After the shocking death of Matthew Crawley (Dan Stevens) in the Season 3 finale of “Downton Abbey,” people were so upset they said the show was ruined — and that they’d never watch “Downton” again.
Those forecasts have yet to come true. In England, where Season 4 has ended save for the Christmas special, ratings for “Downton” were just as high , if not higher, than they were for Season 3, reports executive producer Gareth Neame.
Indeed, with “Downton Abbey” now airing in 250 territories (100 million people watch the show in China alone), it’s fair to say that “Abbey” fever has grown stronger. When we first see the Crawleys in their magnificent estate in January — when Season 4 premieres on PBS — they will be in mourning. Not only for Sybil (Jessica Findlay Brown), who died in childbirth last season, but for Mary (Michelle Dockery), who fears she will revert to her old ironsides self without her husband, and for Matthew’s mother Isobel (Penelope Wilton), who feels she has lost her place in the world.
“This is the dying of the light,” Neame told The Post in the bar at the London Hotel. “We didn’t want to lose Matthew [Dan Stevens]. But I wonder what the show would be like if he were still in it. The great thing about the show about romantic love was that Matthew and Mary were slightly less interesting in Season 3 than they were in Season 2.
“And now that Mary has completely had the rug swept out from under her feet, the show can be more interesting and stimulating.”
Besides Mary’s bereavement, the Crawleys will have to cope with their diminishing fortunes — something touched upon when patriarch Robert (Hugh Bonneville) was notified by his solicitor that he had squandered his wife’s dowry. “Downton” creator Julian Fellowes has talked about how the British aristocracy began to lose its power in the 1920s and this inevitability, presaged by the coming 1929 crash, will affect the Crawleys.
How will things shake for the Crawleys during 1922-23, the time period the show is moving into? Lady Mary will have her share of gentlemen callers. “As far as she’s concerned, she’ll never remarry and her life will never be good,” says Neame. “She’s stuck on Matthew through the season, but the men are showing interest.” Believe it or not, things are looking up for Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael), who may have a shot at a wedding — if she’s willing to move out of the country.
This is also the first we’ll see the family venturing outside the “Downton” property, hitting the jazz clubs in London where black musicians performed. British actor Gary Carr makes his debut as a singer who becomes rather friendly with one of the “Downton” set. Perhaps saving best for last, “Downton Abbey” will bring back Shirley MacLaine as Martha Levenson, Cora’s mother, in the last episode (which will air in Britain on Christmas Day.) and Paul Giamatti as Harold Levenson, Martha’s son and Cora’s brother.
Are American actors clamoring to get a part on “Downton” now that its the most-watched show in PBS history? “We don’t do stunt cameos. It’s not that kind of show,” Neame says simply. “We got Shirley because we had Maggie [Smith] and we thought, who are we going to get who is an American woman who has similar gravitas as Maggie? It’s not a massive list.”