INQUISITR.COM / Entertainment

Now That ‘Downton Abbey’ Is Over, Where Can You Find The Cast On Television?

By Amy Feinstein
Published on: 14:15 PST, Jun 25, 2016

Lord Grantham, a pirate? Mrs. Patmore, a mob boss? Moseley, a killer? Yes, it could happen, and it is happening on television, now that Downton Abbey has come to end end, the cast has gone their separate ways, but many of them have turned up on television in the U.K., and in the United States. Faces that were unknown before Downton Abbey are now friendly and familiar, and fans of Downton Abbey want to see more of them, and smart casting directors are taking advantage of this, and putting the Downton Abbey family into shows from dramatic to comedic. But frankly, it is still hard to imagine Mrs. Patmore out of the kitchen, having people killed.

According to the Inquisitr, while Downton Abbey was winding down the last tear-filled days at Highclere Castle, the cast had to be thinking about what would be next in their careers. While many of them were put on the map by Downton Abbey, the show was not financially a big pay day for most of the actors, so another job was going to be necessary. Downton Abbey also introduced many British and Irish actors to an American audience for the first time, and the next step onto Hollywood was now possible.

The Daily Mail announced to the world that Lord Grantham, or Robert Crawley, of Downton Abbey, as well as Daisy the maid were popping up on the American show Galavant. On the hit ABC show that deals largely with fantasy and fairytales, Hugh Bonneville is no longer a member of the aristocracy, but it rather a grisly, evil pirate known as Peter the Pilager. Bonneville is no longer stomping around the estate grounds in tailored suits and tuxedos, but he is now looking dirty, wearing a pirate hat, and carrying a sword. And then there is the singing. Lord Grantham is a singing comedic pirate.

Bustle agrees that Hugh Bonneville and Sophie McShera away from Downton Abbey, doing musical comedy is rather unexpected. Galavant is known for throwing a variety of actors from different shows into its fairytale format, so why not Hugh Bonneville as a pirate, and Sophie McShera as Gwynne in a Cinderella-type story? Though certainly having both of these Downton Abbey actors breaking into song suddenly is unexpected, even in Galavant. Comparing Downton Abbey, which took itself very seriously, compared with Galavant, which is as tongue and cheek as it gets, means getting to see Bonneville and McShera, and their respective ranges, is a real treat for fans.

But leaving musical comedy behind, and moving into the dark world of murder and mayhem, fans can find other members of the Downton Abbey family. Mashable shared that Kevin Doyle and Siobhan Finneran, formerly of Downton Abbey, as Mosely and O’Brien, are now demonstrating their darker sides in the BBC show, Happy Valley, as a murderer and a recovering heroin addict. Happy Valley can be seen in the United States on Netflix, and it is worth watching.

But Kevin Doyle, who for years was playing the mild-mannered Moseley, is happy and excited for the change.

“It was great, actually,” he said. “For one thing it meant I wasn’t moping around thinking about all my friends that I was missing because I was straight into something else. So that helped getting over Downton in a way.”

But perhaps the biggest change is Lesley Nicol, aka Mrs. Patmore from Downton Abbey, making the biggest leap to the new Shonda Rhimes show, The Catch, according to Entertainment Weekly. But if fans expect that Nicol will once again be playing a lovable grandma type, they would be very wrong. The details of the role on The Catch were kept under wraps, but then, there she was, playing a mob boss, running a crime syndicate, and sending a team of hitmen out to pull off major heists.

Now, the role Nicol played only lasted a few episodes, and was part of one story arc, but Nicol proved that she was not just Mrs. Patmore, but instead, she is far more diverse than any fan of Downton Abbey could ever imagine.

What do you miss most about Downton Abbey, and who are you happiest to see elsewhere?

[Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images]

Share this article: Now That ‘Downton Abbey’ Is Over, Where Can You Find The Cast On Television?
downton abbey
More from Inquisitr