‘Downton Abbey’ season 5 will still air late in America

There is one thing at the moment that “Downton Abbey” fans probably should just get used to: The thought that their beloved series is not going to air at the same time in the United States as it does in Great Britain.

Speaking Monday, PBS head Paula Kerger made it clear that there was not going to be any sort of change at all to the way in which the series shifts over to American television in January, despite it airing in Great Britain many months before starting in September. Why would they change it at this point? We understand the complaints in a way, but numbers don’t lie. This is one of the only British shows that actually performs better in America in terms of total viewers, so clearly some people don’t mind that there are spoilers out there. They may just not seek them out.

Another reason to not change up the date here is pretty simple: The only real competition that they have this time of year is NFL football. In September, there are threats from such things as new fall programming, “The Walking Dead,” “Homeland,” “Boardwalk Empire,” so much more. This is a way for the show to avoid most of that terribleness and keep its audience high. If it’s not broke, there is no real need to fix it. This is at least the strategy that the network is employing here with both this show and “Sherlock,” which also airs on a delay (though not nearly as long of one).

Plus, we cannot really be so selfish / arrogant to think that this is the first time someone has had to wait in the history of television. British viewers do it all the time with American shows, so anyone out there who whines too loudly has never been in the United Kingdom.

Are you okay with the “Downton Abbey” delay, at least because you’re used to it at this point? Share what you think below, and also visit the link here to see some more gossip about next season. You can also sign up to get some quick CarterMatt updates sent to your email every week!

Photo: PBS