Nearly seven years since the final season of Downton Abbey in 2015, the Crawleys continue to roll with the changes. In 2019, the first film picked up where the show left off, while this year's sequel brings the family into A New Era.
The cinematic return follows the Crawleys and their staff as they welcome a movie crew and their glamorous stars to Downton for the filming of a new silent movie, while other family members go on a grand adventure to a villa in the south of France to uncover a mystery about the Dowager Countess and her past.
I was invited to visit the stunning filming locations of Downton Abbey: A New Era (out on digital July 26 and Blu-ray August 9) in England, including the stunning Belchamp Hall, which was used for the exterior reception scene for the wedding of Tom (Allen Leech) and Lucy (Tuppence Middleton); the Church of St. Mary's, the location used for Tom and Lucy's wedding ceremony; and Wrest Park, an English Heritage site in Bedfordshire where their orangery was used for the villa party at the end of the film (and was the setting for my interviews).
Jim Carter, reprising his Emmy-nominated role as the butler Mr. Carson, says it's the love from the fans that keeps him coming back to the franchise: "The reaction from the fans, the anticipation of it coming out, the first film came out just before COVID. This film came out when we were coming out [of lockdown]. People just want to watch it because it's pure escapism, and knowing that you had a script that would deliver that was lovely and the reactions we've had from people afterwards, like, 'Oh, Downton is such a delight. Oh, it was such a treat!' And after the grim times we've been going through, that was great."
Director Simon Curtis says, "It's the tiny little human moments that I think make the show or the film special."
Despite the lavish filming locations and period setting, he observes, "The audience has grown to treat the characters of Downton as their own family, and they've gone through good times and bad times with them like you do your own family. And [Downton Abbey creator and writer] Julian Fellowes gives all his characters such a love and dignity. And I think that resonates with people."
It's relatable, but it's also an escape: "It is a fantasy film of a bygone age," Curtis notes. "It's not a documentary. But it shows a sort of a world where people are trying to do their best. It's not about killing people. It's people struggling in their own ways upstairs and downstairs to find love and to find happiness. I think that's what people like about it. It's beautifully dressed and elegantly staged. And I think it's just as simple as that."
Raquel Cassidy, who plays Phyllis Baxter, Lady Grantham's maid, also acknowledges the film's fantasy element. She says, "It is a bit like opening a box of chocolates, which is beautifully wrapped. It's also that we have such a way of talking about things. We over-talk things, whereas I think in that time, people didn't say nearly so much, but ... what they say is so much more important. I think we could do a self-help book that's also incredibly witty by the Dowager on how to just how to live."
Downton Abbey is a quintessentially English story, but Curtis points out that audiences don't have to be British, or know about the class system, or be familiar with what it was like to live in England in the 1920s. "There's a universal quality to these characters," he notes.
Carter admits being amazed that the series has such a strong legacy of drawing fans from all around the world: "We were shocked, really. I mean, England has got a history of staging the historical costume drama period. But this one caught fire in the way that it did. I think the flames really took hold in America ... and Americans just took it to their heart instantly."
Cassidy adds, "It's quite nice. You never know if people will like it, and suddenly it goes global. And you can see yourself in dubbed in Chinese. I mean, it's wonderful that that's for everyone."
Carter then shared a recent memory when he was swarmed by fans: "One day, I was walking across one of the London bridges, and just in the span of the bridge, I was asked by a French family and an Indian family and a German family about Downton Abbey."
One of the biggest challenges for Curtis was to not disappoint the fans. "In this day and age, you're grateful if you have anything noticed because there's so much content and product out there. One of the reasons I was excited to do this is I knew there was a fan base hungry to see it."
Cassidy shares something that rings true with me and my family as we watched Downton Abbey: A New Era. She say, "One of the things that really warms me is when people say, 'I watched it with my grandmother and my mother' and three generations are sitting down together, or in separate houses, but they're all watching it together. So I do love that I think it does. You know, for some reason, not so much on the men side, but for the women of the world, there's something about it that brings them together. I really like being part of that."
The cinematic return follows the Crawleys and their staff as they welcome a movie crew and their glamorous stars to Downton for the filming of a new silent movie, while other family members go on a grand adventure to a villa in the south of France to uncover a mystery about the Dowager Countess and her past.
I was invited to visit the stunning filming locations of Downton Abbey: A New Era (out on digital July 26 and Blu-ray August 9) in England, including the stunning Belchamp Hall, which was used for the exterior reception scene for the wedding of Tom (Allen Leech) and Lucy (Tuppence Middleton); the Church of St. Mary's, the location used for Tom and Lucy's wedding ceremony; and Wrest Park, an English Heritage site in Bedfordshire where their orangery was used for the villa party at the end of the film (and was the setting for my interviews).
Jim Carter, reprising his Emmy-nominated role as the butler Mr. Carson, says it's the love from the fans that keeps him coming back to the franchise: "The reaction from the fans, the anticipation of it coming out, the first film came out just before COVID. This film came out when we were coming out [of lockdown]. People just want to watch it because it's pure escapism, and knowing that you had a script that would deliver that was lovely and the reactions we've had from people afterwards, like, 'Oh, Downton is such a delight. Oh, it was such a treat!' And after the grim times we've been going through, that was great."
Director Simon Curtis says, "It's the tiny little human moments that I think make the show or the film special."
Despite the lavish filming locations and period setting, he observes, "The audience has grown to treat the characters of Downton as their own family, and they've gone through good times and bad times with them like you do your own family. And [Downton Abbey creator and writer] Julian Fellowes gives all his characters such a love and dignity. And I think that resonates with people."
It's relatable, but it's also an escape: "It is a fantasy film of a bygone age," Curtis notes. "It's not a documentary. But it shows a sort of a world where people are trying to do their best. It's not about killing people. It's people struggling in their own ways upstairs and downstairs to find love and to find happiness. I think that's what people like about it. It's beautifully dressed and elegantly staged. And I think it's just as simple as that."
Raquel Cassidy, who plays Phyllis Baxter, Lady Grantham's maid, also acknowledges the film's fantasy element. She says, "It is a bit like opening a box of chocolates, which is beautifully wrapped. It's also that we have such a way of talking about things. We over-talk things, whereas I think in that time, people didn't say nearly so much, but ... what they say is so much more important. I think we could do a self-help book that's also incredibly witty by the Dowager on how to just how to live."
Downton Abbey is a quintessentially English story, but Curtis points out that audiences don't have to be British, or know about the class system, or be familiar with what it was like to live in England in the 1920s. "There's a universal quality to these characters," he notes.
Carter admits being amazed that the series has such a strong legacy of drawing fans from all around the world: "We were shocked, really. I mean, England has got a history of staging the historical costume drama period. But this one caught fire in the way that it did. I think the flames really took hold in America ... and Americans just took it to their heart instantly."
Cassidy adds, "It's quite nice. You never know if people will like it, and suddenly it goes global. And you can see yourself in dubbed in Chinese. I mean, it's wonderful that that's for everyone."
Carter then shared a recent memory when he was swarmed by fans: "One day, I was walking across one of the London bridges, and just in the span of the bridge, I was asked by a French family and an Indian family and a German family about Downton Abbey."
One of the biggest challenges for Curtis was to not disappoint the fans. "In this day and age, you're grateful if you have anything noticed because there's so much content and product out there. One of the reasons I was excited to do this is I knew there was a fan base hungry to see it."
Cassidy shares something that rings true with me and my family as we watched Downton Abbey: A New Era. She say, "One of the things that really warms me is when people say, 'I watched it with my grandmother and my mother' and three generations are sitting down together, or in separate houses, but they're all watching it together. So I do love that I think it does. You know, for some reason, not so much on the men side, but for the women of the world, there's something about it that brings them together. I really like being part of that."