‘Downton Abbey’ season 5 has an official premiere date on PBS

How strange is it that “Downton Abbey” season 5 has a premiere date in America before it does in Britain, even though it airs on ITV a good three and a half months before it premieres on PBS. Pretty darn strange, from our vantage point, and it shows further just how much Britain tends to stall when it comes to giving its shows firm premieres.

In the summary for the teaser below (you’ve probably seen it already if you are a diehard fan) on the PBS YouTube page, it is revealed that season 5 is going to begin airing starting on Sunday, January 4. Should you be shocked by that in particular? Hardly, given that this is when “Downton Abbey” routinely premieres in America. PBS is smart to take advantage of the fact that there is a lesser amount of competition at the start of the year, and while the show does end up colliding against the Super Bowl, it even does fairly well there and is the second-most-watched program of the night most years.

So when will the show’s premiere date be unveiled for Britain? Probably at some point next month, but we can already say that it will most likely be on Sunday, September 14, unless there is some sort of last-second switch that keeps things from happening as per usual. This is a part of the big month for ITV, given that they will also have their new season of “The X Factor” going strong around that time.

What is your take on the promo for the new season? Share some of your thoughts now with a comment, and head over to the link here to get some further updates on what could lies ahead in this new season. Also, sign up for some addition great coverage on everything we cover via our CarterMatt Newsletter.

Photo: ITV