About The Show

Returning to the Edwardian country house in 1916, the First World War has changed forever the lives of the Crawley family and the people who work for them. Wartime has even had its impact on the great house itself.

Downton Abbey - S2

Series 2

Still reeling from the declaration of the Great War, the Downton Abbey household is struggling to come to terms with the disruption that war has brought to their everyday lives and responsibilities. With Robert, Earl of Grantham now promoted to Lord Lieutenant of Yorkshire, Downton and its residents have a new set of duties and demands to adhere to.

With the war intensifying leaving untold casualties in its wake, the occupants of Downton rise to the call of the war effort in different ways. For many, it is a chance to do a good turn, but for others the war poses both an opportunity for growth, and for others exploitation. Far from the trenches, the honour of Downton Abbey and its residents is once again threatened

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Series 1

Downton is the home of the Crawleys, who have been the Earls of Grantham since 1772. In the drawing rooms and library and beautiful bedrooms, with their tall windows looking across the park, lives the family, but below stairs are other residents, the servants, as fiercely possessive of their ranks as anyone above.

Some of them are loyal to the family and are committed to Downton as a way of life, others are moving through, on the lookout for new opportunities or love or just adventure. The difference being that they know so many of the secrets of the family, while the family knows so few of theirs.

The intertwined lives of the Crawleys and their servants are further complicated when the storms of war descend and when these have finally cleared, will the way of life they know have changed forever?

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