We Can Only Hope For More Shows Like Downton Abbey

Contrary to popular belief, television shows don't have to be historically accurate, especially when they admit, right up front, that they're not being historically accurate.

Poor Simon Schama just wants some attention. Downton Abbey is fantastic, by the way. I have seen the entire first season and it really is as good as advertised. It is an adult drama told in a masterful way. Each episode unfolds at a pace that is sorely missed in television right now. I mean, the way these stories and plots and subplots unfurl themselves is really well done.

My pet theory--reject it if you wish--is that Downton Abbey is doing so well right now because of the massive hole dug into popular television by Reality programming. With fewer and fewer scripted drama shows out there in the "hour long" format, there is a real hunger for anything that is of a certain quality that tells an actual story. I mean, a burning hole in the gut kind of hunger.

Downton Abbey should be studied and, if not copied, then certainly adapted to other eras and with other characters and archetypes. As always, if it tells a story, it will probably work on television.