Tonight on Netflix: Rated 4.4/5 by viewers, this series is the height of sophistication… and brutality.

Downton Abbey is a luxurious and historically significant journey through time. The protagonist of the series is this grand building of the same name, which is home to the Crowleys, wealthy aristocrats of 20th century England, and their kind-hearted staff (mostly) who inhabit the residence’s basements.

It all started here in 1912, when the sinking of the Titanic took with it the next two heirs of the master of the place, Lord Robert Crawley, the father of three young women with limited rights. The designated heir is Matthew Crowley, a distant cousin and mid-level lawyer serving in this high-ranking line. Drama, love affairs, and a not-so-perfect little life followed, while the great events of the time unfolded in the background: World War I, the Spanish Flu Pandemic, History does not spare the Crowleys, who witness, despite themselves and foreground, the great crises of our time. .

The 2010 historical drama, a soap opera with a (very well) hidden tragedy, successfully mixes laughs and tears. We cannot help but align ourselves with its many heroes—at our own peril. But if it doesn’t hesitate to break your heart at the most opportune moment, Downton – as it’s nicknamed – will also delight you with its brilliant writing and direction, its lavish and fabulous sets, its attention to detail and its authenticity. It’s known for properties that cost a fortune – £1m per episode – but which give it an honest edge.

And the numbers, we can offer you a few: with a peak following of almost 120 million viewers and bought in 250 different countries, the show – with an Allociné audience rating of 4.4/5 – entered the Guinness Book of Records in 2012. As the most critically acclaimed series in the world, the first for an English woman.

Six seasons and two movies later, Downton Abbey By Julian Fellowes, with a legendary cast – Hugh Bonneville, Maggie Smith, Elizabeth McGovern, Michelle Dockery, Joan Froggatt, Brendan Coyle, Jim Carter, to name a few – it was adored around the world and was awarded 69 nominations (and 15). ) at Emmys, nothing is ordinary and everything is extraordinary. That’s what it says.