“Downton Abbey” kicked off its fourth season to record series numbers in the UK — boding well for the season’s eventual premiere here on PBS.
The show’s 90-minute fourth-season premiere averaged 9.5 million viewers Sunday night on ITV, up from 8.6 million who tuned in for last season’s premiere.
Viewership peaked with 10.5 million viewers — big numbers for a TV series in Britain, which has a smaller viewing universe than the US.
The drawing-room drama’s fourth season won’t premiere on PBS until Jan. 5. Last season, “Downton” became the most popular series in PBS history, outrating Ken Burns’ “The Civil War” and averaging nearly 12 million viewers.
Season 4 begins six months after the death of Matthew Crawley (Dan Stevens), and will focus on his widow, Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery), coping with his loss and picking up the pieces of her life.