Julian Fellowes' THE GILDED AGE Could Signal End of DOWNTON ABBEY

Deadline writes that NBC Chairman Bob Greenblatt recently revealed Julian Fellowes' upcoming period drama THE GILDED AGE is finally in development for the network. But this could be bad news for DOWNTON ABBEY.

"I think he's at a point now where he's able to start developing and writing our new show. Hopefully this show will be coming to life sometime in the next season," Greenblatt said.

Fellowes is creating and executive producing THE GILDED AGE, which is described as "a sweeping fictional epic of the millionaire titans of New York City in the 1880s."

This means the writer may no longer have time to craft many more episodes of DOWNTON, which is already rumored to be ending after Season 6 or 7.

Season 5 of DOWNTON ABBEY will premiere in the U.S. on Jan. 4 on PBS.

Pictured: Gareth Neame, Jim Carter, Julian Fellowes, Michelle Dockery behind the scenes for Season 5 of DOWNTON ABBEY. Credit.