Country of origin United Kingdom Original network ITV | No. of episodes 8 + Christmas special | |
Original release 18 September (2011-09-18) – 6 November 2011 (2011-11-06) | ||
The second series of British-American historical period drama television series Downton Abbey aired from 18 September 2011 to 6 November 2011, comprising a total of 8 episodes and one Christmas Special episode aired on 25 December 2011. It was broadcast in the United Kingdom on ITV and in the United States on PBS on 8 January 2012. Series 2, explored the lives of the Crawley family and the events of Battle of the Somme, Battle of Amiens, Armistice of 11 November 1918, Russian Revolution to Spanish flu epidemic and their servants' ball in the early 1920s.
Contents
Series 2, received universal acclaim with critics praising cast, its historical depictions and story's arc. The viewing figures significantly increased compared with series 1, with an average of 11 million viewers per episode. Series was nominated for several industry awards. Maggie Smith received critical appraisal for her performance as Violet Crawley that earned her Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film, series itself won TCA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials.
Series overview
The second series covers events including the Battle of the Somme in 1916, the Battle of Amiens and the Armistice in 1918, the Russian Revolution and the Spanish flu epidemic; on the domestic front there is a serious shortage of able-bodied men for home front jobs. There is also the appointment of David Lloyd George (whom the Dowager Countess (Maggie Smith) despises) as Prime Minister and his creation of the wartime coalition. Matthew Crawley, Thomas Barrow and William Mason are off fighting in the war; Tom Branson, an Irishman, is unsure that he wants to fight for Britain; and Robert Crawley (Hugh Bonneville) cannot serve due to his age. Sybil Crawley (Jessica Brown Findlay) defies her aristocratic position and joins the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a nurse.
Downton Abbey: Behind the Drama and Christmas special
A 46-minute documentary compiled in anticipation of the Christmas 2011 two-hour special broadcast, Behind the Drama features behind-the-scenes footage from the filming of the series and short interviews with Julian Fellowes, the writer, actors (Elizabeth McGovern, Joanne Froggatt, Brendan Coyle, Dan Stevens, Michelle Dockery, Jessica Brown Findlay, Laura Carmichael, Penelope Wilton, Phyllis Logan, Thomas Howes, Lesley Nicol, Sophie McShera, Allen Leech) and other members of the team that produces Downton Abbey. It was shown in the United Kingdom at 7:30 pm on Wednesday 21 December 2011 and narrated by Hugh Bonneville. 4.5 million people watched the show.
Production
Filming began in March 2011 and was written by series creator Julian Fellowes and directed five directors namely Ashley Pearce, Andy Goddard, Brian Kelly and James Strong. Cal Macaninch, Iain Glen, Amy Nuttall, Zoe Boyle and Maria Doyle Kennedy joined the cast as, the new valet Lang, Sir Richard Carlisle, the new Housemaid Ethel, Lavinia Swire and John Bates' wife Vera, respectively. Nigel Havers and Sharon Small appeared in the Christmas Special as Lord Hepworth and Marigold Shore, Rosamund Painswick's maid, respectively.
Reception
Series two was highly acclaimed. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has fresh rating of 100% based on 24 reviews, with a weighted average of 8.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "With its excellent cast and resplendent period trappings, Downton Abbey continues to weave a bewitching, ingratiating spell." On Metacritic, the series 2 has a normalized score of 85 out of 100 based on 26 critics, indicating "Generally favourable reviews".
The series generally received overwhelming reviews from critics. Linda Stasi of New York Post wrote "The series seamlessly moves between the horrors of war and the gentility of life in the show's titular 100-room manor." Writing for TV Guide Magazine, Matt Roush said, "For those of us who hungered for a year to witness these new chapters, the appetite is insatiable." Wall Street Journal's television critic Dorothy Rabinowitz said, "The vibrant brew of upstairs-downstairs relationships is more savory now, the characters more complicated." Robert Bianco of USA Today also lauded the series saying, "There's nothing in Downton you won't recognize, and almost nothing you won't enjoy." Variety's chief television critic Brian Lowry praised the series cast and said "Julian Fellowes has created such a vivid group of characters and assembled such an impeccable cast--effortlessly oscillating from comedy to drama--that the hours fly by, addictively pulling viewers from one into the next." Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter said, "The characters are so beautifully and thoroughly rendered that we, as viewers, are caught up in their lives." Robert Lioyd of Los Angeles Times said, "It is big, beautiful, beautifully acted and romantic, its passions expressed with that particular British reserve that serves only to make them burn brighter."
Some media outlets and critics were more critical towards the show. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's TV critic Rob Owen wrote, "Writer/series creator Julian Fellowes weaves together an engrossing tapestry of stories, although some of them stretch credulity or peter out." Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times also gave the series moderate reviews by comparing to first series and said, "Season 2 is in many ways as captivating and addictive as the first, but this time around, the series comes off as a shameless throwback to itself." In a moderate review, Maureen Ryan of The Huffington Post said, "Your investment in the many stories spun out by creator Julian Fellowes may take longer to develop this year, because the costume drama's pace is off in the early going and it's far more contrived and inconsistent than it was in its first season." In a less enthusiastic review of Hank Stuever for Washington Post he quipped, "Downton Abbey lacks surprise and is stretched precariously thin, a house full of fascinating people with not nearly enough to do, all caught in a loop of weak storylines that circle round but never fully propel."