12 Days of Downton: Your Guide to the Downton Abbey Experience on Twitter
The official Masterpiece account will be hosting a live Twitter event from 9-11pm Eastern time, featuring comedian and huge Downton fan Patton Oswalt, as well as contributors from Vanity Fair Magazine, Tom and Lorenzo (I love that site!), Austenprose. If you’re on Twitter and want to participate, just use and track the hashtag #DowntonPBS.
But, if any of you happen to be big Twitter enthusiasts – not that I would know anything about wasting hours of one’s life on Twitter, no... – then there are a few other accounts you might want to follow that will prove very relevant to your interests. Click through for a guide to the world of Downton on Twitter, including official accounts, cast members, fan sites, and a bit of fun.
Official Accounts: These are the official Twitter accounts for the folks that bring us this fine program, on both sides of the pond.
- Masterpiece - @masterpiecepbs – official Masterpiece Twitter account. Covers more than just Downton, obviously, but that’s what it will be tweeting the most this weekend.
- ITV - @DowntonAbbey – ITV’s official Downton Abbey account. Beware of possible spoilers, though they’re aware about the American premiere this weekend.
Cast Members: The cast of Downton maintains a rather robust presence on Twitter. While we would all probably love Maggie Smith’s 140-character commentary, alas, she is not a tweeter, nor is Michelle Dockery. But a large portion of the rest of the cast is, and they all seem lovely and very willing to interact with fans.
- Hugh Bonneville - @hughbon – Lord Grantham
- Laura Carmichael - @Carmichelle – Lady Edith Crawley
- Brendan Coyle - @brendancoyle99 – John Bates
- Jessica Brown Findlay - @jrmustardflower – Lady Sybil Crawley
- Allen Leech - @Allenleech – Tom Branson
- Elizabeth McGovern - @ElizabethMcGov – Lady Grantham
- Sophie McShera – @sophiemcshera – Daisy
- Lesley Nicol - @lesley_nicol – Mrs. Padmore
- Dan Stevens - @thatdanstevens – Mr. Matthew Crawley
Useful Fan Accounts – There are an untold number of fan accounts dedicated to telling the world how great Downton is. While I am sure they are all awesome, you don’t need to follow them all. Here are a few to know if you need a non-official source for news and/or gossip. Warning: Most of these are UK-based, and will likely tweet plot points you may not want to know. Commit the list to memory and come back to it.
- Downton Chat - @DowntonChat – This is the moderator account for the weekly Downton Abbey fan discussion that occurs under the hashtag (you guessed it!) #DowntonChat. Great for finding new folks to follow who share your Edwardian obsession.
- Downton Online - @DowntOnline
- Downton Abbey Fans - @DowntonAbbey1
Parody Accounts: While these parody accounts are entertaining, most are either run by Brits or die-hard fans who have seen Series 2 already through some other means. Beware of any of them tweeting spoilers, if that’s a concern for you. None of them are officially connected in any way to the show, and some are wittier than others. I included the pet ones just because I’m amazed they exist. (By the way I’d love more for my own personal amusement this list, so do drop me a note if you know a great one!)
- Matt Crawley’s Hair - @M_Crawleys_Hair
- Lady Mary Crawley - @LadyMaryCrawley
- Mr. Carson - @MrCarsonDA
- The Downton Cat - @DowntonCat
- Isis the Dog - @DogofDownton
