The first episode of Downton Abbey aired in 2010. ITV premiered the British period drama in the United Kingdom on 26 September 2010, introducing viewers to the Crawley family and the servants who lived and worked at their Yorkshire estate.
The premiere is set shortly after the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, although the series itself began broadcasting in 2010. That distinction can cause confusion: the story starts in an earlier historical period, while the programme’s real-world premiere occurred nearly a century later.
Downton Abbey was created and co-written by Julian Fellowes and became one of ITV’s best-known international dramas. In the United States, the first episode aired on PBS on 9 January 2011 as part of Masterpiece. The show ultimately ran for six series, ending in the UK with a Christmas episode in 2015.