In her Downton Abbey: A New Era review, Lisa Johnson Mandell revels in the chance to revisit cherished times, people and places.

During the pandemic, my husband and I slow-binged the entire Downton Abbey series: one episode per night for 52 nights. It was cinematic comfort food.

Of course we knew exactly what would happen—the joy came in the unalterable certainty that the Dowager would always crack wise, Mrs. Patmore would always cook wise, Lady Mary would always be reserved yet winsome, Carson would always be disgruntled and everyone would always be splendidly dressed, as befitting their station.

Oh yes, and the dog butt would start off every episode.

While the dog butt is regrettably missing from Downton Abbey: A New Era, both upstairs and downstairs denizens remain delightfully in character, a few fresh additions appear, the beloved score swells in all the right places, and life at the Abbey saunters on.

In this chapter, Dowager Countess Violet Crawley (Maggie Smith) mysteriously inherits a villa in the south of France, and part of the family travels there to to sort things out.

Meanwhile, the other part of the family remains at the manor to oversee a film crew they’ve allowed to work on the premises, in order to reluctantly accept the huge amount of money they’ve been offered for the privilege. It literally helps them keep the roof over their heads.

Of course fans of the series will see the plot twists coming a mile away. That’s half the fun. We feel satisfied knowing that we’re so familiar with this family we can foresee their every move, perhaps the way we wish we knew our own kin.

But since our own families are not so predictable, pretty and privileged, and they don’t dress for dinner with such finesse, nor are they so well lit that they positively glow, we find ultimate satisfaction in being Downton insiders for an hour or two.

Director Simon Curtis and creator/writer Julien Fellows have given us the opportunity to return to a more genteel, less frantic, more civilized time (before social media) and for that, I thank them.

Raise your coupe of champagne and propose a toast to the ever pleasant, effervescent Downton Abbey!

Rated PG

2 Hours 5 Minutes

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In her Downton Abbey: A New Era review, Lisa Johnson Mandell revels in the chance to revisit cherished times, people and places.