PBS announces “Downton Abbey” Season 4 premiere date

Tue, 14 May 2013 16:45:00 +0000

PBS has announced that Season 4 of British period drama "Downton Abbey" will premiere on Jan. 5, 2014. The season will run for eight weeks, ending on Feb. 23.

Like the seasons before it, the fourth season will again lag the U.K.'s broadcast, which will run in the autumn of 2013 on ITV. Last season, this caused some controversy among fans, as spoilers and leaked videos hit the Internet before the U.S. broadcast -- the biggest upset being the death of Matthew Crawley in the season finale.

In February, PBS president Paula Kerger told Salon that despite the possibility of spoilers, a several-month lag in broadcasting still makes sense for the scrappy network:

The British sex abuse bombshells keep pouring in

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 16:36:00 +0000

For 30 years, Michael Le Vell has played a part on Britain's enduring soap opera "Coronation Street." In real life, it turns out, he was living a kind of soap-operatic drama: On Friday, he was charged with an alarming number of sex offenses, including "raping a child, indecently assaulting a child and sexual activity with a child." Le Vell, whose real name is Michael Turner, will appear in court on February 27 to face charges stemming from an investigation of his activities — a total of nine years, between 2001 and 2010.

The father of two separated from his wife in 2011, shortly before he was arrested on suspicion of a sex offense involving a young girl. At the time, he "strenuously" denied the accusation, vowing to "do everything in my power to prove my innocence." The investigation was dropped three months later due to insufficient evidence, and Le Vell declared himself "completely exonerated."

Salon.com > ITV

PBS announces “Downton Abbey” Season 4 premiere date

The British sex abuse bombshells keep pouring in