‘Downton Abbey’ season 4: Michelle Dockery, Maggie Smith finally have UK premiere date

We will never quite understand just what the folks over at ITV are thinking when it comes to the way in which they choose to announce their premiere dates for various shows. For whatever reason, they only waited until a few weeks before “The X Factor” to confirm that it would air starting on August 31, and then only this week finally made it official that Sunday, September 22 was going to be the first day that “Downton Abbey” comes back on the air and into the hearts of millions.

If the schedule for this season works like season 3, then we expect it to go something like this. The first episode of the show airs with a little bit of a longer run-time, and then they air consecutive weeks until the “finale” on November 10. The show then takes a break for a month and a half, and returns for the Christmas Special on Christmas Day. This idea has always separated American and British TV series, as most viewers in the United States like to spend their holiday doing something other that turning on the television.

The good news for fans of the series? You are not going to see Julian Fellowes ruin another holiday by killing someone off, at least based on the information that is currently out there. There are going to be some romantic developments this year for Michelle Dockery’s Mary in the way of new suitors, and the holiday will bring the return of Shirley MacLaine along with the first appearance of Paul Giamatti as Cora’s brother.

The crazy news for fans? That the American premiere date, set for January 5 on PBS, was announced long before it was for the show in Britain. What gives with that?

For now, just be sure to watch the full trailer if you haven’t already. You will be rather thrilled with the result.

Photo: ITV