Series creator Julian Fellowes (“The Gilded Age“) could have kept “Downton Abbey” going for years.
After all, soap operas are notorious for spanning generations.
But I admire the restraint to put a pin in the series after six seasons of television.
It felt like the perfect place to allow the characters to find their own futures.
But as we know now, of course, the future of “Downton Abbey” was far from over.Since the series finale in 2015, Highclere Castle has opened its doors to the aristocratic Crawleys and their downstairs staff once again with two theatrical feature films (“Downton Abbey: The Motion Picture” and “Downton Abbey: A New Era“), both of which are excellent extensions of the British period melodrama.
I’m still kind of stunned they were able to pull it off, considering the obligation of giving the hefty ensemble their time to shine within the time constraints of a movie.
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