‘Downton Abbey’ season 4 spoilers: Lily James promotion official

If you follow “Downton Abbey” with a passion, then you may have already heard the scoop that Lily James will have an increased role in the fourth season. Now, this news is pretty much official.

Entertainment Weekly is confirming that the young actress will be promoted to a series regular position as Rose, and this has already created a pretty divided reaction among the show faithful. While there are some that are firmly in the corner of this move, others are still concerned that we have a Cousin Oliver situation on our hands where a show introduces a new character, one younger and even more exaggerated in personality, as a way to give audiences what they liked about the show in the first place all over again. Cousin Oliver is the most notable example of this with “The Brady Bunch,” and it didn’t work out quite so well.

What fans of the series do have to remember specifically in this case, however, is that Rose was not meant to be an extremely likable character at times. She was spoiled in many ways, rebellious, and selfish. This is a young lady who may become more endearing over time, especially when you remember that Lady Mary in particular has not always been known for being the kindest person in the world.

If you want to read some more scoop on the possibility of another “Downton Abbey” death, you can do so over at the link here.

Photo: ITV / PBS