Tomorrow night, millions of Americans will tune in to the third-season finale of PBS’s hit drama “Downton Abbey.” One big, unresolved question is where Lord Grantham will find the wherewithal to keep his family’s aristocratic way of life going.
In the past, Lord Grantham used the money from his wife’s fortune — American-born Cora — to rescue the estate from financial collapse. That’s on-screen. Off-screen, many stateside Downton fans might be shocked to realize their own tax dollars are involved.
For “Downton Abbey” is the royal offspring of its own transatlantic relationship — between London-based Carnival Films and the Public Broadcasting Service program “Masterpiece.” PBS is in turn supported by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which receives 15 percent of its budget from the feds (roughly $450 million).
Some argue that this relatively small percentage means the government subsidy shouldn’t be an issue. We would say it proves public broadcasting can do without the taxpayer.
That’s especially true in Downton’s case. Since this new season began in January, all of its episodes have hit No. 1 on iTunes. Past seasons also run on the streaming services Hulu, Netflix and Amazon, with the latter having inked an exclusive contract for future seasons. Then there’s the cash flow from T-shirts, DVDs and the like.
So if we might suggest a little revolution, perhaps in season four the Granthams (and such lesser peers as Big Bird) can be weaned off the public-broadcasting dole.