DOWNTON ABBEY Celebrates its ‘Grand Finale’ With Can’t-Miss NBC Special

Published: August 14, 2025

Highclere castle, Downton Abbey — Photo by Tim Alex on Unsplash

By Gavin Boyle

As DOWNTON ABBEY nears its grand finale with a third and final movie, NBC announced it will release a one hour special featuring interviews with the cast and crew ahead of the film’s theatrical release.

“There will be [a] final film – there you go,” actress Imelda Staunton, who played Lady Maud Bagshaw, Queen Mary’s lady-in-waiting, in the first two movies, told BBC Radio 2 in March of 2024.

Since this tease, fans have eagerly awaited the release of the movie which will hopefully bring a satisfying conclusion to the entire series. The movie, titled DOWNTON ABBEY: THE GRAND FINALE, will focus on the new generation stepping up as Downton Abbey is now in their hands.

“When Mary finds herself in a public scandal and the family faces financial trouble, the household grapples with the threat of social disgrace,” a synopsis of the movie reads. “The Crawleys must embrace change with the next generation leading Downton Abbey into the future.”

This change comes, in part, due to the death of Maggie Smith, who played the ever-critical Dowager Countess. Though she is absent in the final movie, viewers will still feel her presence throughout the story.

“She’s still very much in the atmosphere,” Elizabeth McGovern (Cora Crawley) said. “I don’t feel there’s a big hole. In fact, in some ways, it sort of freed up the rest of the narrative to flow, because it’s not stopping for her moments. But everything she represents is there. She’s in every room, in every interaction, so it’s not like she’s not there. It’s a weird thing.”

Insights like this will come up throughout the NBC special which captures the joy of the cast reuniting for the first time in years. Those set to appear on the special include Hugh Bonneville, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Raquel Cassidy, Michelle Dockery, Kevin Doyle, Michael Fox, Joanne Froggatt, Paul Giamatti, Harry Haddon-Paton, Allen Leech, Phylis Logan and Elizabeth McGovern.

The one-hour special will air on NBC on Sept. 10 at 9 p.m. ET/PT and stream the next day on Peacock. The entire DOWNTON ABBEY series, along with the first two movies, will also be available to stream on Peacock starting Sept. 1.

Though the first two movies were slightly marred by common cultural narratives, as a whole, Movieguide® lauded them for their portrayal of strong family commitments. A portion of Movieguide®’s review of DOWNTON ABBEY reads:

DOWNTON ABBEY is a superior adaptation of the TV series. It captures the beauty of the English countryside and the home itself. The movie’s pacing is fast but ultimately satisfying. Viewers need to pay close attention, though, because the dialogue is filled with lots of British wit. DOWNTON ABBEY maintains a strong moral worldview stressing family loyalty and marital reconciliation, with some positive, overt Christian elements. However, the movie is marred by some homosexual references and a homosexual servant working for the family and some immoral behavior such as lying, trickery, stealing, and blackmail and drugging somebody else’s drink.

DOWNTON ABBEY: THE GRAND FINALE will hit theaters starting Sept. 12.

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