I usually follow American TV shows to the point that I have the dates and times of their airing on my calendar. Lately there have been some British productions that have caught my eye, and these three are all in the same period, something that might be in vogue over there.
Downton Abbey is a drama about an aristocrat family and their servants facing the new century and the new British social structure and lifestyle. Things like the automobile, the telephone, WWI and the Irish revolution are some of the events that the family has endured through the show. I usually don’t like these kind of dramas, but after one or two episodes I wanted to know more about the characters that I ended up watching the two first seasons in two days.
Upstairs Downstairs is also about the difference between aristocrats and their servants in the same period. Despite considering it a Downton copycat, being more fast-paced, I ended up enjoying the show.
Parade’s End is also set in the same period as the other two, but focus on the matrimonial (and extra-matrimonial) affairs of Mr and Mrs Tietjens (Benedict Cumberbatch and Rebecca Hall). Rebecca Hall plays a hell of a character, and was the reason I made it though the first episode. I don’t regret watching the rest of the show.