PBS has released the first trailer for Downton Abbey Season 6, which starts this weekend in the U.K., but won’t hit American shores officially until January. But, we can get a look at where the characters will be headed in this final season at least, and much of it seems like business as usual. Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) is being snarky, Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael) is trying to get a life, Mrs. Hughes (Phyllis Logan) and Mr. Carson (Jim Carter) are very sweet, Thomas (Rob James-Collier) is trying to make friends, Isobel (Penelope Wilson) is sparring with the Dowager (Maggie Smith) over power issues, and we are really seeing the realities of a modern world that doesn’t require castles full of staff.
There are also two trailers from ITV (which airs Downton in the U.K.) that focus more, however, on Downton ending. The first is particularly heart-wrenching, and seems to portend a sea change for Carson and others. (Mostly, it’s just really depressing). But a second trailer suggests scandal and change and a great exchange, which is really what Downton is made of.
And while the show has gone through some occasionally extreme highs and lows, it will be sad to say goodbye to it. It was consistent in its gorgeous immersion in a lost world, with its sweeping score, lavish fashions, and occasionally wonderful connections among its characters. The show's style is certainly on view in the new photos from the season, which you can find below the trailers. And of course, be sure to inspect this season's character lineup to see who is missing (or who is new!)
