We’ve known for a few months now that Downton Abbey will officially be ending after Season 6. With that in mind, the slew of actors involved with the popular PBS period drama—not to mentioned the creative team—are already looking to find brand new projects. On Monday, we learned that Michelle Dockery, who plays Lady Mary on Downton Abbey, has signed on for Good Behavior, a brand new pilot that will take the actress to cabler TNT.
Good Behavior is actually a pretty amusing title, considering the premise of the pilot. The project is based on a series of books written by Wayward Pines writer Blake Crouch which star a young lady called Letty Dobesh who is described as a “gorgeous, degenerate thief” who has recently been released from prison, only to find herself in a different sort of trouble after she overhears a hitman getting hired and decides to try and stop the plot. Deadline says Wayward Pines showrunner Chad Hodge is behind the pilot, and he and Blake Crouch will be penning the project.
It’s interesting that Dockery is choosing to stick with television. Clearly, Good Behavior should be an interesting role for the actress, who has played a stilted upper-class Brit on Downton Abbey for years now. It’ll also give the actress a chance to flex her leading woman muscles; although arguably Dockery is one of the key characters on Downton, she’s currently still part of a major ensemble endeavor. However, Dockery’s former co-star Dan Stevens has managed the transition to film since he quit Downton Abbey a couple of years ago, appearing in movie roles like The Guest and The Fifth Estate. It’s a little surprising that Dockery isn’t attempting to forge the same big screen path.
Honestly, the sheer scope and variety of TV programs these days has changed over the last several years. While at Comic-Con over the weekend, actors as varied as Halle Berry and Ron Pearlman had positive things to say about the TV landscape and the variety of roles that are available to individuals of every age, race and gender on both streaming and traditional TV platforms right now. It’s a welcome change of pace for TV fans to see incredibly crafted stories on the small screen, and it has changed the way a lot of actors and actresses have perceived TV roles. Hopefully Dockery’s latest will keep her in the TV realm for years and years to come.
Although it could be some time before TNT decides whether or not it wants to pick up Good Behavior, we should be able to catch Dockery on the small screen much sooner than that.If Downton Abbey follows its usual trajectory, it should hit ITV late this fall, and premiere on PBS in January of 2016.
