‘Downton Abbey’ to hit the big screen

I realize I’m about five years late to the party, but I am finally learning why the hit British historical drama ‘Downton Abby’ had millions of people hooked on both sides of the pond.

Having studied abroad in London during my junior year of college, I am obsessed with all thing British – but somehow ‘Downton” slipped through the cracks. I knew about it. I wanted to watch. But there was always something keeping me on those Sunday nights.

Occasionally I would catch an episode with my mom, and I liked what I saw – but I knew this was a show I would have to watch from the beginning to truly appreciate the storytelling, the setting, the characters, and so on.

Thanks to my mom buying me the entire series on blu-ray this past Christmas, I am now getting to do just that. It has become a new Sunday after dinner tradition: food, coffee, Downton, dessert, another episode or two of Downton.

Now that I’m able to fully enjoy the context of Maggie Smith’s one-line zingers, there is even more to be excited about. According to the Hollywood Reporter, production on a ‘Downton Abbey’ movie is set to begin next year – and NBCUniversal International Studios says it hopes to reassemble the 20 original cast members.

The television series, which followed the aristocratic Crawley family and its servants, ran for six seasons in the UK and the US and concluded in 2015. Many fans have been hoping for more since the series finale, and rumors have swirled for a while that a movie could be in the works.

Now it appears that is the case, and we can only hope it lives up the original. Meanwhile, I have plenty of time to finish my blu-ray collection.