Classic

Each winter and spring, Masterpiece classic features signature period dramas.

See a preview of Downton Abbey Season 2, airing now on Masterpiece Classic.

Shirley MacLaine to Join Cast of Downton Abbey Season 3

  • Masterpiece and Carnival Films are delighted to announce that Academy Award® and Golden Globe® winner Shirley MacLaine (In Her Shoes, Terms of Endearment, The Apartment), will join the cast of Downton Abbey when season 3 begins production this spring. Ms. MacLaine will play a new character, Martha Levinson, the mother of Lady Grantham (Elizabeth McGovern). "Shirley MacLaine is a great actress and she's as American as the day is long," says Masterpiece executive producer Rebecca Eaton. "I can't wait to see her go toe-to-toe with Maggie Smith's Lady Violet."

Secrets of the Manor House

Masterpiece Receives A 2012 Golden Globe Award

  • The Hollywood Foreign Press Association honored Masterpiece with a Golden Globe Award for the hit series Downton Abbey at the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards held Sunday, January 15, 2012. Downton Abbey, written by Julian Fellowes, took top honors in the Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television category.

Downton Abbey Season 2

Highlights from the 2012 Masterpiece Classic Season

  • January 8 to February 19, 2012
    Downton Abbey Season 2
    Downton Abbey season 2 resumes the story of aristocrats and servants in the tumultuous World War I era. The international hit is written by Julian Fellowes and stars Maggie Smith, Elizabeth McGovern, and Hugh Bonneville among others.

  • April 1 & 8, 2012
    Great Expectations
    Gillian Anderson, David Suchet and Ray Winstone star in this new adaptation of Great Expectations, widely considered one of the greatest novels by Charles Dickens. Great Expectations follows orphan boy Pip as he rises from an apprentice to a gentleman.

  • April 15, 2012
    The Mystery of Edwin Drood
    The Mystery Of Edwin Drood is a psychological thriller about a provincial choirmaster's obsession with 17-year-old Rosa Bud and the lengths he will go to to attain her. The cast includes Matthew Rhys (Brothers & Sisters) and Julia MacKenzie (Miss Marple).

  • April 22 & 29, 2012
    Birdsong
    An adaptation of Sebastian Faulk's novel about lovers torn apart by World War I. Eddie Redmayne (The Pillars of the Earth) plays Stephen Wrayford, whose pre-war affair with Isabelle Azaire (Clemence Poesy, Harry Potter films) has an enduring effect on him as he fights in the trenches.

Masterpiece's Most Beloved Filming Locations

  • From the majestic Highclere Castle used as the setting for Downton Abbey to the untouched village of Lacock, featured in Cranford and Return to Cranford, Masterpiece has showcased some of the most splendid locations in Great Britain and around the world. Now, for the first time, explore some of the most beloved and intriguing Masterpiece locations and add your own comments and travel tips.

Support Provided By: