Season 3 of Downton Abbey only recently wrapped up its U.S. run on television. Regardless, casting is already well underway for Season 4. Some of the new names include Tom Cullen, Joanna David, Nigel Harman, Kiri Te Kanawa, Julian Ovenden, and Harriet Walter. In addition to the new faces, Shirley MacLaine will reprise her role as Cora’s mother and the Dowager countess’ verbal sparring partner in the next batch of episodes.
The new cast members will join the show in a variety of social positions, from lords and ladies to household workers. According to the AP, of the new house members, Harman will play the new valet, Green. Upstairs, Cullen will play a friend of the Crawleys and Walter will play a confidante of the Dowager Countess. Finally, David and Ovenden will both play aristocrats, as well, with David only signed on for a guest appearance.
It’s no surprise that the program has already added a slew of new names. Downton Abbey is pretty famous for introducing plenty of new characters into its massive ensemble cast each season, but perhaps more importantly, the cast has some big shoes to fill. Both Dan Stevens and Jessica Brown Findlay left the show during Season 3 and just recently, Siobhan Finneran announced she would not be returning in order to pursue other projects. There may be a lot of changes coming to Downton in Season 4, but somehow I’m more excited than usual to see how the upcoming season will play out. Fans in the U.S., especially, still have a while to wait, though.
