‘Downton Abbey’ season 5 ratings drop again, despite big Maggie Smith – Michelle Dockery episode

What is it going to take to stop some of the bleeding when it comes to the “Downton Abbey” season 5 ratings: That’s a good question, but unfortunately one without that much of a concise answer at the moment.

Sunday night’s episode, which contained huge stories for Maggie Smith and Michelle Dockery as we learned more about their romantic lives past and present (read our take here), drew 7.74 million viewers. That it still an impressive number, but also down more than a million from last year as it was beaten by both “Strictly Come Dancing” and also “The X Factor.”

In trying to figure out the reason for the drops, viewer fatigue is most likely one of them. Typically shows that catch fire early do tend to lose a little steam over time. Just look at “True Blood,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” or many others. Meanwhile, the UK is starting to use more and more recording technologies, and many may be watching the series either via an online player, or some other device after the fact. We’re sure that some out there are probably doing what they can to try and watch without dealing with so many commercials.

We do still hold firm to our belief that despite the slightly-lower ratings, there will still most likely be a season 6 of the show so long as the cast and Julian Fellowes are still interested. With that being said, we feel like this is the time to say farewell to Downton next year, since the last thing you want to do is see the numbers drop to where the show ends with a whimper. There will probably be some sort of ratings bump for a final season.

Want to get some further TV news on everything we cover sent right to your email inbox, sign up for our CarterMatt Newsletter now over at the link here. (Photo via ITV.)