'Downton Abbey' Season 6 Is Happening

Before Season 5 even premieres here in the States, Downton Abbey has been renewed for Season 6! Executive producer Rebecca Eaton made the announcement, saying, "Good news! Just as our audience settles in for the beloved Crawley family drama, we can announce that Season 6 will arrive a year later. How lucky can you get?" Very lucky, we hope, though spoilers hint that there may be another big death this season. That isn't so lucky for one character.

Although the fifth season finale airs in the UK on Nov. 9, fans in the USA won't be able to see any new episodes until Jan. 4, 2015. Season 6 will go into production in 2015 as well, with creator Julian Fellowes hard at work writing the episodes now. I'm excited to see how big the time gap is between Season 5 and Season 6. When we reunite with the Crawleys in January, it will be 1924. Season 1 was initially set in 1912, meaning we've spanned 12 years in just five seasons. Could we jump ahead to the '30s in Season 6? Who knows, but seeing that change would definitely be interesting. If only everyone on Downton Abbey could live forever — would love to see the trouble they could get to in present day.

Image: PBS