The Downton Abbey Specials and Movies Ranked
DOWNTON ABBEY (2010–2015) and its characters have my heart in spite of all the show’s conservative instincts (maybe overtone?). The period detail and breezy effect of the prestige soap opera has a host of likable performers representing characters butting up against tremendous changes in British and global society in the 1910s and ’20s. Across six seasons, the series did a pretty good job of presenting the aristocracy in tension with the servant class and equalizing forces, although it still essentially presents the relationship as a kind of benign symbiosis. Since DOWNTON ABBEY’s conclusion in 2015, three feature films have been released that boil the dynamics of the show down into fan service that is even more escapist in its treatment of the drama. Additionally, aside from the first season, the series expanded with a run of five Christmas specials (not always set during the holiday) before its conclusion. In approaching writing about the three DOWNTON ABBEY movies, I questioned whether I should bring in my thoughts/rankings of the specials as well. Ultimately, though, these eight feature-length/semi-self-contained movie-ish things released in the nearly 14 years since 2011 chart the changing nature of the “franchise.”
#8 — DOWNTON ABBEY (2019)
D: Michael Engler
The first theatrical feature film for DOWNTON ABBEY, of the same name, represents the nadir for the series, which I still happen to like. Released four years after the end of the TV show, DOWNTON ABBEY contains traits that define the two movies to follow (which as you’ll see, do improve): extensive “fan service” regarding character relationships, indulgently reflective dialogue, revisionist history placing the characters into even more direct contact with historical figures, and somewhat outlandish plots, even by the standards of the melodramatic series. The royal assassination plot in this movie is a great microcosm of this. DOWNTON ABBEY, nevertheless, still offers familiar pleasures for fans of the series.
#7 — DOWNTON ABBEY: A NEW ERA (2022)
D: Simon Curtis
DOWNTON ABBEY: A NEW ERA, the sequel to the first movie, carries a lot of those same regrettable characteristics, this time bringing the family into a mystery regarding a villa in the south of France and an untold part of Violet’s (Maggie Smith’s) past. Meanwhile, the integration of changing film industry circumstances (the move from the silents to the talkies) to the Abbey is a pretty over-the-top escalation of the pop culture woven throughout episodes of the show. The latter is certainly more intriguing, at least for this film nerd, and certainly not as ridiculous as the assassination attempt of the previous movie. The former does also lead to a wonderful farewell for Maggie Smith’s character, which admittedly led to some tears. So while A NEW ERA still has a host of rankling contrivances, it feels a bit more in line with the earnest sentimentality of the show than DOWNTON ABBEY.
#6 — DOWNTON ABBEY: THE GRAND FINALE (2025)
D: Simon Curtis
It should be mentioned that each of the theatrical features is essentially worse than any episode of the show. That being said, DOWNTON ABBEY: THE GRAND FINALE feels the most like an extended episode of the series, and that’s helped along by its eschewing of the most extreme plot points of the previous two films. Sure, there are still ridiculous moments like Noël Coward (Arty Froushan) coming up with the concept and name of PRIVATE LIVES (1930) while visiting the Crawleys. But overall, it’s the story of Mary (Michelle Dockery) dealing with divorce from Henry Talbot (played by Matthew Goode in the series and briefly in the first movie, but who also hadn’t appeared in the final two films), the servants putting together the county fair, and the household dealing with the increasingly dire straits of the family’s financial situation as the peerage system continues decaying. Doesn’t that sound like a typical episode of DOWNTON ABBEY? Its greatest flaw it does share with the other movies, however, as the clear, basically sunny look of the show is transferred into the flat mush of digital cinematography and shooting that is much too common in visual media today. Otherwise, THE GRAND FINALE (which I’m not sure is going to be the total last DOWNTON installment) is certainly more cozy and satisfying than its two predecessors (plus, it features the return of Paul Giamatti!).
#5 — DOWNTON ABBEY: A MOORLAND HOLIDAY (2014)
D: Minkie Spiro
DOWNTON ABBEY: A MOORLAND HOLIDAY is season five’s Christmas special and brings the family to the Pelhams’ castle. It introduces both Mary and Edith’s (Laura Carmichael’s) love interests/husbands that would continue throughout the rest of the series and movies, which admittedly docks it a few points for me, as I don’t really love the characters of Henry or Bertie Pelham (Harry Hadden-Paton). But the blossoming of the relationship between Carson (Jim Carter) and Mrs. Hughes (Phyllis Logan) and the Christmas vibes are incredibly sweet. A MOORLAND HOLIDAY has some great views in its unique location and some great developments for the characters, but other extreme scenarios (I never really loved how the show handled Bates’ [Brendan Coyle’s] character and drama) bring it lower than the show’s other specials.
#4 — DOWNTON ABBEY: CHRISTMAS AT DOWNTON ABBEY (2011)
D: Brian Percival
DOWNTON ABBEY: CHRISTMAS AT DOWNTON ABBEY, like A MOORLAND HOLIDAY, also features some Bates trouble, so that brings it a bit down in my esteem. But this first special for the show, which still contains much of the initial composition of the cast (for example, Dan Stevens as Matthew and Jessica Brown Findlay as Sybil), establishes the cheery vibes of the Christmas-set ones to come that nevertheless meet the “duh duh duuuh” moments of the melodramatic plot points. Viewing CHRISTMAS AT DOWNTON ABBEY after all the other specials and movies to come (and of course, the rest of the show) makes it feel so quaint, perhaps just because everyone is so much younger 14 years ago than they are now, who knew!?
#3 — DOWNTON ABBEY: THE FINALE (2015)
D: Michael Engler
I struggled with the placement of, well, all the specials, but especially the top three. DOWNTON ABBEY: THE FINALE fittingly feels like the movies to come, in that it brings a lot of threads together and resolves some relationships in sentimental ways (not all “earned,” however). But it’s all so damn charming. Isobel’s (Penelope Wilton’s) storyline of newfound love is especially affecting since she’s probably my favorite character in DOWNTON ABBEY. And otherwise, its rendering of the mid-20s, six seasons after the show debuted with a setting of 1912, really makes the passage of time felt. THE FINALE, while not ultimately the final chapter for this story and these characters, is a fitting send-off to a great series.
#2 — DOWNTON ABBEY: THE LONDON SEASON (2013)
D: Jon East
DOWNTON ABBEY: THE LONDON SEASON ranks so highly for me because it’s the most unique special, which were always released on Christmas day. This wrap-up of season four is set during the summer, however, when the landed gentry spend the season in England’s capital. This allows for an array of new sets, locations, and characters which really expanded the “universe” of DOWNTON ABBEY. Most notably, Giamatti’s inclusion as Cora Crawley’s (Elizabeth McGovern’s) American brother Harold brings a great thread of levity to the demeanors of the exceedingly British characters and scenarios. The special also compellingly depicts the radical stylistic changes happening in 1923, bringing the show a bit more squarely into the Jazz Age. THE LONDON SEASON is just a delightful deviation for the show and its relocation of the cast into the urban center of the country stood out then and now (although the films have of course expanded things even further).
#1 — DOWNTON ABBEY: A JOURNEY TO THE HIGHLANDS (2012)
D: Andy Goddard
When I was thinking about the specials specifically, DOWNTON ABBEY: A JOURNEY TO THE HIGHLANDS kept coming immediately to mind. It of course features the famous/notorious/infamous (?) death of a key character, leaving things in flux at the end of the third season. So while A JOURNEY TO THE HIGHLANDS doesn’t conclude in a way that the other Christmas specials do (as in, happily), this midway point of the series perfectly represents its themes regarding the changing of the guard and the degradation of the cushiest of positions. Furthermore, the titular trip to Scotland offers some tremendous shots, something in common with A MOORLAND HOLIDAY and I suppose the show in general, which is very good at setting picturesque views to swelling music. A JOURNEY TO THE HIGHLANDS maybe isn’t the single best “episode” of DOWNTON ABBEY (although clearly, I and others don’t quite consider the specials as straight ahead “episodes” exactly), but when it comes to the movie-shaped experiences the series has come to offer, it’s the best blend of comforting aesthetics, likable characters, and (some might say cheap) drama.
