Binge Watch Guide is a blog series to lead you through the many available series for streaming.
Time Commitment: High
"Downton Abbey" has 6 seasons, with an average of 8 hour-long episodes per season, with an added Special episode (all available on Amazon Prime). The show first aired in 2010, and aired its final episode on Dec 25th, 2015 (to the despair of over 10 million viewers in the UK alone). If you watched nonstop, it would take you a full 2 days and 8 hours! You can do it. Easy.
Most Interesting Character: Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham
Dame Maggie Smith gives a magnificent performance as Violet Crawley, or "Granny" as the younger Crawley women call her. She brings a much-needed amount of sass to Downton, but also gives an old-world perspective in the rapidly changing Roaring 20's. While a fairly static character, she never ceases to surprise audiences with her wit and tenacity in the face of her family's troubles.
The Good: Downton Abbey is very well-paced and elegant, creating and fixing various problems at just the right moment to keep the audience engaged. The costumes are very well done, evolving with the radical changes of that time period, as well as the character's various reactions to new technology such as the telephone and electricity. As a drama, it definitely satisfies the need for tension, romance, action and scandal.
The Bad: Sometimes the plot can get a little repetitive (which is to be expected over such a long series), so it's hard to binge watch without taking a couple breaks throughout, and while the characters are very well cast and played, some are static and slightly boring. Other than that, there's nothing that even Violet Crawley could complain about!
The Takeaway: "Downton Abbey" is great to binge watch if you're into scandal in high society with a dash of heart-warming characters and multiple intricate plots. The episode length is great if you're just taking a break from studying or have an hour to kill before your next class!
Also if you ever wonder which Downton Abbey character you are, just take this quiz to find out. To further extend your Downton obsession, you can follow them on Twitter for updates and special insights.
If you liked this, consider watching this too: "The Paradise," set in 1870's northern England, follows young Denise Lovett as she navigates her way through the drama surrounding her job at England's first department store. The first season is available on Netflix, with the second one coming soon. You may also recognize "Game of Thrones" Patrick Malahide (Theon Greyjoy), who plays the character Lord Glendenning.
To get the day's news and headlines in your inbox each morning, sign up for our email newsletters.
