I don’t mean to make rash generalizations, but I’m guessing that 70 percent of straight men who watch Downton Abbey were introduced to it by their significant others (that was certainly the case for me). I’m also guessing that, even if they won’t admit it, 50 percent of those men would probably still watch it even if they’re significant others were not. Is Downton Abbey a good show? Oh, God no. It might have been during the first season, but it hasn’t been since, but that doesn’t make it any less fun to watch. It’s gorgeous, addictive, and terribly written, but the fact that it’s British, that’s it’s a period show, and it comes from the poncy Jullian Fellowes gives us a certain license to ignore the many faults with Downton Abbey and immerse ourselves in the pretty. It’s historically inaccurate, full of anachronisms, thematically troubling, and basically a rip-off of Upstairs, Downstairs, but for a lot of us, it’s still a lot of fun to snark on with our friends and significant others. I wouldn’t even call it a hate watch because it’s so enjoyable to sit through.
But if you do want to justify your fondness for Downton Abbey, or if you need an excuse to tell yourself to feel more comfortable about joining the millions of Americans who are already checking it out, here’s a (very tenuous) list of similarities Downton Abbey shares with some of your favorite shows.
Sons of Anarchy (Plot Structure) — The most striking similarity that Downton shares with a drama in your regular DVR rotation may be Sons of Anarchy. Yes, one is about fancy English people, and the other is about an outlaw motorcycle gang, but the way that the stories are told are very similar in structure. Huge plots arcs are introduced that — in any other slow-burn series — should take at least a season to resolve. Yet, somehow, they are resolved within the episode, sometimes within a matter scenes in Downton. Like Sons, Downton also solves issues with Deus Ex Machinas, and like Sons, Downton has its own Otto, a prison inmate who makes up a major subplot. More importantly, like Sons, while the storylines frequently defy logic in their absurdity, Downton is almost always entertaining.
Game of Thrones (Succession Crisis) — It’s not nearly as intricate or bloody as in Game of Thrones (obviously), but there is a succession crisis at the center of Downton Abbey. It is somewhat subverted, however, in that in Game of Thrones, everyone wants to sit at the throne. In Downton, the heir almost actively wants to avoid ownership. Still, there are a lot of compelling subplots concerning rightful heirs, bloodlines an succession. (And to assure you that I’m not insane, someone actually wrote an entire piece claiming that GoT and Downton were the same show (she is insane).
Community (The Cutie Who Is Ungodly Sexy) — For those of you who watched Community from the beginning, you might not have noticed at first how ungodly sexy Annie Edison was until the debate episode, or until you saw Alison Brie’s Complex photoshoot. Likewise, Jessica Brown-Findlay was initially seen as a brainy cutie on Downton, but once they began featuring more of her décolletage and people began to find out that Jessica Brown-Findlay has actually done, well, topless scenes in the past, we all began viewing her in a completely different, less innocent kind of way.
Parks and Recreation (The Doormat) — Poor Lady Edith, like Jerry Gergich on Parks and Recreation, is well intentioned (most of the time), never does anything right, and is always blamed for everything. She has ONE JOB TO DO (get married), and she consistently bungles it. DAMNIT, Lady Edith.
How I Met Your Mother (Can’t Keep a Secret) — Like Sons of Anarchy, like Lily on How I Met Your Mother, and like Virginia in Raising Hope (or even Chandler on Friends), NOBODY can keep a goddamn secret on Downton. You’d think, at least, that characters would be able to hold on to a secret for a few episodes, or even scenes, but no: Secrets always seem to come out five minutes after they’re disclosed. And yet the characters on Downton never learn to keep their mouths shut and trust no one. They may as well put all the secrets on a record, and play it for the whole cast, because they’re all going to find out anyway.
Scrubs (The Jerk with the Heart of Gold) — The Dowager (Maggie Smith) is like the British spiritual ancestor of Dr. Cox on Scrubs: She will cut you with a string of insults, but when it comes down to it, she always stands behind and supports those in her family or in her employ. Also, like Dr. Cox, the Dowager is a goddamn national treasure. (Also, good news: Maggie Smith has been officially confirmed for season four!)
Boardwalk Empire (Backdrop) — Much of Downton Abbey is set during the same timeline as Boardwalk Empire, so World War I often plays a direct or indirect role in the series. The period costumes, like in Boardwalk, are also a major selling point for the show, although the VFX budget in Downton is obviously not that of Boardwalk. Also, in Boardwalk, they sent hardened killers to war; in Downton, they send posh Aristocrats to war WITH THEIR VALETS. It’s no wonder the British always needed our help to get out of world wards.
Also, the two shows share Charlie Cox in common.
Breaking Bad (Purple) — You know how you almost never find Marie from Breaking Bad when she’s not wearing purple? The same can be said of The Dowager on Downton Abbey. In fact, the Dowager wears purple because it signifies royalty; Marie wears purple because she’s delusional enough to believe that she should be associated with nobility.
That 70’s Show (Comically Serious) — Arguably the funniest character on That 70’s Show was Red Forman, and most of his humor resided in the comically serious trope. Likewise, most of the humor on Downton (about 70 percent) resides in Carson, the butler, who is hilariously over-serious and absurdly anal, as in: If you wear black tie (which is semi-formal) to a white-tie event, you may as well live in the ghetto, according to Carson. He is a bitchy man, but he is one of the funniest characters on television, although I still don’t know if it’s intentional or not.
Girls — Do you enjoy hate-watching shows about spoiled, entitled layabouts who expect everything to be handed to them, but are not willing to put in any actual effort into finding success? Meet the Crowley daughters, the 1920’s version of HBO’s Girls.
Happy Endings — Like Max on Happy Endings, Downton’s Thomas is very much fits the straight-gay trope. Also, the self-hating gay trope. And the devious homosexual trope.
30 Rock — Like Dr. Spaceman from 30 Rock, the medical doctor on Downton Abbey has about as much legitimate medical knowledge. Of course, that’s owed to the times in Downton and the hilariously willful stupidity of Dr. Spaceman in 30 Rock, but both characters seem to inexplicably fail upwards (Dr. Spaceman to Surgeon General; Dr. Richard Clarkson to a Major in the military).
