海角大神

The final season of the British drama 鈥淒ownton Abbey鈥� premiered on Jan. 3.聽

On the sixth season premiere, a major theme was the change that was in the air, as the time of big country houses and a large staff appeared to be on the decline. The aristocratic family members and their servants were both concerned by the upheaval that seemed to be ahead.

During the premiere, oldest Crawley daughter Mary encountered a chambermaid at a hotel where she and her love interest, Lord Gillingham, had stayed the night. The chambermaid attempted to blackmail her, threatening to reveal Mary鈥檚 stay there.

The long-running plotline of the legal troubles of valet Bates and his maid wife Anna seems to have been resolved, as Anna is now no longer suspected of having murdered another servant, Mr. Green.聽

In addition, the Dowager Countess, Violet, and Mary鈥檚 mother-in-law Isobel became divided over what will happen to the hospital in the area, which could be put under the charge of the county hospital or still be a matter for the town.

As 鈥淒ownton鈥� comes to a close (its final episode is set to air in March), one of the most well-reviewed shows of the past several years will be going off the air. The show itself recalled past historical England-set series like 鈥淯pstairs, Downstairs鈥� and became a phenomenon.

In the entertainment industry, success almost always spawns imitators. (See the many shows that have tried to capture the success of HBO鈥檚 fantasy series 鈥淕ame of Thrones,鈥� from the new MTV program 鈥淭he Shannara Chronicles,鈥� which are also based on fantasy novels, and Starz鈥檚 鈥淥utlander,鈥� which are also based on lengthy books with a big fan base).

What is interesting, though, is that more TV costume dramas have not appeared on the scene since 鈥淒ownton鈥� found such success. 鈥淒ownton鈥� creator Julian Fellowes has discussed for some time now his plans to work on a show called 鈥淭he Gilded Age鈥� for NBC and the program sounds like it would be similar to 鈥淒ownton,鈥� so that could be a product of the success of 鈥淒ownton.鈥�

But there haven鈥檛 been a lot of other programs set at English country houses at, for example, the big four networks. The overwhelming majority of broadcast shows are set in modern times and are not period dramas.

By contrast, cable networks, for example, have invested in many historical dramas, with shows like 鈥淥utlander,鈥� Showtime鈥檚 鈥淧enny Dreadful鈥� and 鈥淢asters of Sex,鈥� and AMC鈥檚 鈥淢ad Men鈥� (now gone), to name a few, airing on cable.

Why would broadcast networks not try for more costume dramas? For one, it can be assumed they鈥檙e fairly expensive. The look of the sets and costumes on 鈥淒ownton鈥� have been praised by critics 鈥� the outfits worn by the female characters on 鈥淒ownton鈥� have stayed elaborate through the time periods depicted on the show 鈥� but they can鈥檛 have come cheaply.

In addition, PBS was a natural home for 鈥淒ownton.鈥� The 1970s hit series 鈥淯pstairs Downstairs," for one, ran on public television. Broadcast networks might assume that those looking for such fare would turn to PBS, which has already established itself as the home of such programs.聽

One way the influence of 鈥淒ownton鈥� may be felt is in the increase of soapy programs on broadcast television. Programs with these kinds of plot lines never really went away, but 鈥淒ownton,鈥� with its storylines involving scandalous love affairs and sudden accidents, enthralled many viewers. Since then, programs like Fox鈥檚 鈥淓mpire,鈥� which details the fortunes of a family in the music business, and ABC鈥檚 鈥淣ashville,鈥� 鈥淪candal鈥� and 鈥淗ow to Get Away with Murder,鈥� all of which feature many plot twists, all came on the air.聽

Other factors, like the success 鈥淪candal鈥� creator Shonda Rhimes had had with the show 鈥淕rey鈥檚 Anatomy,鈥� no doubt contributed to these shows coming on the air as well. But the success of 鈥淒ownton鈥� also showed that viewers wanted these kinds of programs.聽

Now the question will be whether NBC can recapture the success of 鈥淒ownton鈥� with 鈥淕ilded鈥� and whether broadcast viewers will enjoy a historical program.