a handsome Turkish diplomat (played by Sanditon‘s Theo James) at Mary in Episode 3, and by building as much interest in the daily lives of the servants downstairs as the glamorous folks upstairs. The show flirted with progressive issues all while delivering a fairy tale vision of the past. Downton Abbey paved the way for a new era of period drama, one unfettered from tradition. So much so you can trace a path from Downton Abbey‘s success to Bridgerton‘s recent moment in the sun.
So Downton Abbey‘s return to Netflix is a really big deal. Remember in Season 2 when Cousin Matthew showed up at the great house to join a lovelorn Lady Mary in song? Well, that’s how we feel right now upon discovering that Downton Abbey is back on Netflix. And if you don’t know what we’re talking about, you better get binging now.
