Here’s some great news to anyone addicted to Downton Abbey, the U.K. period drama set in the early decades of the 1900s, about an aristocratic family and the household staff who wait on them hand and foot. The show has been picked up for a third season—uh, I mean “series”—consisting of eight episodes that will follow the Crawley household into the roaring, post-war 1920s. The second season, also eight episodes, is just about to wrap up its initial run in Britain, and will premiere in the U.S. on PBS’s Masterpiece Theater on January 8, 2012.

What makes Downton Abbey, which swept the Emmys in the miniseries or TV movie categories, so delicious? For starters, there’s nothing stodgy about it, as each scene is filled with the titillating promise of sex or death—and, on the rare occasion, both. Sibling rivalries, conniving coworkers, whirlwind romance and forbidden love—all of it plays out against the grounds of a stunning English estate in rapid decline. There’s also an obsessive amount of attention paid to detail: A meal service, a fox hunt, or simply getting dressed for the day with the help of one’s valet are all transformed into visual poetry. (There have been complaints that the second season has incorporated several anachronistic turns of phrase, with one character even going so far as to exclaim, “As if!” But seeing as it hasn’t aired in the U.S. yet, I’ll reserve judgment.)

And then, of course, there’s Dame Maggie Smith, who plays Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham—the uppity grand matriarch of the Crowley clan. Smith is clearly having the time of her life delivering the stinging and hilarious dialogue written for her by series creator Julian Fellowes (who won an Oscar for Gosford Park). The role earned her the 2011 Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie. Two more seasons! Hooray.

Watch Downton Abbey Full Seasons

There’s death, sex and more scandal in this saucy episode. Mary once more connives to allow an illicit tryst within the house, this time for another member of the household. Two affairs go on while one draws to a conclusion with Ethel facing the parents of her baby’s Father to decide upon the boy’s fate.

Spanish flu has spread throughout Europe following the Great War. Fate rolls the dice on the lives of those at Downton Abbey. Who will survive the night when several of the stately home’s inhabitants are taken ill? Isobel is once more in her element, though Doctor Clarkson can no longer pull rank and tell her to go away. Similarly, Thomas wiles his way back into the household by being helpful while Carson and Molsley are incapacitated. O’Brien feels that the chaos might give her the opportunity she needs to salve her conscience and apologize to the Countess for her unforgivable deeds.

There seems to be no end in sight for Matthew and Mary, for whom there are an endless stream of reasons why they do not have a future. In contrast, it seems that Sybil and Branson have swiftly written themselves out of a life at Downton, the only question being whether the family will stay in touch or not. Whilst the other members of the household buzz about, Lady Mary is left wondering where the drama is in her life. Granny comes to the rescue, however. Maggie Smith has some more excellent lines including “Don’t be defeatist dear, it’s very middle class”, as well as some aristocratic scheming of the sort historians could only dream of – re-writing family lines and pulling major strings to advance a career.

Watch Downton Abbey Season 2 Episode 8 for All viewers

Downton Abbey Season 2 Episode 8 airs on ITV at 9pm on 6th November 2011 for UK viewers only.

Cast

• Lady Rosamund Painswick played by Samantha Bond
• Earl of Grantham, Robert played by Hugh Bonneville
• Lavinia Swire played by Zoe Boyle
• Lady Sybil Crawley played by Jessica Brown Findlay
• Lady Edith Crawley played by Laura Carmichael
• Mr Carson played by Jim Carter
• John Bates played by Brendan Coyle
• Lady Mary Crawley played by Michelle Dockery
• Molesley played by Kevin Doyle
• Vera Bates played by Maria Doyle Kennedy
• Sarah O’Brien played by Siobhan Finneran
• Anna Smith played by Joanne Froggatt
• William Mason played by Thomas Howes
• Thomas Barrow played by Rob James-Collier
• Tom Branson played by Allen Leech
• Mrs Hughes played by Phyllis Logan
• Andrew Lang played by Cal Macaninch
• Countess of Grantham, Cora played by Elizabeth McGovern
• Daisy Robinson played by Sophie McShera
• Mrs Patmore played by Lesley Nicol
• Ethel Parks played by Amy Nuttall
• Doctor Clarkson played by David Robb
• Dowager Countess of Grantham, Violet played by Maggie Smith
• Matthew Crawley played by Dan Stevens
• Isobel Crawley played by Penelope Wilton

Crew

Written and created by Julian Fellowes
Executive Producers: Gareth Neame, Julian Fellowes
Producer: Liz Trubridge
Line Producer: Charles Hubbard
Director: Ashley Pearce