‘Downton Abbey’ season 5 spoilers: When does filming begin?

It is not that often when we legitimately find some scoop on “Downton Abbey’s” new season this early in the running, and while we’re not necessarily speaking here from the angle of what happens to some of the characters, it is nice information to know for the sake of the production’s timeline. (Even if you are American and haven’t watched season 4, the article is still spoiler-free.)

After having some time to rest and recharge the batteries a little bit while season 4 was airing in the United Kingdom, the cast of the ITV / PBS hit is now gearing up to go back to work and start making some more episodes again. How soon are we talking here? Based on what executive producer Gareth Neame had to say in a new TV Guide interview about the start of season 5 filming, and also just how long the series could last it is something worth celebrating:

“We’re starting to shoot Season 5 in a few weeks. There won’t be a 10th season, so it will be somewhere in between. We will try to manage the way we bring the show to an end in hopefully as good of a way as we gave birth to it so we feel complete. It can’t go as far as 1930 because the actors would be very much the wrong ages.”

We have been rather vocal already with our opinion that if season 5 were the end of the road for the show, we really wouldn’t be that upset. This is not meant to be any sort of slight at the show, either, but rather just a realization that all good things must come to an end, and that includes a show that is as fantastic as this one. It is better to close the door while most of the rest of the cast is still there, and everyone is still intrigued. If they wait any longer than season 6, there may be too much erosion and too many episodes for old viewers to catch up for the series finale.