‘Downton Abbey’ Casts Gary Carr As First Black Character

A new character will be joining Downtown Abbey for its upcoming fourth season.

British actor Gary Carr has been cast as Jack Ross, a “charming and charismatic” jazz musician who also happens to be the period drama’s first black character. The 26-year-old most recently appeared in the BBC series Bluestone 42 and Death In Paradise.

In addition to widespread acclaim, Downtown Abbey has also faced criticism for its lack of diversity, with many pointing out the fact that blacks were living in Britain for hundreds of years prior to the time period the series is set in. Critics felt the lack of black characters, while somewhat understandable given the series’ “insular narrative world,” was unrealistic.

A similar complaint was leveled against HBO’s Girls, which is set in Brooklyn. Series creator and star Lena Dunham responded to the criticism by casting Donald Glover as her black Republican boyfriend, but the two quickly broke up and his character was written off the show. Since then, minority characters have been portrayed a bit more realistically in various scenes.

It was announced in February that a black character would be added to the cast in season four, and series creator Julian Fellowes has said in the past that he would like to add black and Asian characters to the cast.

“I think that’s a rather good idea,” Fellowes told The Telegraph. “You have to work it in in a way that is historically believable, but I am sure we could do that. The show certainly ought to have an Indian character from that period.”

While there aren’t any details about how Jack Ross is connected to the Crawleys, the aristocratic family at the center of the series, viewers can expect him to shake things up a bit.

“We are delighted to introduce another fantastic, dynamic character to Downton Abbey,” Gareth Naeme, one of the series’ executive producers, said in a statement. “His addition will bring interesting twists to the drama which we can’t wait for viewers to see in Series 4.”

Are you excited to see Gary Carr on Downton Abbey? Do you think this will open the door for more black characters to appear on the show?