BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — The only downside to a “Downton Abbey”-sized hit is when it ends. It’s hard for what comes next to measure up.
No wonder PBS’s “Masterpiece” executive producer Rebecca Eaton was sure to point out that the first season of “Victoria” drew 16 million viewers, more people than watched season one of “Downton.”
“Season two of ‘Downton’ picked up [more viewers] and that’s what ‘Victoria’ is going to do,” she predicted.
When “Victoria” returns to PBS in January for its seven-episode second season, it’s 1840 and 21-year- old Queen Victoria (Jenna Coleman, “Doctor Who”) and her husband, Prince Albert (Tom Hughes), confront their newfound parenthood, a war abroad and the Irish potato famine closer to home.
Ms. Coleman said one of the most exciting aspects of the role is exploring the dynamic between Victoria and Albert.
“They’re operating in a marriage as husband and wife and she wants to be a wife to her husband but then there’s the political aspect and as soon as Albert tries to take from Victoria’s role, she completely flips,” Ms. Coleman said during a Monday press conference at the Television Critics Association summer press tour.
“You’re constantly operating within the politics of a domestic marriage. The clash of wills is interesting and shifting.”
While there may be conflict in the marriage, showrunner Daisy Goodwin said the pair did remain faithful to one another.
“It’s the first royal marriage where the man hasn’t had a mistress on the side for about 500 years,” she said. “They stayed together and he didn’t stray.”
Other projects coming to “Masterpiece” in 2018 include a second season of “The Durrells in Corfu” a three-part adaptation of “Little Women.” Among others:
• “The Child in Time” — Produced by and starring Benedict Cumberbatch, it is the story of a marriage that comes apart when a child disappears at a grocery store.
• “Man in an Orange Shirt” — Vanessa Redgrave stars as a grandmother struggling with her relationship with her gay grandson. The story will be told in two time periods. 1945 and 2018, and will air in June for gay pride month.
• “The Chaperone” — Fictionalized story of the chaperone (Elizabeth McGovern, “Downton Abbey”) to 1920s film star Louise Brooks, based on the Laura Moriarty novel. The film is written by Julian Fellowes (“Downton Abbey”) and will have a theatrical run before airing on “Masterpiece.”
TV Talking
Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. I’ll be talking TV in a Facebook Live broadcast on the Post-Gazette’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/pittsburghpostgazette). I’ll be joined by fellow TV critic Kristi Turnquist as we share what we’ve learned during the Television Critics Association summer press tour, including previews of new fall broadcast and cable series. Join us and post questions and we’ll do our best to answer them.
Channel surfing
Discovery Networks will buy Scripps Networks (HGTV, Food Network, etc.) for $14.6 billion. … The eighth season of British import “Doc Martin” will debut in America sometime in October on streaming service Acorn.tv and will later be made available to PBS stations, including Pittsburgh’s WQED-TV, but no exact date for a premiere on either platform has been announced.
Post-Gazette TV writer Rob Owen is attending the Television Critics Association summer press tour. Follow RobOwenTV at Twitter or on Facebook. You can reach Rob at 412-263- 2582 or rowen@post-gazette.com.
First Published: July 31, 2017, 7:17 p.m.