Downton Abbey: A New Era

Starring Maggie Smith and Hugh Dancy

Disregard the subtitle. The original cast of the PBS series is back with more titillating drama and new cast additions—some of the queen’s best!—including Hugh Dancy, Laura Haddock, Nathalie Baye, and Dominic West. Join the upper-crust Crawley family as they head from England to the French Riviera, where the Dowager Countess (Dame Maggie Smith) has suddenly and mysteriously inherited a villa. Who hasn’t had that dream? (“Do I look as if I’d turn down a villa in the South of France?” she asks.) Meanwhile, back at Downton Abbey, a film crew takes over the manor to shoot a motion picture, much to the disgust of old-fashioned Lord Grantham (Hugh Bonneville). And Tom Branson (Allen Leech) prepares for his society wedding. Our RSVP is a yes—and we’ll have the filet. (In theaters May 20)