PBS reveals airdate for the final season of Downton Abbey...

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All good things must come to an end, and for Downton Abbey fans in the US, the final countdown will start next year.



PBS revealed today at the Television Critics Association press tour that the period drama's sixth and final season will debut on the network on Sunday, January 3, 2016, after the show has finished in the UK.

The final outing for Julian Fellowes's drama will pick up six months after last year's Christmas episode, and consists of eight episodes and a Christmas special.

Main cast members expected to return include the likes of Hugh Bonneville, Jim Carter, Michelle Dockery, Joanne Froggatt, Rob-James Collier, Phyllis Logan and Sophie McShera.

Dame Maggie Smith, Elizabeth McGovern, Lesley Nicol, Laura Carmichael and Penelope Wilton are also thought to be coming back for the grand finale.

Nicol has previously said that fans will be "very happy" with Downton Abbey's final storylines, and praised Fellowes for bringing the show to an end at the right time.

"He's kept the standard up to the end. The storylines are still great and there's stuff that is going to make people very happy," she said.

"It has to be better than it going on and people saying, 'Oh, it went [downhill] so maybe it is the right time'."

Season six of Downton Abbey will begin in the US on PBS on January 3. UK viewers can watch on ITV this autumn.

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Downton Abbey to get Rose Parade float

Get ready to see Downton Abbey in a way you've never seen it before - on the back of a float at the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California.

Speaking at the Television Critics Association (TCA) press tour on Saturday (August 1), PBS chief Paula Kerger teased fans with what to expect from the season 6 premiere stunt.

"It's a float and will have a lot of flowers on it and it will be a Downton Abbey theme," Kerger shared. "Sometimes at public television we are accused of not having a sense of humour, or fun, or whimsy. And no, I won't be on it."

The sixth season of Julian Fellowes' hit drama series is set to premiere in the US on PBS on January 3, 2016, two days after the Rose Parade takes place.

At the event, Kerger also spoke about how Downton Abbey is a TV programme with the ability to bring people together.

"There is no question [the show] has been a great gift," she added. "It definitely has gotten more people watching public television again.

"That kind of collective viewing, people will make an effort to be home to watch it together. We're inherently social beings. You can watch Downton a gazillion ways … but people will make an effort to watch [on] Sunday nights."

Earlier this year ITV confirmed that Downton Abbey's sixth season would be its last, with the final episode due to air during the Christmas season in the UK.

Season six of Downton Abbey will begin in the US on PBS on January 3. UK viewers can watch on ITV this autumn.