Michelle Dockery at the MET Gala

"DOWNTON ABBEY" – Series One Retrospective

The announcement of ITV’s new series, "DOWNTON ABBEY", had attracted my interest the moment I had learned it would air on American television, during the winter of 2011. I happened to be a fan of Robert Altman’s 2001 movie, "GOSFORD PARK". And when I learned that the movie’s Oscar winning writer, Julian Fellowes, was one of the series’ creators, my interest soon transformed into anticipation.

Focused upon a vast estate during the last years of the Edwardian England, "DOWNTON ABBEY" was able to allow viewers to glimpse into the lives of the...