‘Downton Abbey’ season 4 trailer: Lady Rose, Edith, Mary and more shine

Prior to the start of “The X Factor” UK on ITV Saturday night, the network decided to debut something else that just about everyone was looking forward to for some time: The first extended trailer for the new season of “Downton Abbey.” There is quite a bit to look forward to this year, and includes everything that you would expect: Drama, tears, beautiful costumes, and of course some new faces.

The trailer begins rather simply, though, with a conversation between Maggie Smith’s Dowager Countess and Michelle Dockery’s Mary about just what she is going to do now. As tragic as it may be, the truth is the truth: Matthew is dead, and there is nothing that she can do about it. Mary can either decide to just give up on life and spend the rest of her days in sorrow, or she can try instead to push forward and do something of value. This is of course what Violet encourages Mary to do, and she seems interested to go along with it.

As the trailer progresses, this is where some of the other characters finally started to garner some attention of their own. You see a more sophisticated Lady Edith, Hugh Bonneville’s Robert looking as dapper as ever, and plenty of new footage revolving all around Lily James’ Lady Rose, who will have a significantly larger role this year.

There are also some appearances thrown in here from Jack Ross (Gary Carr) and Lord Anthony Gillingham (Tom Cullen), who are two of the more notable characters stopping by this year … and as potential love interests to boot. We’re in for a crazy season, which will be starting up on ITV very soon.

What did you think about this trailer? If you want to read some more news related to this series, including whether or not we are going to see Mary really move on this season, just be sure to visit the link here.

Photo: ITV