The future of ITV hit Downton Abbey could be in doubt after it emerged that writer Julian Fellowes has yet to commit to a seventh series of the popular period drama.
It follows reports that this autumn’s series could be the last after some of the show’s younger stars were said to be in talks to follow in the footsteps of star Dan Stevens and pursue work in America.
Joanne Froggatt, who plays Mrs Bates, Laura Carmichael (Lady Edith) and Allen Leech – who played the now-departed Tom Branson – were all named in a report in the Daily Mirror as having meetings with producers when they were in Los Angeles for the recent Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Although the award-winning period drama still pulls in huge audiences and is not due to be recommissioned until the autumn, the report also said that Fellowes wants to start writing his long-awaited US drama for NBC The Gilded Age.
There has been speculation about the future of Downton since the second series and particularly after executive producer Gareth Neame from producers Carnival said last year: “I’m not sure what its lifespan will be, but it won’t be 10 years. In the short term, I’m sure it’s going to be around for a few more years, but I don’t think it will be a show that will last that long. I want it to be a show that people enjoy when they’re watching it now, and then, in 10 years’ time, they still look back on it incredibly fondly and remember it.”
Production sources say the key to the future of Downton is its creator, the author and actor Fellowes.
One said that makers Carnival and its parent company NBC Universal and ITV want to do more episodes – unsurprising given the huge audiences it generates in the UK and its popularity in the US but the question is, does Fellowes?
Fellowes is currently writing the sixth series of Downton, which is due to go into production next month and air later this year, but sources close to him say that he will not necessarily be writing The Gilded Age next.
His agent declined to comment on whether or not he wants to write another series of Downton beyond the next one.
Irish actor Leech has left Downton so it is no surprise that he is in talks about other roles but it is not known what is in store for Carmichael and Froggatt’s characters this series as Fellowes has not yet delivered all the scripts.
However, a spokeswoman for the show also pointed out that Downton films for six months of the year, leaving the cast plenty of time to do other work; Hugh Bonneville filmed two other projects, including BBC2 satire W1A, in the time between series five and six, while Michelle Dockery (Lady Mary) has filmed dramas such as Restless. They also highlighted the fact that Downton only airs eight Sundays of the year, leaving 44 others for other producers to fill
Downton’s ratings have slipped a little with the premiere of the fifth series of ITV’s Downton Abbey drew an average audience of 8.4 million in September – the lowest debut since the show’s launch in 2010. But it still does big numbers for ITV - its top-rated 2014 edition had 10.8 million viewers in early November, making it ITV’s highest-rating drama after soap Coronation Street.
ITV usually recommissions the show on a yearly-basis, with negotiations – which are detailed due to the expense and talent availablity – tending to start in early spring and be completed by November.
Inevitably the network has been thinking about the future of the schedule without Downton, with sources saying that a number of independent producers have shows in development that could fill the all-important Sunday night drama slot should the hit show come to an end.
An ITV spokesman said: “We wouldn’t comment on speculative stories about our programmes.”
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