A version of this story on “Downton Abbey” first appeared in the print edition of TheWrap Magazine’s The Race Begins Emmy Issue.
It lasted for six seasons and spanned almost 20 years, from the sinking of the Titanic to the first murmurs of a new menace rising in Germany. It garnered 58 Emmy nominations in its first five seasons, winning 12 times and setting a record as the most-honored foreign show ever. It gave Maggie Smith dozens of quotable lines, made stars out of little-known British actors and gave its creator, writer Julian Fellowes, a calling card even more impressive than the Oscar he won for Gosford Park.