‘Downton Abbey’ season 6: Could there be a movie at the end of this?

Could “Downton Abbey” really be taking on the “Community” strategy of “six seasons and a movie”? That is an interesting question, but one that there is no confirmed answer to … at least not yet.

The subject of a film did at least come up during PBS’ appearance over the weekend at the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour, and while there is no confirmed plan at the moment, one comment from executive producer Gareth Neame certainly has the press talking:

“There’s rumor and speculation [out there]. I’m not denying anything; I think a Downton movie could be a wonderful thing, but we don’t have a script or plan yet.”

We’ve said this a few times already, but we really hope that there is not some sort of feature film at the end of all this. The show already more or less has a movie at the end of every season courtesy of the Christmas Special, and the budget already yields enough lavish costumes to have it be worthwhile. We ultimately do not know just what the appeal or need would be for there to be a movie based off the show. Also, we just don’t love the idea of something on TV then going over to the big screen to finish it off, almost suggesting that the TV medium is not good enough to conclude their story.

Ultimately, we do feel like the odds of this are still low, mostly because after doing this show for six years, we get the feeling the cast is ready to do other things. Michelle Dockery has a new project coming for TNT, many actors have an interest in doing other movies, and can you really convince Maggie Smith to do any more?

We’ll give you more information as it continues to come out. For now, just be sure to head over here to get some other TV news sent over to you via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: PBS.)