DOWNTON ABBEY Sets Season 6 Premiere Date

Carnival Films and MASTERPIECE on PBS have just announced that the final season of the hit drama series "Downton Abbey," will premiere on Jan. 3 in America.

BroadwayWorld previously reported that Season 6 would be the last season for the internationally acclaimed British drama.

On choosing to end the series here, Carnival's Managing Director and Executive Producer of "Downton Abbey," Gareth Neame said, "Millions of people around the world have followed the journey of the Crawley family and those who serve them for the last five years. Inevitably there comes a time when all shows should end and 'Downton' is no exception. We wanted to close the doors of 'Downton Abbey' when it felt right and natural for the storylines to come together and when the show was still being enjoyed so much by its fans. We can promise a final season full of all the usual drama and intrigue, but with the added excitement of discovering how and where they all end up..."

A RUNAWAY hit since it debuted on PBS in 2011, "Downton Abbey"-a Carnival/MASTERPIECE co-production-is widely credited with reigniting American viewers' passion for British drama. It is the top PBS drama of all time, the most popular series in MASTERPIECE's 44-year history, and one of the most-watched dramas on American television, frequently beating the competition in its Sunday night time slot. MASTERPIECE is presented on PBS by WGBH Boston.

"PBS and our member stations have been so proud to be the home of 'Downton Abbey' on MASTERPIECE in the United States," said Paula Kerger, President and CEO, PBS. "We, like the fans, simply cannot wait to see what will happen to the Crawley family and their beloved staff as this incredible series culminates in Season 6. The series has enjoyed such success over the past five seasons and we'll certainly be working alongside Carnival, MASTERPIECE and PBS member stations to make Season 6 the biggest yet. Until then, Sunday nights on PBS continue to offer fans a full slate of 'must view' British and, soon, American historical drama."

With over 50 Emmy® nominations, more than any other British show in Emmy® history, "Downton Abbey" is one of the most honored series on television. It has won 11 Emmys®, three Golden Globes®, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Producers Guild Award, and three BAFTAs.

"'Downton Abbey' has been a television executive's dream come true: a beautifully-made, returning series that captures a nation's attention and becomes a household name. It's been a game-changer for MASTERPIECE," said MASTERPIECE Executive Producer Rebecca Eaton. "We are indebted to our UK partners for making a show which will go down in television history, not just for its impeccable writing, acting and production values, but most importantly, for its enormously warm-hearted audience appeal."

Season 5, which concluded on March 1, was seen by 25.5 million people. The season had a weekly average audience of 12.9 million viewers over its nine-week run, an audience nearly even with that for Season 4 (13.3 million) (Source: Nielsen Live+7 data). "Downton Abbey, Season 5" had impressive online streaming numbers as well, with over 12.6 million streams of full episodes across all PBS and station digital platforms, 13 percent more streams compared to Season 4 (Source: Google Analytics, 1/5-3/15/15). A huge presence on social media, "Downton Abbey" set records for tweets of a PBS show, with Season 5 generating more than 190,000 total tweets and more than 24 million total impressions (Source: Nielsen, 1/4/15 to 3/1/15, live/new). During its nine-week run, "Downton Abbey" placed in Nielsen Social's Daily Top 5 for series and specials seven times (Source: Nielsen, 1/4/15 to 3/1/15).

"Downton Abbey" has become an indelible part of the popular culture, parodied by Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert, and on "Sesame Street" and "Saturday Night Live." It has been the topic of countless discussions on Twitter and Facebook, and has garnered as much publicity as any series on television, with the acclaimed cast gracing the covers of Entertainment Weekly and TV Guide and appearing on "TODAY," "Good Morning America," "The View" and other popular TV shows.

Julian Fellowes, writer and creator of "Downton Abbey," said, "The 'Downton' journey has been amazing for everyone aboard. People ask if we knew what was going to happen when we started to make the first series and the answer is that, of course we had no idea. Exactly why the series had such an impact and reached so many people around the world, all nationalities, all ages, all types, I cannot begin to explain. But I do know how grateful we are to have been allowed this unique experience. I suspect the show will always be a principal marker in most of our careers as we set out from here, and if so, I consider that a blessing and a compliment."

"Downton Abbey" is a Carnival Films/MASTERPIECE Co-Production written and created by Julian Fellowes. It is Executive Produced by Gareth Neame, Julian Fellowes, Liz Trubridge and Nigel Marchant. Chris Croucher is the Producer. The Executive Producer for MASTERPIECE is Rebecca Eaton.

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