Summary
Costume drama following the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants. The ensemble cast includes Hugh Bonneville (Robert, Earl of Grantham), Maggie Smith (Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham), Michelle Dockery (Lady Mary Crawley), Elizabeth McGovern (Cora, Countess of Grantham), Penelope Wilton (Isobel Crawley), Jim Carter (Charlie Carson), Joanne Froggatt (Anna) and Laura Carmichael (Lady Edith Crawley). Highclere Castle in Hampshire, the home to the Earl and Countess of Carnarvon, provides the backdrop to the series, and is used for much of the interior filming. Outdoor scenes are shot in the Oxfordshire village of Bampton while the servants' living quarters were constructed and filmed at Ealing Studios. Originally set in 1912, "Downton Abbey" was created by Oscar-winning writer Julian Fellowes ("Gosford Park") and premiered on ITV in September 2010.
