‘Downton Abbey’ season 4 spoilers: When does production pick back up?

It seems as though for many of the best series on TV, February is the magic month. It is at this time that “Dexter” and “Homeland” will both be deep within the writing process for their 2013 seasons, and it is also at this point that the folks over at FX’s “Sons of Anarchy” will be diving into some scripts of their own. “Mad Men” and “Breaking Bad” will already be filming, and now we are learning that “Downton Abbey” season 4 will be doing the same exact thing. (Warning: the following contains some massive spoilers for American readers, so be sure to press onward at your own risk.)

It is not entirely clear just how much (if any) of the series’ fourth year has been written already by Julian Fellowes, but the one thing that is particular welcome here is that this will not force us to lay around and wait for an incredibly long time in order to discover just what is going to happen moving forward with Michelle Dockery’s Lady Mary following the death of Matthew. There will probably be at least a few details handed down to the press during production (such as new characters), though many of the major details will be kept a secret until the show airs.

At this point, we’re not sure that there are many shows out there better at keeping secrets. While it was largely believed that Dan Stevens was leaving the show, no one knew what was going to happen with his character. The same goes for the departure of Jessica Brown Findlay earlier in the season, a moment that will still go down as one of the most gut-wrenching ever for the series. Here’s the question that these two passings have left us with: why is it that whenever a life enters the world of the show, another one is taken? It is a really sad way to preserve balance.

Do you want to read some suggestions as to how “Downton Abbey” could replace Matthew? If so, we have the perfect story for you over at the link here.

Photo: ITV