Who created the television series Downton Abbey?

Julian Fellowes created the television series Downton Abbey. He also wrote most of the series, shaping its blend of upstairs aristocratic drama and downstairs domestic stories.

The show was developed with producer Gareth Neame and Carnival Films. Fellowes had previously won an Academy Award for writing Gosford Park, another ensemble drama about life in an English country house. Downton Abbey was initially considered as a possible Gosford Park spin-off, but it became a separate story set several decades earlier.

The series premiered on ITV in the United Kingdom on 26 September 2010. It follows the Crawley family and their servants through social and political changes between 1912 and 1925, including the Titanic disaster, the First World War and the Spanish flu pandemic.

A common mix-up is confusing the creator with the producers or directors. Gareth Neame was a major producer, while several directors worked across the show; Fellowes is the credited creator and principal writer.