Downton Abbey is a British period drama television series created by Julian Fellowes and co-produced by Carnival Films and Masterpiece. It first aired on ITV in the United Kingdom and Ireland on 26 September 2010 and on PBS in the United States on 9 January 2011 as part of the Masterpiece Classic anthology. Four series have been made so far; a fifth is planned for 2014.
The series, set in the fictional Yorkshire country estate of Downton Abbey, depicts the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants in the post-Edwardian era—with the great events in history having an effect on their lives and on the British social hierarchy. Such events depicted throughout the series include news of the sinking of the RMS Titanic in the first series; the outbreak of the First World War, the Spanish influenza pandemic, and the Marconi scandal in the second series; the Interwar period and the formation of the Irish Free State in the third series; and the Teapot Dome scandal in the fourth series.
International Broadcast:
| Country | Channel |
|---|---|
| United States | PBS |
| Canada |
Radio-Canada VisionTV |
| Ireland | TV3 |
| Australia | Seven Network |
| New Zealand | Prime |
| South Africa | BBC Entertainment |
| Philippines | Lifestyle Network |
| Germany |
Sky Cinema ZDF ZDFneo |
| Switzerland |
SRF 1 RTS Un |
| Spain | Antena 3 |
| Chile | TVN |
| Mexico | Once TV |
| Panama | NEXtv |
| Finland | YLE TV1 |
| France |
TMC TV Breizh HD1 |
| Italy |
Rete 4 Diva Universal |
| Bulgaria | Nova TV |
| Serbia | iQS.Life |
| Saudi Arabia | MBC 4 |
| China | CCTV-8 |
| Hong Kong | TVB Pearl |
| Taiwan | PTS |
| Israel |
Channel 1 Yes Oh |
| Netherlands | Nederland 2 |
| Poland |
TVN Style TVP1 |
| Denmark | DR1 |
| Sweden | SVT1 |
| Norway | NRK1 |
| Czech Republic | CT2 |
| Malaysia | Sundance Channel |
| Portugal |
Fox Life SIC |
| Brazil | Globosat HD |
Greece ERT and NERIT