PBS Addresses Spoiler Issues Surrounding 'Downton Abbey'

Season three of “Downton Abbey” has wrapped in the U.S., leaving many viewers shocked by the surprise ending.

However, many other viewers had the ending entirely ruined by early plot spoilers, and didn’t quite experience the full intended effect.

Since the show runs a season ahead in the U.K., fans in other areas often stumble accidentally across key facts on the Internet… and it doesn’t make them happy.

PBS, however, plans to continue airing the show a season behind. President Paula Kerger said last month that the network decided against moving the show from winter to fall, to keep it safe from competition from other networks.

“We’re not punishing our viewers,” Kerger said. However, while “Downton Abbey” is the most-watched series in PBS history, Kerger expressed that running it in the fall would possibly deplete viewership in competition with major cable networks.

“To put ‘Downton’ in the teeth of that, I’m not sure serves anyone well,” she explained. “We want to be sure it’s seen by as many people as possible.”

There is good news—creator Julian Fellows says he has two more seasons outlined. However, he doesn’t want to bring “Downton” into the 1930’s… He says he is contemplating a prequel that would focus on the Crawley family, decades before the original “Downton” took place.

Season four is set to film soon, so fans in the U.S. can look forward to January 5^th, 2014 for the next season and an answer to the ending that dropped jaws around the world.

If you missed the episode, you can read the recap here.