Downton Abbey
PBS | ITV1 | ITV | INGTV | Release Date: January 9, 2011
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
80
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 141 Critic Reviews
Positive:
126
Mixed:
14
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
HitfixAlan SepinwallFeb 14, 2011
Season 1 Review: Now, I wouldn't say I loved it. Parts of it I didn't even like. I became quite engaged with what was going on downstairs with the servants, while I found virtually everything having to do with the Granthams (at least the parts unrelated to how they dealt with the staff) a chore to get through. Read full review
58
Boston HeraldMark A. PerigardJan 4, 2016
Season 6 Review: There’s much intrigue and backbiting going on in the small domestic household of the Dowager Countess, but that, too, ultimately goes nowhere. Fellowes hints at drama and pulls his punches. Read full review
58
Boston HeraldMark A. PerigardJan 2, 2014
Season 4 Review: All this twee is verging on twaddle. Read full review
50
Denver PostJoanne OstrowJan 4, 2016
Season 6 Review: While it's wonderful to be reacquainted with the various charming characters for the sixth and final season, the series' essential problems remain: A lack of subtlety as plot turns are signaled and then underscored; a tendency to keep certain characters stuck in one emotional state for prolonged periods--how much more angst can Anna and Bates (Joanne Froggatt and Brendan Coyle) telegraph again and again?, and a reliance on our allegiance to certain actors. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerTirdad DerakhshaniJan 4, 2016
Season 6 Review: This season disappoints when it comes to Mary's story arc.... When Downton ends in March, it will end as it began, quietly, politely, and most certainly not with a bang or narrative flourish. Read full review
50
Yahoo TVKen TuckerJan 4, 2016
Season 6 Review: While the upcoming season is uneven--there are a few awfully wobbly moments in the saggy middle hours--the series is well on its way to going out in a manner that will have its fans sweetening their cups of tea with salty tears. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineMatt BrennanJan 4, 2015
Season 5 Review: Unfortunately, these flickers of the show's once exuberant energy are too few and far between to sustain the viewer through extended stretches of flagging interest. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleDavid WiegandJan 3, 2015
Season 5 Review: Downton Abbey is not the best show on television, or even as good as it was in the first season. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to watch. Read full review
50
The Daily BeastKevin FallonJan 10, 2014
Season 4 Review: Its characters are depressingly the same.... Pretty much everyone else is recycling their old plot points, too. Read full review
50
Kansas City StarSara SmithJan 3, 2014
Season 4 Review: Showrunner Julian Fellowes knew he had to spice things up, apparently, so he employed a lazy, “shocking” plot device that will leave fans sickened, indignant and wondering why Fellowes just didn’t give his beloved characters something worthwhile to do instead. That offensive event aside, this season’s repetitive tropes, recycled conflicts and predictable heartbreak are not worth the trouble this time around. Read full review
50
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob OwenJan 3, 2014
Season 4 Review: The show is becoming somewhat repetitive and a bit dull to the point that it feels like Downton, already renewed for a fifth season, needs to wrap it up sooner rather than later lest it overstay its welcome. Read full review
50
SlateWilla PaskinJan 3, 2014
Season 4 Review: The show makes Granthams of all of us: content with what we have now (a middling costume soap opera) because we can still remember its glorious past (that first season). It’s safer and cozier than a show about open class warfare. Read full review
50
Washington PostHank StueverJan 6, 2012
Season 2 Review: 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. Read full review
40
SalonSonia SaraiyaJan 8, 2015
Season 5 Review: Downton Abbey is not even trying anymore.... despite its astonishing talent and productive values, took the path of predictable, repetitive soap opera. Read full review
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