*here in the US.

We should preface this new discussion with a simple note that anyone who does watch when it airs in the UK please not post spoilers, since the majority of us will be stuck waiting out the PBS airing of the show. If I read a spoiler here about the show after it starts airing in the UK, I will delete the post. We want to keep this to discussing what we hope or think will happen until the show does air in the US (since by then everyone will have had a chance to see the show)...once the show is airing in the US then we can talk about what is going on each week.

Okay now that all that is out of the way... I have read that Julian Fellowes purposely decided to kill Matthew off in the Christmas Special/US finale so that when the next season starts he can move the story forward a bit and not have to deal with doing a funeral and the mourning period. The story for season 4 starts up at least 6 months after Matthew's untimely death - not to say Mary will have gotten over him by then, but according to what Fellowes has said in interviews, given the time period she lived in, she would have to move on with her life sooner than later and has less of a luxury to stay unmarried than say, Tom does. He has also stated that a big focus of next season will be on Mary - raising the heir to Downton, dealing with the loss of Matthew, and having to move on with her life.

I read that Rob-James Collier who plays Thomas will be wearing a very expensive wig when the show returns because he had to shave his head for another project he's doing. I wonder if we will notice the difference?

New casting news to report - Actor Paul Giamatti will be appearing next season in the show's season 4 finale as Cora's playboy brother, Harold Levinson. Harold arrives at Downton with their mother, Martha, who will again be played by Shirley MacLaine.

I am both happy and concerned about Paul Giamatti appearing on Downton. He's one of my favorite actors, but I'm unsure how the will develop his character. Will it run more in the family and he'll be more like Shirley MacLaine's character, or more of a serious, sophisticated serious? Whatever the case he is a great actor and I will enjoying seeing what his character has to bring to the show.

I guess our only real hint at what his character will be like is in the choice of calling him a playboy... which I would not take to mean the character is a serious guy or very sophisticated and thus will likely clash with the likes of Robert, who very much is sophisticated and serious. Kind of the same differing of personalities on display between Martha and Violet.

I did read that unlike last season, Julian Fellowes plans to have the Christmas Special end on a high note, or at least more of a positive than a shocking death. Assuming that when our press reported on it and said the character would arrive in the finale that they meant our finale which is the UK Christmas Special, then his character will be meant to inject some fun to the proceedings I would think... I could be very wrong though...

New casting news for season 4 - Tom Branson is getting a new love interest in the form of actress Daisy Lewis. Lewis is playing the governess hired to take care of Branson's daughter Sybil and she will be helping both to overcome the loss of Lady Sybil. The romance is supposedly going to play a big part in the upcoming season as will the character of Tom in general, who will be playing a more important role in the family as manager of the estate.

Here's a link to an article that has a picture of Daisy Lewis in case anyone's curious what she looks like: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/s183/downton-abbey/news/a498529/downton-abbey-daisy-lewis-cast-as-branson-love-interest.html

No word on her character's name yet from what I can tell...

It's going to be so bitter sweet. Happy that Tom will be moving on and getting another chance at love, but sad that it's just a reminder that Sybil is no longer.

I know what you mean. It's weird, I'm totally okay with Mary moving on but not so much with Tom. Perhaps because Mary was courted by other men before she and Matthew finally got together while Tom and Sybil were each other's only loves...?

I just hope the new love isn't pushy and annoying like the maid that was trying to get with him in the last episode...I did not care for her at all.

New pics for season 4 have been posted online for anyone interested -http://www.digitalspy.com/british-tv/s183/downton-abbey/news/a501753/downton-abbey-series-four-first-look-pictures.html


I completely forgot that Mary and Matthew's son was going to be named George...makes me wonder now if Prince William and Duchess Catherine are Downton fans...

New interview with Michelle Dockery talking about Matthew's exit and Mary's prospects in season 4, for anyone interested:

http://tvline.com/2013/08/06/michelle-dockery-dan-stevens-leaving-downton-abbey-death/

News on the new season that came out of their recent TCA dinner, per Zap2it.com -

"•It's 1922 -- the house is in deep mourning for Matthew and this season will cover Feb 1922 into the spring/summer of 1923. The roaring 20s are upon us.
•Lady Mary is not handling Matthew's death very well: "My husband is dead. After all he suffered in the war, he's killed in a stupid car crash. ... Leave me alone."
•It is Lady Violet who wants to bring Mary out of her grief, "It is our job to bring her back to the world," comforting her and encouraging her to re-enter the world.
•One of the ways Lady Violet wants to help Mary move on is to involve her in the running of the estate, since it is her son who will be the heir. Lady Violet sets Tom out as Mary's guide in teaching her how to help run the estate.
•Someone else not handling Matthew's death very well is his mother, Cousin Isobel. She heartbreakingly says, "When your only child dies, then you're not a mother anymore. You're not anything, really." *sniffle*
•Executive producer Gareth Neame teases a beautiful scene:
"Mary and Tom Branson and Isobel Crawley play the scene together and it's with the children, all three of them are widows. ... They all reflect on their great, deep loves. ... It's a beautiful scene where they describe how deeply they loved their partners and before it gets maudlin, Isobel says, 'Aren't we the lucky ones?' and talk about just having known these deep loves."

•Lady Edith is meeting with her newspaper man, Mr. Gregson, who is going to become a German citizen in order to be with her. He says, "I'd become an eskimo if it meant I could marry you." Oooh!
•Lady Rose wants to hit the town for a dance and asks Anna to be her chaperone. Naturally, Anna's not quite sure about that.
•Carson gets some bad news via a letter and Mrs. Hughes, like any self-respecting housekeeper, snoops to find out what it is, but we don't get to know yet.

And in possibly big news, Thomas may have told Lady Cora about what O'Brien did with the soap. We cannot confirm that, but it's maybe implied in the footage we saw. Intrigue! The actress who plays O'Brien, Siobhan Finneran, is not returning for Season 4, so it wouldn't surprise us if Thomas spills the beans."

Another article about info that came out of the TCA's - a little more info in this one than what I got out of the last, but some of the same stuff in it too... here's the link for anyone interested...

http://tvline.com/2013/08/06/downton-abbey-series-5-final-season-end-date/

Well, it's not much but it's something - the first promo for the new season is out, anyone interested can check it out here: http://tvline.com/2013/08/31/downton-abbey-season-4-spoilers-video-marys-love-interests/

Things flash so fast it's hard to get much of a gist of anything, but it still made me very happy and excited!

Mary replacing Matthew I think will be hard.