ITV's DOWNTON ABBEY Rebounds in Ratings

Last week, the fourth season of ITV's Downton Abbey saw a ratings decline. However, the historical drama rebounded nicely last night, averaging 9.4 million viewers, falling jsut short of the over 10 million fans who tuned in for the season premiere on September 22nd.

The series will now face heavy competition from Homeland which began its third season on The UK's Channel 4 in the same time slot.

Downton Abbey will return to Masterpiece on PBS on Sunday, January 5, 2014.

According to ITV, "Downton Abbey series four finds Lady Mary mourning her husband Matthew, who died six months earlier in a tragic car crash. Matthew had just visited his wife and new baby George in hospital and was returning to see his family when his car overturned killing the heir to Downton."

The cast of Season 4 includes the return of Shirley MacLaine as Martha Levinson as well as several new actors, including Paul Giamatti, Tom Cullen, Nigel Harman, Dame Harriet Walter, Joanna David, Julian Ovenden, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and Gary Carr. They will join Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Maggie Smith, Michelle Dockery, Jim Carter, Joanne Froggatt, Brendan Coyle, and the rest of the large and beloved Downton Abbey "family."

Photos by Joan Wakeham/Rex / Rex USA

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