PBS Winter/Spring Lineup Including 'Downton Abbey' Finale and 'Mercy Street' Premiere

The final season of Downton Abbey, airing now in the UK, premieres on PBS in the US on January 3.

The winter/spring primetime PBS schedule offers a number of exciting new beginnings, awaited returns and a few goodbyes: most notably to one of television's most beloved dramas, "Downton Abbey" on MASTERPIECE, whose final season premieres January 3. PBS welcomes the highly anticipated premiere of its Civil War drama MERCY STREET on January 17 (see a clip here), and the return of the MASTERPIECE hits "Sherlock" (date TBA), and the British mystery series "Grantchester" this spring.

A chronological listing of winter and spring 2016 PBS programs follows, grouped by month and by premiere dates:

JANUARY ON PBS:

GREAT PERFORMANCES "From Vienna: The New Year's Celebration 2016" - The Vienna Philharmonic under the baton of Mariss Jansons performs favorite Strauss Family waltzes at the opulent Musikverein accompanied by the Vienna City Ballet. Stage and screen legend Julie Andrews returns as host, touring the picturesque city. - Friday, January 1, 2:30-4:00 p.m. and 7:30-9:00 p.m. ET

MASTERPIECE "Downton Abbey, The Final Season" - The top PBS drama of all time approaches its climactic chapter. The year is 1925. Momentous changes threaten the great house, and its owners and its servants, while past scandals loom. The beloved ensemble is back for the farewell season, closing the book on a television legend. - Sundays, January 3 - February 21, 9:00 p.m. ET; series finale March 6, 9:00 p.m. ET

PBS has just released a sneak peek of the final season. Watch below:

Watch the Making of The Dowager Countess Cake (Video)

It's not the real Maggie Smith, it's the Dowager Countess Cake

It took cake and chocolate artist Karen Portaleo 18 hours to create this custom made Dowager Countess cake for Georgia Public Broadcasting's (GPB) season five premiere party for Downton Abbey. It is made with vanilla cake and buttercream, with an earl grey tea soak.

Watch the making of the cake below:

72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards: Complete List of Nominees

Nominees for the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards were announced this morning from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA. Kate Beckinsale, two-time Golden Globe Award-nominee Peter Krause, Paula Patton, and Golden Globe-winner and five-time nominee Jeremy Piven joined Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) President Theo Kingma for the announcement. Nominations were announced in 25 categories:

TELEVISION

Best TV Comedy or Musical
Girls
Jane the Virgin
Orange Is the New Black
Silicon Valley
Transparent

Best TV Drama
The Affair
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
The Good Wife
House of Cards

21st SAG Awards: Complete List of Nominees

The nominations for the 21st Screen Actors Guild Awards were announced on Wednesday. Check out a complete list of nominees below:

Performance by an ensemble in a drama series
Boardwalk Empire
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
Homeland
House of Cards

Performance by an ensemble in a comedy series
The Big Bang Theory
Modern Family
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Orange Is the New Black
Veep

Facebook Top 10 TV Shows, Movies, Entertainers and Songs of 2014

Facebook has revealed its most-mentioned movies, TV shows, songs and entertainers of 2014 via its new Year in Review website.

Top 10 TV Shows
1. Game of Thrones
2. Orange is the New Black
3. The Walking Dead
4. The Big Bang Theory
5. Downton Abbey

'Downton Abbey' Renewed for Sixth Season

ITV and Carnival Films announced this morning that Downton Abbey will return for a sixth season. The show's fifth season premiered in the UK on September 21, and will debut January 4 in the US on PBS.

Downton Abbey tells intimately interlaced stories centered on an English country estate—a deliciously entertaining formula that has made it the highest-rated drama in PBS history.

Season 5 features returning stars Maggie Smith, Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery, Elizabeth McGovern, Jim Carter, Laura Carmichael, Joanne Froggatt, Allen Leech, Robert James-Collier, Penelope Wilton, Phyllis Logan, Lily James, Brendan Coyle, Lesley Nicol, Sophie McShera, Samantha Bond, Ed Speleers, Kevin Doyle, Raquel Cassidy, David Robb, Tom Cullen, Julian Ovenden, Daisy Lewis, Douglas Reith, Jeremy Swift, and Andrew Scarborough.

The ensemble is joined by guest stars Harriet Walter (Atonement), reprising her role as Lady Shackleton, and Peter Egan (Death at a Funeral), who returns as Lord Flintshire, together with completely new characters played by Richard E. Grant (Girls), Anna Chancellor (The Hour), and Rade Sherbedgia (24).

Note: Downton Abbey
RELATED:
* 'Downton Abbey' Season 5 Trailer Released! Premieres September 21 on ITV, January 4 on PBS
* George Clooney to Appear In an ITV 'Downton Abbey' Christmas Sketch

George Clooney to Appear In an ITV 'Downton Abbey' Christmas Sketch

George Clooney will appear in a Downton Abbey sketch during ITV's Text Santa telethon.

Oscar-winner George Clooney will guest-star in a Downton Abbey sketch airing as part of an annual charity telethon broadcast by the UK's ITV network.

According to The Daily Telegraph, Clooney has already filmed his scenes for the special, Text Santa, which is scheduled to be broadcast in the UK around the holidays.

Clooney told another British paper in February he was "too lowly for a part" on the acclaimed show, airing in the United States on PBS, joking, "I can't do the accent either."

The fifth season of Downton Abbey premieres on September 21 on the UK's ITV. The series returns to the U.S. on January 4.

'Downton Abbey' Season 5 Trailer Released! Premieres September 21 on ITV, January 4 on PBS

Downton Abbey returns for an epic fifth season of intimately interlaced stories centered on an English country estate—a deliciously entertaining formula that has made it the highest-rated drama in PBS history. Downton Abbey, Season 5, airs Sundays, January 4 - March 1, 2015 on Masterpiece on PBS.

Note: Downton Abbey premieres September 21 in the UK on ITV.

Season 5 features returning stars Maggie Smith, Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery, Elizabeth McGovern, Jim Carter, Laura Carmichael, Joanne Froggatt, Allen Leech, Robert James-Collier, Penelope Wilton, Phyllis Logan, Lily James, Brendan Coyle, Lesley Nicol, Sophie McShera, Samantha Bond, Ed Speleers, Kevin Doyle, Raquel Cassidy, David Robb, Tom Cullen, Julian Ovenden, Daisy Lewis, Douglas Reith, Jeremy Swift, and Andrew Scarborough.

This acclaimed ensemble is joined by guest stars Harriet Walter (Atonement), reprising her role as Lady Shackleton, and Peter Egan (Death at a Funeral), who returns as Lord Flintshire, together with completely new characters played by Richard E. Grant (Girls), Anna Chancellor (The Hour), and Rade Sherbedgia (24).

'Downton Abbey' Season 5 Runs January 4 - March 1, 2015 on PBS (Spoilers)

Downton Abbey returns for an epic fifth season of intimately interlaced stories centered on an English country estate—a deliciously entertaining formula that has made it the highest-rated drama in PBS history. Downton Abbey, Season 5, airs Sundays, January 4 - March 1, 2015 on Masterpiece on PBS.

Note: Downton Abbey premieres September 21 in the UK on ITV.

Season 5 features returning stars Maggie Smith, Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery, Elizabeth McGovern, Jim Carter, Laura Carmichael, Joanne Froggatt, Allen Leech, Robert James-Collier, Penelope Wilton, Phyllis Logan, Lily James, Brendan Coyle, Lesley Nicol, Sophie McShera, Samantha Bond, Ed Speleers, Kevin Doyle, Raquel Cassidy, David Robb, Tom Cullen, Julian Ovenden, Daisy Lewis, Douglas Reith, Jeremy Swift, and Andrew Scarborough.

This acclaimed ensemble is joined by guest stars Harriet Walter (Atonement), reprising her role as Lady Shackleton, and Peter Egan (Death at a Funeral), who returns as Lord Flintshire, together with completely new characters played by Richard E. Grant (Girls), Anna Chancellor (The Hour), and Rade Sherbedgia (24).

2014 Primetime Emmy Nominations: Complete List of Nominees

Below are the nominations for the 66th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, announced this morning in Los Angeles.

Outstanding Drama Series
"Breaking Bad"
"Downton Abbey"
"Game of Thrones"
"House of Cards"
"Mad Men"
"True Detective"

Outstanding Comedy Series
"The Big Bang Theory"
"Louie"
"Modern Family"
"Orange is the New Black"
"Silicon Valley"
"Veep"

'Downton Abbey' 20-Second Teaser Released for Season 5

Judging from the newly-released ITV trailer for Downton Abbey's fifth season, the latest episodes will feature (spoiler alert!) polished silverware, heavy curtains and the return of a dinging service bell. And a plot line about things "changing."

Watch below:

'Downton Abbey' Tops Amazon Prime Instant Video’s Most Streamed List; Season Four Arrives Exclusively Today

Beginning today, Downton Abbey Season 4 is available for subscription streaming exclusively on Prime Instant Video.

Downton Abbey is the most watched TV series of all time on Prime Instant Video, with millions of Prime Instant Video customers having watched the show. With the addition of Season 4 today, Prime Instant Video is now the only video subscription service that offers all four seasons of Downton Abbey, and will continue to be the exclusive subscription home through Season 5.

A pre-World War I British period drama, Downton Abbey is one of the most widely watched and critically acclaimed television dramas in the world. The international series has won multiple Golden Globe, Primetime Emmy and Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Prime members have instant access to stream Downton Abbey on Fire TV, Kindle Fire, Kindle Fire HD, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Roku, Xbox, PlayStation 3, Wii and Wii U, among other connected TVs and devices—all at no additional cost to their membership.