Get ready for a very New Yawk reality hybrid of “Upstairs Downstairs” and “Downton Abbey” — with an Upper East Side accent.
Producers are casting a chauffeur, governess, maid/house cleaner and gardener for a new reality show revolving around a wealthy Manhattan couple and their two kids.
In the as-yet-untitled series, the household help — ranging in age from their late 20s (the chauffeur) to early 40s (the governess)— will deal with the rich Manhattanites as they renovate their swanky Upper East Side pad, throw “lavish dinner parties” and construct a “huge addition to their country estate,” according to a casting notice making the rounds.
“You will truly be working for the family as well as showing your personality for the show,” says the notice.
(The family’s identity remains a closely guarded secret.)
The wannabe governess is described as “very upscale, very sophisticated, and definitely glamorous!” — while the gardener should be “attractive . . . with landscaping/gardening experience. Must be physically fit as the grounds are rather large at the estate.”
Producers want the chauffeur — males, only, please — to be “young, attractive, fit, energetic and dynamic.”
The series, which doesn’t yet have a network home, is the latest trend in reality as producers try cashing in on the popularity of “Downton Abbey,” the British drawing-room series about upper-crust society types and their lower-in-class-stature staffers.
The UK series has become hysterically popular here — and is now the most-watched series in PBS history.
One industry source, a veteran reality show producer, says that networks are increasingly looking for “Upstairs Downstairs”-type reality shows, now that the “Housewives” genre is flagging and “Downton Abbey” has struck a chord in viewers.
Bravo, in fact, has made no bones about airing its version of a “Downton Abbey”-meets- “Upstairs Downstairs” reality show — and is set to announce “Below Deck,” which will air later this year.
On the series — which Bravo exec Andy Cohen likened to “ ‘Downton Abbey’ on a private yacht” — a young, single crew, called “yachties,” live, love and fight together on a privately owned yacht in the Caribbean, while dealing with “demanding” charter guests.