Returning for Season 3 on January 6, 2013 on Masterpiece on PBS, the hit drama series Downton Abbey will see wrenching social changes, romantic intrigues, and personal crises that grip the majestic English country estate, now that the Great War is over.  Written and created by Julian Fellowes, the show has become a worldwide cultural phenomenon, breaking records with its fan support and award recognition.  The series stars Dame Maggie Smith, Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Dan Stevens, Michelle Dockery, Jim Carter, Penelope Wilton, Joanne Froggatt and Brendan Coyle, with special guest star Shirley MacLaine.

During this exclusive interview with Collider, actress Elizabeth McGovern talked about what fans can expect from Season 3, how all of the characters will be dealing with the changing world in different ways, what it was like to work with Shirley MacLaine, how the relationships in Cora’s family will be growing and evolving, what she would still like to get to know about her character, what the success of the show has been like, when she realized the show had become such a phenomenon, how the on-set atmosphere has changed over the seasons, that the scripts almost never change and that there’s never any improvisation, and what being a part of this show has meant for her career.  Check out what she had to say after the jump.

In what’s sure to be an uplifting tale on par with E.T. and commercials for the Olympics, Thomas Dekker (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles), Jeremy Piven, Lynn Collins, and Kate Walsh have all been cast in Waska, which is about a young father (Dekker) whose 3-year-old freezes to death on a fishing trip.  I believe we’ve found our feel-good film of 2010.

According to THR, “a local prosecutor (Piven) goes after him, townspeople like his ex-wife (Collins) rage at him and others support him as he attempts to makes sense of what happened.”  Mira Sorvino, Elizabeth McGovern, and Joseph Morgan also co-star in the film. Waska is based off a novel by Leslie Schwartz and is probably a great beach read.