Shirley MacLaine To Join 'Downton Abbey' For Season 3

Lady Grantham is in for a pleasant surprise on "Downton Abbey" next season when her mother comes to Downton. Joining the British drama for Season 3 is Academy Award-winning actress Shirley MacLaine, according to an official release.

Elizabeth McGovern, who stars as Lady Cora, had previously told the U.K.'s Sun that the third season would see some of her American relatives coming to Downton, including her mother, Martha Levinson, played by MacLaine.

"Julian [Fellowes] has written another brilliant character in Martha Levinson, who will be a wonderful combatant for Maggie Smith's Dowager Countess and we are excited at the prospect of Shirley MacLaine playing her," said executive producer Gareth Neame, in a statement.

We can't wait to see what the Dowager Countess thinks of Martha Levinson. Will these two Academy Award winners go head-to-head on the Downton estate? We can only hope.

Season 2 of "Downton Abbey" airs Sundays at 9 p.m. EST on PBS. The third season will premiere in the UK in the fall of 2012 and will then air in the US in the winter of 2013.

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Comments

[imoverit]

02:41 PM on 03/08/2012

I fell in love with British television and films during many trans-Atlantic flights. Since joining Netflix, I've been able to go back in time and watch truly great acting. Judi Dench, Tom Wilkinson, Ian Richardson, Nigel Hawthorne and Maggie Smith are only a few. I'm currently watching "First Among Equals" which was done in the 80's, starring Tom Wilkinson, and is as relevant today as it was then. Another fantastic series is House of Cards starring the genius that was Ian Richardson. I think Shirley MacLaine is a good choice for Martha Levinson; she is a good actor and can hold her own. I would have preferred Dame Judi Dench who could absolutely play that part, American accent and all.

[okieggma]

10:14 AM on 03/08/2012

I love this show..........in fact everything on "Masterpiece Theater" is excellent. Somehow the British just know how to do drama.......and they do it the best.

[lheyd59]

01:09 PM on 03/03/2012

One more reason to watch an already excellent show.....

[aqua0]

05:18 PM on 02/20/2012

It could be worse...like Meryl Streep. I thank God it's Shirley.

[tornadocat]

01:36 AM on 02/11/2012

Love It!! I"m watching all episodes this weekend to catch-up and be ready for Season 3!! "Bite My Knickers", can't wait for Shirley and Mags to Face Off!!!!! This is the best entertainment since Jane Austen & Mary Shelley wrote books!!!!! BRAVO TO ALL!!!!!!! (1 HAPPY YANK HERE)

[PaticaDeGato]

12:17 PM on 02/04/2012

Downton Abbey jumped the shark with the absurd "burnt Patrick" storyline. A clear indication of lazy and/or incompetent writers.

[Inner-Chi]

04:41 PM on 03/02/2012

Yeah, that was pretty weird...

[Kareem Miller]

11:09 AM on 03/04/2012

The actor was just weird

[MishMish7]

04:09 AM on 02/01/2012

Ms. Smith and Ms. MacLaine...it certainly will be interesting :)

[PaticaDeGato]

02:08 PM on 02/04/2012

Talent vs. massive surgery. Interesting indeed.

[Inner-Chi]

04:42 PM on 03/02/2012

Battle of the matriarchs!

[playsindirt]

06:03 PM on 01/31/2012

Everyone is gushing here but I think they've jumped the shark with this casting. I watch DA for a complete suspension of reality and I think MacLaine's presence will kill that. As much as I love her, I think it's a bad idea. Kind of like casting Alec Baldwin as D'Arcy in Pride and Prejudice.

[MishMish7]

04:07 AM on 02/01/2012

Why on earth? She's a perfectly decent actress. She's hardly around on everything to be a parody of herself a la Baldwin.

[playsindirt]

09:35 AM on 02/01/2012

Hey, I'm not alone in this thinking. I've talked to multiple fans who have threatened to quit watching it because of this casting.

[Inner-Chi]

04:43 PM on 03/02/2012

Hmmm, I kind of like the thought of Baldwin as Darcy...he's proud and prejudiced!

[Konnie]

05:40 PM on 01/31/2012

BRILLIANT CASTING,. can you see Maggie Smith and Shirley McClain going toe to toe! what a hoot!!!! and if they team up against the entail the british legal system will never be the same. Julian Fellows must be in heaven writing for these two! hahahahahahahahahaha. Can you tell I am a huge fan of this series! PBS rules.

[MishMish7]

04:11 AM on 02/01/2012

I am seeing the feathers fly now...Ms. Smith commenting again on how she feels life has become something of an H.G. Wells novel with the arrival of MacLaine....

[ljc]

03:34 PM on 01/31/2012

oh good.... I love this show...

[Mahi Joe]

03:30 PM on 01/31/2012

I am truly amazed at the casting of this show. There is not one single actor who doesn't fit their role perfectly and I am sure Shirley will continue this trend.

[Konnie]

05:43 PM on 01/31/2012

british character casting is always spot on. the hench man in Little Dorit - Mrs. Bale in As Time Goes By - Hyacinth - the list is endless.

[Mahi Joe]

05:52 PM on 01/31/2012

It's funny but last month I joined NetFlix and so far the only shows I have watched happened to be all the British shows. I find British TV shows so superior to our American shows. Right now I am going through four seasons of the British comedy "Couplings" and have never laughed so much watching a tv show in my life.

[Marturia]

02:35 PM on 01/31/2012

I've laughed out loud watching Maggie Smith's facial expressions on this show. It's an instant classic.

[catcancook]

11:36 AM on 01/31/2012

Can't wait. I'm a fan of DA and Shirley. She will be fabulous and I want her to take on that Countess. What fun awaits us when those two tangle!

[Frod43]

10:44 AM on 01/31/2012

How come HuffPo took down MacLaine's pic ? It must have been all the negative comments her pic is drawing ....some thing on other celeb news sites .....??

[ReesieKitty]

10:56 PM on 01/30/2012

This should be great :) If anyone is interested in the time period just before Downton takes place, when it was pretty common for titled but poor European aristos to marry wealthy, educated American girls, I highly recommend the book 'To Marry an English Lord' . Dippy title, but a lot of humorous and factual information about how the marriage market worked, with wealthy girls from the US basically trading Daddy's money for a title. In some cases, this worked out ok, but many did not get what they bargained for on either side. But it does explain both customs and laws of the time and will give you a perfect understanding of how Lord Granthem and his wife's marriage and the entailment would have come about.

[NHBill]

12:32 AM on 01/31/2012

Thank god the system is all but eliminated.
While I love the show it's a bit unsettling at times.
Sort of like the opening of Gone With the Wind portraying the Slave owning Southerners as wonderful characters who cared for their slaves.

[Cibeles]

10:39 AM on 01/31/2012

As a child, I loved Gone With the Wind so this past Xmas I both the DVD, thinking it would be great to own such a "classic". I squirmed through the whole thing.

[StarDagger]

12:45 PM on 01/31/2012

Is that system eliminated? you have the larges inequality in the history of humanity, right NOW.

A country of sheep will be ruled by pigs.

[okieggma]

10:23 AM on 03/08/2012

Last month on PBS just prior to Masterpiece a documentary was shown about that very thing. It also showed how WW1 was the catalyst for bringing that system down. Interesting since that war played a pivotal turning point in the story. It really added to my enjoyment of "Downton Abbey". Just can't beat PBS for real entertainment and information.