‘Downton Abbey’ nabs new award; season 5 filming continues

Remember all the stories regarding “Downton Abbey” being surprisingly snubbed by the folks over at BAFTA? Well, we at least now have some better news to report in regards to something that the ITV series did end up winning.

The show ended up winning a costume design award for Caroline McCall, which is appropriate given just how fantastic the costumes for this series are. Regardless of whether or not you truly enjoy “Downton Abbey” as a series, it is pretty difficult to dispute the quality of the set, the designs, and everything else that the show puts out there for you from a visual point of view.

So why does the series struggle to get the same sort of acclaim in its own country that it does in the United States? Part of it may just be that the premise and idea of this story is somewhat idealized, and therefore more interesting to foreigners who have a lesser extent of knowledge about British history. Watching a show about this era as an American is very different than seeing it through the lens of an English historian, or just even a regular viewer across the pond. Period dramas are fairly common on British television, and this is not even the most popular one there. (“Call the Midwife” drew better ratings for its most-recent season, even if it is less of a hit here in the United States.)

The fifth season of “Downton Abbey” is still filming right now, so we’ll have an opportunity next year to see if it can really turn things around.

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Photo: ITV