‘Downton Abbey’ season 4, ‘Sherlock’ season 3’s finale numbers insane-good for PBS
Just like British actors are becoming more and more popular on American television these days, the same can be true when it comes to British TV shows as a whole. If you don’t believe us, just look at some of the massive final numbers that PBS just unveiled for their recent airings of both “Downton Abbey” season 4 and also “Sherlock” season 3.
When it comes to the former, the adventures of the Crawley family drew an incredible average of 13.2 million viewers this season. That is a very impressive increase of two million from the season 3 average, and it also firmly establishes the show as the top-rated drama in the history of PBS.
As for “Sherlock,” it also had plenty of reasons to smile tanks to its own ratings. going up around 2 million viewers on average on its own to where it brought in 6.6 million for its three episodes. Given that there was a two-year layoff between seasons, this number is even more of an achievement.
In a statement touting the success, “Masterpiece” executive producer Rebecca Eaton had the following to say:
“The success of ‘Downton Abbey’ and ‘Sherlock’ proves again that superb storytelling and first-class acting are an unbeatable combination. If this is indeed a Golden Age of television, we’re proud to be right in the middle of it. Congratulations to our partners at Carnival Films and Hartswood Films on the extraordinary results for these programs.”
“Downton Abbey” season 5 will air on the network at some point early next year, while fans of “Sherlock” probably have to wait for a while. There is no timetable on a new season, with the only thing confirmed being that Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, and Steven Moffat all seem to be collectively very much looking forward to doing it.
Are you surprised by the total numbers at all, or view it ore as another sign that great quality deserves to be rewarded? Share your thoughts below, and visit the link here if you want to get some further updates from us via email!
Photo: BBC One