--- title: "Downton Abbey: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/tv/downton-abbey/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/tv/downton-abbey" critics_score: 76 critics_reviews: 8 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Downton Abbey (2010): what the critics said Critics' score 76 from 8 reviews: 7 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics like it, and the reviews are warm rather than rapturous. The praise settles on the cast first: Maggie Smith’s dowager countess is singled out more than once, with Michelle Dockery close behind. Julian Fellowes’s dialogue is called witty and nuanced, and several reviewers admire how the series gives the servants’ storylines the same care as the family’s, so the two halves of the house feed each other. The setting is lavish, and nobody disputes it. The reservations gather around the opening episode. Several find it slow going, with too much talk of wills and entails and too much historical explanation before the drama starts. The Guardian, the least enthusiastic, thinks it leans on familiar period tropes, though it still finds Smith splendid. The Times calls it no Brideshead Revisited, ambitious in a middlebrow way, and the word middlebrow recurs, not always as an insult. A few note soapy or farcical moments. The spread is narrow; no one dislikes it. ## The Telegraph — Ceri Radford Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 24 September 2010. The opening episode is described as a sumptuous and instantly riveting glimpse of a world on the verge of profound change, with all the classic elements of a Sunday evening costume drama perfectly in place. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/8023974/Downton-Abbey-ITV1-review.html) ## Variety — Brian Lowry Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 6 January 2011. The critic finds the series compulsively watchable and fulfilling the Masterpiece designation more faithfully than most PBS entries in years. Fellowes' witty lines and the splendid, sprawling cast stand out, with multiple absorbing storylines handled with equal care across class lines. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2011/tv/reviews/downton-abbey-1117944256/) ## The AV Club — Meredith Blake Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 10 January 2011. The critic finds the US premiere of the series an unexpected delight and a dishy, engrossing melodrama that blends familiar upstairs-downstairs tropes with witty, risqué turns and strong character work. She singles out the superb cast (especially Maggie Smith and Michelle Dockery) and the symbiotic portrayal of upstairs and downstairs worlds for particular praise while noting some nostalgic and occasionally farcical elements. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/downton-abbey-episodes-1-3-1798166929) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Tim Goodman Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 8 January 2012. The returning series is as great as ever, with a fantastic web of stories about love, class, and longing wrapped in nuanced dialogue, exquisite detail, and wonderful acting. A few soapier moments do not dilute the overall brilliance. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/review-downton-abbey-returns-as-279487/) ## The Times — Andrew Billen Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 27 September 2010. Julian Fellowes’s lavish series is no Brideshead Revisited but is ambitious in its own middle-brow way, with strong character backstories and a sumptuous setting that draws viewers in after the first half hour. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/weekend-tv-downton-abbey-rmttj3gzg) ## Radio Times — Alison Graham Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). The review describes the first episode as slightly stodgy with talk of wills and entails but notes how audiences embraced the series worldwide. It highlights the setup of the Crawley family after the Titanic sinking and the arrival of Matthew Crawley. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/programme/b-cr9rax/downton-abbey-season-1/?episode=b-c0lf9s) ## The Independent — Sarah Sands Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 7 November 2010. The column praises Downton Abbey as the perfect middlebrow costume drama that captured audiences despite its flaws and anachronisms. It singles out the appeal of its stiff upper lip and downstairs action for older viewers. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/sarah-sands/sarah-sands-downton-abbey-is-sloppy-tosh-that-s-why-we-love-it-2127299.html) ## The Guardian Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 3 October 2010. The critic notes that Downton Abbey arrives burdened with too much historical explanation and familiar period drama tropes. Maggie Smith stands out as splendid in the role of the imperious dowager countess. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2010/oct/03/downton-abbey-julian-fellowes-review) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/tv/downton-abbey.md