The fourth season of “Downton Abbey” will premiere Jan. 5 on PBS — four months after the British production bows on ITV in the UK.
But PBS chief Paula Kerger, speaking to reporters yesterday in LA, says the four-month lag time actually works to the show’s advantage in the US — and gives the biggest show in PBS history a leg up.
“We have looked at this whole issue of spoilers and thought about how to best steward the broadcast,” Kerger said. “We look carefully at the [competition] in the fall schedule with that in mind.
“We look at how we get promotion and buzz about it — and that word of mouth has actually benefited us,” she said. “We don’t want to mess with that if it’s working so well.”
Kerger did note, however, that the months-long wait between shows airing in the UK and in the US doesn’t always work.
“This is not a hard and fast rule,” she said. “With ‘Call the Midwife,’ we did air a December episode a couple days after the UK, and it didn’t work out as well.
“We’ll look at each program differently.”
Kerger also said she had no problem with Dan Stevens leaving “Downton Abbey” in the third-season finale.
Stevens’ character, Matthew Crawley, was killed off after Stevens decided to leave the show to pursue other acting opportunities.
“If anyone has any issue with it, don’t contact me. Contact [series creator] Julian Fellowes,” she said. “To be honest, it is what it is.”