Downton Abbey ''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. The series first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United States o ...

'' is a British

period drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romance film, romances, adventure f ...

television series created by Julian Fellowes and co-produced by

Carnival Films Carnival Films is a British production company based in London, UK, founded in 1978. It has produced television series for all the major UK networks including the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Sky, as well as international broadcasters including PB ...

and

Masterpiece A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...

. It first aired on ITV in the United Kingdom on 26 September 2010 and on PBS in the United States on 9 January 2011 as part of the ''

Masterpiece Classic ''Masterpiece'' (formerly known as ''Masterpiece Theatre'') is a drama anthology television series produced by WGBH-TV, WGBH Boston. It premiered on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) on January 10, 1971. The series has presented numerous acclaim ...

'' anthology. ''Downton Abbey'' has received critical acclaim from television critics and won numerous accolades, including a

Golden Globe Award for Best Miniseries or Television Film The Golden Globe Award for Best Limited or Anthology Series or Television Film is one of the annual Golden Globe Awards given to the best miniseries or made-for-television film. Winners and nominees 1970s Best Television Film 1980s Best Minise ...

, a BAFTA award and a

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series represents excellence in the category of limited series that are two or more episodes, with a total running time of at least 150 minutes. Criteria The program must tell a compl ...

. It was recognised by ''

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

'' as the most critically acclaimed English-language television series of 2011. It earned the most nominations of any international television series in the history of the

Primetime Emmy Awards The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

, with twenty-seven in total (after two seasons). It was the most watched television series on both ITV and PBS, and subsequently became the most successful British costume drama series since the 1981 television serial of ''

Brideshead Revisited ''Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred & Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder'' is a novel by English writer Evelyn Waugh, first published in 1945. It follows, from the 1920s to the early 1940s, the life and romances of the protagonist Charles ...

''. By the third series, it had become one of the most widely watched television shows in the world.

Media recognition

''Downton Abbey'' was placed tenth on ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

's'' list of the Top 10 TV programmes of 2010, and came second in the Top 10 TV dramas of 2010 list, beaten only by ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...

''. It came first in the Top 10 new drama category. In September 2011, the show entered the

Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

as the 'most critically acclaimed television show' for the year, becoming the first British show to win the award. It beat American shows ''

Mad Men ''Mad Men'' is an American period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on the cable network AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, lasting for seven seasons and 92 episodes. Its f ...

'' and ''

Modern Family ''Modern Family'' is an American family sitcom television series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan for the American Broadcasting Company. It ran for 11 seasons, from September 23, 2009, to April 8, 2020. It follows the lives of th ...

'' to the title. Also in 2012, ''Downton Abbey'' was parodied on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves ...

'', where they imagined how the show might be advertised on the male-oriented

Spike TV Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Media Networks. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles. The channel was ...

network, calling it "fancy ''

Entourage An entourage () is an informal group or band of people who are closely associated with a (usually) famous, notorious, or otherwise notable individual. The word can also refer to: Arts and entertainment * L'entourage, French hip hop / rap collecti ...

''."

Industry recognition

It won two

Broadcasting Press Guild The Broadcasting Press Guild (BPG) is a British association of journalists dedicated to the topic of general media issues. History The Guild was established in 1974 as a breakaway of The Critics' Circle. Currently it groups over 100 staff and f ...

awards in 2011. It won Best Drama Series and Julian Fellowes won for writing. It has also won 6

. The programme was nominated for multiple BAFTAs including the Audience Award, losing to ''

The Only Way is Essex ''The Only Way Is Essex'' (often abbreviated as ''TOWIE'' ) is a British reality television series based in Brentwood, Essex, England. It shows "real people in modified situations, saying unscripted lines but in a structured way." Originally b ...

'' and Best Drama, ultimately losing to '' Sherlock''. In 2012, ''Downton Abbey'' won the 'Best Drama Award' at the ''

National Television Awards The National Television Awards (often shortened to NTAs) is a British television awards ceremony, broadcast by the ITV network and initiated in 1995. The National Television Awards are the most prominent ceremony for which the results are vot ...

''. Downton Abbey also won ''Best TV Show Award'' at the 2012

Elle Style Awards The Elle Style Awards are an awards ceremony hosted annually by ''Elle'' magazine. List of award winners 2017 The 2017 edition of the Elle Style Awards took place on 13 February 2017. * Style Influencer of the Year: Debbie Harry * TV Actress of t ...

. In July 2012, ''Downton Abbey'' was nominated for 16

. On 15 September, at the

Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime E ...

, John Lunn received the Emmy for Outstanding Music Composition for Series (Original Dramatic Score), while Anne ‘Nosh’ Oldham and Christine Greenwood won the Outstanding Hairstyling for A Single Camera Series Award. On 23 September, at the Primetime Emmy Awards,

Maggie Smith Dame Margaret Natalie Smith (born 28 December 1934) is an English actress. With an extensive career on screen and stage beginning in the mid-1950s, Smith has appeared in more than sixty films and seventy plays. She is one of the few performer ...

took home the Outstanding Supporting Actress Award in a Drama Series. On 20 November, ''Downton Abbey'' was shortlisted for International Programme Sales at the 2013

Broadcast Awards ''Broadcast'' is a monthly magazine for the United Kingdom television and radio industry, owned by Media Business Insight. History ''Broadcast'' was started in 1973 by Rod Allen, who went on to work at LWT, HTV and HarperCollinsInteractive. ...

. The International Programme Sales category aims to recognize a UK-produced programme that has made a significant impact internationally. On 29 November 2012, the producers of ''Downton Abbey'' were nominated for The Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television (Drama) at the 2013 Producers Guild Awards. On 12 December, ''Downton Abbey'' received three nominations at the 2013

Screen Actors Guild Awards Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1952 to recognize outstanding performances in movie an ...

. Downton was nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble In a Drama Series, while

Michelle Dockery Michelle Suzanne Dockery (born 15 December 1981) is an English television and film actress. She is best known for her leading performance as Lady Mary Crawley in the ITV television period drama series ''Downton Abbey'' (2010–2015), for which ...

and

were both nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series. On 13 December 2012, the

Hollywood Foreign Press Association The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) is a nonprofit organization of journalists and photographers who report on the entertainment industry activity and interests in the United States for media (newspaper, magazine and book publication ...

nominated ''Downton Abbey'' in three categories for the

70th Golden Globe Awards The 70th Golden Globe Awards honoring the best in film and television of 2012, was broadcast live from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on January 13, 2013, by NBC. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler co-hosted. Nominations were announce ...

. ''Downton Abbey'' received a nomination for Best Television Series (Drama),

for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series (Drama), and Maggie Smith for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television. Actor

Allen Leech Allen Leech (born 18 May 1981) is an Irish actor best known for his role as Tom Branson on the historical drama series ''Downton Abbey'' and as Paul Prenter in the 2018 biopic ''Bohemian Rhapsody''. He made his professional acting debut with a ...

, who plays Tom Branson, has been nominated for the Best Actor in a Supporting Role Television award at the 2013

Irish Film and Television Awards Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

, which take place in February 2013. On 23 January 2013, ''Downton Abbey'' won Best Drama at the 2013 National Television Awards, one year after earning the Best Drama prize at the 2012 NTAs. On 27 January 2013 the cast of ''Downton Abbey'' won Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series at the 19th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards. In August 2015, Downton Abbey was presented with a BAFTA special award at the

Richmond Theatre The present Richmond Theatre, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is a British Victorian theatre located on Little Green, adjacent to Richmond Green. It opened on 18 September 1899 with a performance of ''As You Like It''. One of ...

Awards and nominations

Television series

Film

References

{{Downton Abbey

Awards An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An award ...

Emmy Award-winning programs

Awards and nominations received by Downton Abbey