Things to Look Forward to in January

We all need a little something to look forward to while we hole up in the winter months -- for me that usually translates into television and movies. The following are a few of my must-sees during the month of January and here's hoping you got that extra DVD recorder or subscription to Netflix this past Christmas. You are going to need it.

Downton Abbey
Season Five
Sunday, January 4th
PBS
8/9 Central

The eagerly anticipated Season Five of the international PBS sensation premieres this Sunday. I am hoping they up their game this season as I missed the banter between  Maggie Smith and Shirley MacLaine. And things just haven't been the same since they killed off Matthew. I am guessing this might just be the last season, so get your Angliophile fix while you can.

Scandal

Season Four 

Thursday, January 29th

ABC

8/9 Central

After resisting temptation the past several years, I finally became a Gladiator fanatic. Season Four ended with a cliffhanger - who has taken Olivia Pope? Is it the father or the Vice President and his gang? And will she and her Prada bag and glass of wine end up in the hole? Look for her two lovers (that would be Jake and the President) to join forces and find her. On a show where you are constantly wondering "did they really that?" and "no they didn't!" ....Thursday nights are never the same in Shondaland. I can hardly wait.

House of Cards

Season Three

Tuesday, January 27th

Here is hoping for a major blizzard the week Season Three of the popular political drama hits your Netflix account. No spoilers have leaked yet, but with President Frank Underwood and his wicked wife Claire at the helm of the country, all bets are off.

Golden Globe Awards

Sunday, January 11th

NBC

The Golden Globes are by far the best of the Hollywood awards season and also the first. Combining television and film, the awards pretty much set the tone of what to expect at the Oscars and Emmys.

Cocktails served during dinner also contribute to the hilarity of the speeches. While I love hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, nothing beats the candid delivery of the former overserved host Ricky Gervais.

The Americans

Season Three

FX

Wednesday, January 28th

If you haven't watched The Americans (its on the FX Channel so look it up) do yourself a favor and tune in. It's the dark story of a pair of married undercover Russian spies (Keri Russell and Mathew Rhys) living in Washington during the end of the Cold War in the eighties. 

Mordecai

Lionsgate

Friday, January 23rd

While the quirky film is definitely not for every film palate, the story of an eccentric art dealer (Johnny Depp) and  his sophisticated wife and international terrorist (Gwyneth Paltrow) searching for a stolen painting thought to have a Nazi code might be amusing. I have seen the advance shots of the sets and costumes which will be worth the price of the admission alone.

And there is always the new season of American Idol, The Apprentice, Girls, Nashville, Revenge, How to Commit Murder, Glee, The Following, Madam Secretary, Good Wife, etc.  And American Sniper, Selma and whatever else I missed during the Christmas sweeps at the theater. Happy viewing.

Photo Credits: Carnival Films/Masterpiece/PBS, ABC, Netflix, NBC, FX, Lionsgate

All Things Abbey

Multiply the phrase "highly anticipated" times ten and you have the euphoria centered around season three of the global phenomenon known as Downton Abbey. Premiering Sunday, January 6th at 9:00 PM/ET, look for fortunes lost, love triangles below the stairs, a possible wedding and pregnancy? and more squabbles over the proper ladle to use in the soup terrine as the fate of poor Mr. Bates hangs in the balance (no pun intended). 11 million viewers in over 100 countries and counting will no doubt be tuning in.

Perhaps the most exciting discovery is the arrival of veteran Oscar winning actress Shirley MacLaine (wonder who she channelled at the 400- year - old Highclere Castle?) who plays American socialite Martha Levinson and mother of Lady Cora (Elizabeth McGovern). MacLaine has already reported a "supernatural energy" from the effects of King Tut (who I always said died for tourism) whose tomb was once stored in the castle. At any rate, fireworks with viewer favorite Maggie Smith (Dowager Countess of Grantham) as the other rambunctious wise cracking mother in law.

MacLaine reported that the pictures actually
 fell off the wall of haunted Highclere

Shirley MacLaine makes her arrival to Downton
and with her, ushering in a new age (again, no pun intended)

Maggie Smith as Violet Crawley aka The Dowager

I caught up with production designer Donal Woods over the Christmas holiday who informed me they are hard at work on Season Four as we speak. (Fingers crossed that the media reports of  Dan Stevens (Mathew Crawley) not returning are untrue). For more on look of  the interiors  and my interview with Woods, see Designing Downton Abbey in Traditional Home .

And if the show leaves you wanting for more, get your fix on great posh period interiors from classics such as Remains of the Day and Gosford Park (two other films that dealt with the upstairs - downstairs theme of master and servant) to Howard's End, Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre in The Castles and Manors of Cinema's Greatest Period Films in Architectural Digest.

Production designer Stephen Altman used a historical consultant to make
 the period perfect interiors accurate yet comfortable and livable.

For a behind the scenes look at both the historical perspective and making of Downton Abbey, I highly recommend the illustrated book The Chronicles of Downton Abbey: A New Era (St. Martin's Press) with a foreword  by creator Julian Fellowes. Each character has their own chapter with lots of never before seen photographs -- its the perfect primer to the show and available here on Amazon.

Happy viewing and cheers to a wonderful 2013!

Photo Credits: Moviestore Collection Ltd./Alamy, Carnival Film and Television Ltd., St. Martin's Press,  USA Films.

At Home in Highclere

Set on 1000 acres in Hampshire, the Elizabethan style estate has been the home to the Carnavon family since 1679. Known as Highclere Castle, it is also known to millions of television viewers as Downton Abbey.

Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary Crawley

The men of Downton:
Dan Stevens as Mathew Crawley and Hugh Bonneville as Earl of Grantham 

The enormously successful drama has taken the world by storm with its intriguing plot lines, upstairs/downstairs melodrama, Edwardian costumes and a window of aristocratic life in a world gone by. With its sophisticated period perfect interiors and idyllic country setting, Highclere a.k.a. Downton Abbey is as important a character as the outstanding ensemble cast. It is true period production design and set decoration at its best and you can read more in my article in Architectural Digest. 

The Masterpiece Classic can be seen on Sunday nights at 8:00 pm CST on PBS. Be warned as the show should come with a disclaimer: hugely addicting and watch at your own risk. I may have to tape the Super Bowl as I am not sure I can wait to see the show later:)

And while you are waiting for the next episode, be sure to read the book Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle by the Countess of Carnavon. Lady Fiona traces the history and heritage, focusing on Almina who was the illegitimate daughter of tycoon Alfred Rothschild and married the Earl of Carnavon (with an enormous dowry). Life to the manor born was filled with lavish banquets until World War One intervened and their lives were changed forever  -- shades of Downton Abbey.

Photo Credits: Courtesy of PBS, Random House, Highclere Castle

Primetime Creative Emmys

While Sunday, September 18th is the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmys were handed out for the Creative Arts this past week in Los Angeles. Congrats to production designer Mark Friedberg, art director Peter Rogness and set decorator Ellen Christiansen-De Jonge for their Outstanding Art Direction for Mini Series or Movie for Mildred Pierce (beating out a stellar list of Downton Abbey, The Kennedys and Upstairs Downstairs).

Thirties interiors above and below for Mildred Pierce

The Kennedys

Other winners in the art direction category included Hot in Cleveland (Michael Haynes and Marilee Zekiker) and Boardwalk Empire (Bob Shaw, Douglas Huszti, and Debra Schutt) in a category that included Mad Men, Modern Family and The Borgias.

Hot In Cleveland - one of the best shows you may not be watching

Boardwalk Empire's interiors fit for a gangster

Draper living room in Mad Men

Mad Men's Sixties sets

True Blood

In the best costume category, Downton Abbey (Susannah Buxton and Caroline McCall) took home honors for miniseries over the seventies fashions of Cinema Verite and period designs of Mildred Pierce and Upstairs Downstairs. The Borgias won over perennial favorite Mad Men, Glee and Boardwalk Empire in the series category.

Downton Abbey above and below - a costume designer's delight

The Borgias Holliday Grainger as Lucrezia Borga

Upstairs Downstairs

The Primetime Emmys air on Fox at 8 pm eastern with Glee's Jane Lynch as host. And of course the real show begins with the red carpet arrivals several hours before. It's always fun to watch the reaction of those who don't win, the opening numbers and any sort of snafu caught live -- it's the ultimate sporting event. Happy Emmy weekend and as usual, I will be pulling for Mad Men but I think Emmy voters may have forgotten about it as a long hiatus never benefits anyone.


Photo Credits: HBO, PBS, Showtime, Set Decor, AMC