‘Downton Abbey’ season 4 spoilers: Gary Carr becomes first major black character

Over the past several months, “Downton Abbey” creator Julian Fellowes has made his interest rather clear when it comes to expanding the cast somewhat to include more ethnicity and different cultures into the mix. With that in mind, the following bit of casting news cannot come as much of a shock.

Sources have confirmed that British actor Gary Carr (“Death in Paradise”) has landed the extremely coveted role of the show’s first recurring black character. While we don’t know too much about the part, his name is Jack Ross and is described as a young and charismatic jazz singer, which makes some sense given that we are now planted firmly in the roaring twenties.

The extended focus on jazz and 1920s culture may be accentuated even more than usual thanks in part to the presence of one Lily James. The actress has been promoted to a series regular for her part as Lady Rose, and we already know that she has a rebellious streak in addition to a love for all things modern. (James is also going to be rather busy from here on out thanks to her new gig as “Cinderella.”)

In addition to this casting news, there’s also some interesting talk coming out now about the show getting into merchandising of all things. While we’re not entirely sure we agree with this idea in that it can cheapen the overall product, executive producer Gareth Neame recently said the following to CNBC:

“We’ll be working across an entire range of products coming out this year. From fashion, apparel and homeware and furniture to wallpapers, beauty products and stationary.”

What do you think about some of this news? If you want to read some more “Downton Abbey” season 4 scoop courtesy of Allen Leech, be sure to pay the story over here a visit.

Photo: ITV