‘Downton Abbey’ season 4 spoilers: Massive raises all around!

When you have an enormously popular TV show, especially one with actors that are being sought-after for a number of feature film projects, you really have to expect the bank accounts to be opened up. When it comes to the upcoming fourth season of “Downton Abbey,” for example, we are certainly seeing this very thing happen courtesy of a number of the show’s key characters.

According to a brand-new report from the Daily Mail, a plethora of the ITV show’s biggest stars, including Hugh Bonneville and possibly even Maggie Smith (if she does in fact decide to return), could be seeing pay raises that are so large that they are double that of what they were back when the show was first starting out years ago.

This may sound like a significant bump in salary, but by television standards it is really not. Many sitcom stars, for example, start out with salaries of around $75,000 if they are a leading character, but can see their earnings triple at times when it comes to renegotiating their contracts after the end of their third season so long as the show remains a hit.

The original report tries to make it appear as though Hollywood is so alluring to many of these actors that they are already interested in leaving the show, but we have a tendency to believe that the British press also has a tendency to sensationalize these stories to be greater than they actually are. After all, it is not as though “Downton Abbey” requires you to film year-round and miss the opportunity to do movies. In addition to that, this is also just about the best gig in television you can have considering the critical acclaim. Dan Stevens at the moment is really the only actor doubtful to return for any period longer than just one episode.

Do you want to check out our latest “Downton Abbey” exclusive? If so, you can over at the link here.

Photo: ITV