Downton Abbey, is a British historical drama set around a fictional estate in the Yorkshire countryside. The series – created by Julian Fellowes – take place during the post-Edwardian-era of England, and follows the story of an aristocratic family called the Crawley’s and their interactions with their servants and the outside world.
Showcasing a different way of life to one modern audiences are used to, as well as throwing the spotlight on the British hierarchy of the past, Downton Abbey became a firm favourite with audiences when it made its debut. So much so, that not only was Downton Abbey a successful series from day one, it also quickly spawned a number of Christmas specials, as well as a collection of movies.
But if you’re a complete newcomer to the show, where do you begin? Why, with this post, of course!
In this post I am providing a run-through of Downton Abbey, detailing the chronological viewing order for the show. So, if you are not sure when to watch the movies, or how many Christmas specials there are, you simply need to follow the details below.
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Understanding Downton Abbey
Downton Abbey hit television screens in 2010, initially with a seven-episode series. This series got off to a strong start, attracting between 9 and 10 million viewers per episode, and was quickly followed by a second series.
Series two of Downton aired in 2011, but this time included eight episodes. This series was then followed by an additional ninth episode, which was the aptly titled Christmas Special ‘Christmas at Downton Abbey’, which aired on December 25th of the same year.
Series three began in 2012, and again included eight regular episodes, plus one additional Christmas special. This episode – which also aired on Christmas Day – was called ‘A Journey to the Highlands’.
Series four aired in 2013 and continued the trend of eight regular episodes, and a Christmas special, this time called ‘The London Season’. Series five followed suit, airing eight episodes in 2014, as well as that all-important Christmas Day special, ‘A Moorland Holiday’.
The Sixth and final series of Downton Abbey aired in 2015. Once again, this series comprised eight regular episodes, as well as one additional Christmas special, appropriately titled ‘The Finale’.
After ‘The Finale’ aired, the show was effectively concluded on television; however, this wasn’t the end of the story. From here, Downton Abbey made the leap to the big screen with the release of two movies.
The first movie was 2019’s Downton Abbey. This was then followed by 2022’s Downton Abbey: A New Era.
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Downton Abbey in order
If you wish to watch Downton Abbey in order, it is really very simple. The chronological viewingorder below begins with the television series, then continues with the feature-length movies.
- Downton Abbey Series One (2010) – TV series
- Downton Abbey Series Two (2011) + ‘Christmas at Downton Abbey’ special – TV series
- Downton Abbey Series Three (2012) + ‘A Journey to the Highlands’ special – TV series
- Downton Abbey Series Four (2013) + ‘The London Season’ special – TV series
- Downton Abbey Series Five (2014) + ‘A Moorland Holiday’ special – TV series
- Downton Abbey Series Six (2015) + ‘The Finale’ special – TV series
- Downton Abbey (2019) – Movie
- Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022) – Movie
If you stick to the list above, you will have all of the Downton Abbey stories you could ever ask for, all viewed in the correct order.
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If you’re a fan of Downton Abbey, you may be interested to know that all of the television episodes of Downton are currently available on Blu-ray.
The Downton Abbey: Complete Series Blu-ray Box Set includes all six seasons (and specials), giving you 52 episodes in one neat box!
The Downton Abbey: Complete Television Series Blu-ray Box Set is available from all good entertainment stockists, including Amazon US and Amazon UK.
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Thank you for taking the time to stop by It’s A Stampede! to read this post about the viewing order for Downton Abbey – I hope it has proved useful. For more useful posts, be sure to check out the recommended reads below.
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