‘Downton Abbey’ season 4 spoilers: What Paul Giamatti, Shirley MacLaine are up to

If you have followed the world of “Downton Abbey” passionately this year, then you may already be familiar with the news that the ITV series has brought on both Shirley MacLaine and Paul Giamatti to be valuable guest stars during the show’s final episode. Whether or not you want to call this the Christmas special or not is really just up to you; while this is the last episode that will air during this year (and air on Christmas Day in the United Kingdom), there is no guarantee that it is actually going to revolve around the holiday at all.

What we don’t want to do right now is give away many details, given that we do not post set photos here on the site, and this is the time of the season that giving too much away can be a complete bummer. So with that, all we will do for now is say the following:

1. There will be some sort of outdoor party scene this year in the episode, which is something that we do traditionally end up seeing on the show.

2. There will also be some sort of particular dress code, as the characters all wear white to the occasion.

3. Giamatti’s character will share screen-time with MacLaine’s Martha Levinson, as the two enjoy a rare opportunity to spend time with Lady Cora.

While it is always nice to see guest stars of this caliber on the series, you also have to assume at a certain level that they are there for a much larger reason beyond just giving Cora a chance to speak with her family. As for what that reason is, you’ll have to wait until December to find out.

But don’t worry: For those impatient types out there, we do have some more news to share about “Downton Abbey” season 4, and you can view it over at the link here.

Photo: ITV