Premiered: September 16, 2012

On: ITV

Starring: Hugh Bonneville, Jessica Brown Findlay, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Brendan Coyle, Michelle Dockery, Siobhan Finneran, Joanne Froggatt, Phyllis Logan, Rob James-Collier, Elizabeth McGovern, Sophie McShera, Lesley Nicol, Maggie Smith, Dan Stevens, Penelope Wilton, Amy Nuttall, Kevin Doyle, Allen Leech, Matt Milne, Ed Speleers, Lily James, David Robb, Cara Theobold, Robert Bathurst, Michael Cochrane, Paul Copley, Christine Mackie, Jonathan Coy, Christine Lohr, Neil Bell, Michael Culkin, Charles Edwards, Jason Furnival, Karl Haynes, Clare Higgins, Mark Penfold, Lucille Sharp, Ged Simmons & Shirley MacLaine

In its third season, Downton Abbey has many major moments that will continue to change the course of the characters’ lives. It’s both thrilling and upsetting.

Mary (Michelle Dockery) and Edith (Laura Carmichael) are both getting married, while Sybil (Jessica Brown Findlay) is pregnant, but all three sisters have tragedies strike. Bates (Brendan Coyle) remains imprisoned while Thomas (Rob James-Collier) takes an interest in new footman James (Ed Speleers).

While the first two seasons of Downton had their fill of drama, the third season almost brings too much. Bates’ prison storyline is bleak, and we lose two major characters by the end. Though brilliantly written, it becomes a lot for fans to handle.

Shirley MacLaine is a welcome addition as Elizabeth McGovern’s mother, and her back-and-forth with Maggie Smith is to die for.

Final say: Get the tissues ready. ★★★★☆