Downton Gabby

[Life After Downton, Episode 12] - The damsels kick off this month's conversation with some follow-up about the future of two previously discussed shows (good news for the midwives! Not good news for the sensates...). Then we're checking in on the continuing first season of The Handmaid's Tale and making sure we've properly fangirled over the work of Reed Morano. The praise of female directors con...

[Life After Downton, Episode 11] - This month the Damsels are all about the trials women go through with their bodies, starting with the eagerly-anticipated adaptation of The Handmaid's Tale, which is beautifully done, and also gave at least one of us nightmares. We also check in with Call the Midwife, Harlots, Girls, and Big Little Lies, to see how their female casts and creators handle the woman...

[Life After Downton, Episode 10] - On this month's episode, the damsels discuss the smash hit film Beauty and the Beast, along with the phenomenon of Disney "princesses," and what messages this film genre sends to young kids about their expected (hetero) futures. It's not that we don't like our plucky heroines, emotional musical set pieces, and swoon-worthy declarations of love...but how should th...

[Life After Downton, Episode 9] - The damsels are getting ready for the Oscars by going through the Best Picture winners of years past and helping the Academy make better choices. There are so many phenomenal movies directed by women, written by women, and about women that deserved to win that coveted award. Throw on an evening gown, pop some champagne, and let's re-write history together!

[Life After Downton, Episode 8] - The Damsels are just girls in love...with musicals. We celebrate CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND, its great characters, hilarious production numbers, and Rachel Bloom's impressive bosoms. We also discuss the new film LA LA LAND (yeah, we have a few issues), as well as some of our favorite musicals of all time, from WEST SIDE STORY to TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE. Plus, an early...

[Life After Downton, Episode 7] - The damsels close out a rocky year in real life by recalling the many 2016 TV moments that made us feel so many emotions in a safe space: joy, rage, hope, despair, and general appreciation of female badassery. As we each count down our favorite five moments of the year as well as a few disappointments, we also consider: which shows ended strong? What returning sho...

[Life After Downton, Episode 6] - The damsels dive into the world of ermine, tweed, taffeta, and yes... sparkly headbands aka crowns. Lots to discuss about Netflix's new show The Crown: some of us loved Prince Phillip's butt, some didn't; some liked John Lithgow's performance as Churchill, some didn't; and only one damsel recognized a certain actor from Game of Thrones. Afterwards we list off some...

[Life After Downton, Episode 5] - At long last, it's a new world on HBO, as multiple new shows with women at the helm populate the line-up. Up first, we dive deep into co-creator Lisa Joy's Westworld: is it the new LOST? The new Game of Thrones? Or something altogether fresh? We may not have the answers yet, but we are in the saddle for this journey! Next, we move on to the new half-hour shows fro...

[Life After Downton, Episode 4] - Summer is over and we're back with a brand new podcast! On this episode we preview the Emmy Awards and the fabulous ladies who act in and create some of our favorite shows. We'll also be live tweeting the Emmys this Sunday night (Sept 18th). Downton Abbey is nominated for 10 Emmy awards, and we wonder: Could they have nominated an actor OTHER than Maggie Smith thi...

[Life After Downton Episode 3] - The damsels dive into the world of teen shows with special guest Karen Draper who is a YA Author and writes about teen shows on her tumblr. We compare the shows about the rich kids with the shows about the dorks, examine the sexual politics, gush about the bad boys, and decipher the timeless-ness of the themes and why they still appeal to us as adult women. The pod...

[Life After Downton, Episode 2] - Class! Evil lady's maids! Marrying to save the family pile! Who else could the Damsels be talking about this week but our good buddy Julian Alexander Kitchener-Fellowes and his latest projects. We have a lot of love for his episode-a-week book series Belgravia, but really can't fully express our hatred for its app. We also stick our toe into his 4-part adaptation...

[Life After Downton, Episode 1] - The damsels are back to check in on the post-Downton landscape, which luckily already contains Julian Fellowes's next big project (one that would horrify a certain butler if he knew about it). We'll be checking in with Belgravia as it progresses, so stay tuned for more! Then it's a fab new world as we welcome our first-ever guest podcasters, the delightful Britta...

[Season 6, Post-Finale Celebration] - Withdrawal, denial, grief...There's a Crawley-shaped hole in our Sunday nights, so we're excited that some of our smartest, funniest listeners are helping us deal with Life After Downton Abbey. This 'Very Special Podcast' features your memories, questions and wisecracks about things like: That extremely short period of time when we actually liked Bates; The lo...

[Season 6, Series Finale] - No more secrets, no more lies-just happiness bursting on the series finale of our beloved Downton Abbey. As the captains of #TeamEdith, we wave our flags as she leaps over the final hurdle to her ride into the sunset (the dreaded mother-in-law test) and crosses the finish line with a gold medal. You are woman, Edith! Go forth and conquer. Meanwhile, cottages abound, rel...

[Season 6, Episode 8] - There were never such devoted sisters! This week we dig deep into the penultimate episode of Downton Abbey and the Mary/Edith throwdown we've been longing for for 6 seasons. We also ponder some burning questions, such as: Is Henry a dreamboat or a stalker? Has the Yorkshire Bawdy House market become saturated? Is Tom the best Crawley sister? Who would we most like to see di...

[Season 6, Episode 7] - A moment of silence for Charlie, not only did he lose his life, but he also put the nail in the coffin on Mary and Mr. Yum Yum's relationship. Well, maybe it was Henry's drunk dialing that did it... After discussing Chekov's Sports Car, the damsels dig into the other juicy storylines, such as Bertie's proposal (yay #TeamEdith), the bitch showdown with the Dowager, the retur...

[Season 6, Episode 6] - This week we find the Crawleys in fine comedic form as they wander cluelessly around the Abbey making stuff up about their paintings. Meanwhile, Mrs Hughes is (hopefully) spitting in Carson's food, Mary and Edith prove they'll never fight over the same men, and Julian dazzles us with his tenuous grasp of obstetric knowledge. But with only a few episodes left, we have worrie...

[Season 6, Episode 5] - After we've wiped the blood off our shocked faces, the Damsels dig into this episode jam packed with love and (almost) death. Although we love Mr. Yum Yum, we wonder if he's marriage material, but you won't find us shipping Mary and Tom! No, we are more interested in whether Mary and Edith will finally bury the hatchet and be decent to each other. Oh, also we are super busy...

[Season 6, Episode 4] - Feminism abounds in the new episode of Downton Abbey! Julian, how did you know that the way to make us care about the hospital storyline was to have a group of ladies relate it all to their opinions about government? Meanwhile, Mrs. Hughes is keeping her name, and all that sexy, not-at-all secret flirting between Mary and Mr. Yum Yum is making us flush hotter than a bad tra...

[Season 6, Episode 3] - So much love to discuss in this joyous episode, starting with The Big Wedding and Edith's adorable rom-com storyline. Also, lots of drama to dissect: Mary/Tom shipping, #CoatGate, Chekov's indigestion, #RatFetus, Spratt's secret life, Molesley as the Edith of downstairs, and whether Marigold will kill them all in their sleep with her creepy eyes. Let's all stay out of the b...

[Season 6, Episode 2] - It's not just Lady Mary's Late Fat Stock that are behaving like pigs this week. We discuss all the jerky goings-on, including Carson insisting on getting married at work, Isobel bickering with Violet-and cock-blocking poor old Dickie, and Barrow getting picked on by almost everyone downstairs. We also try to figure out how Edith let the whole Marigold mess get so out of han...

[Season 6 Premiere] - We're so excited about the premiere of the final season of Downton Abbey (and, to be honest, a bit sad). Some things haven't changed: Another random evil maid is causing trouble, Carson disapproves of something modern, Mary is testing the limits of propriety, Cora can't get a straight answer to a question...and Anna is crying. There are also many new developments, and we have...

[Downton Gabby Off-Season 9] - It's a super-packed conversation in our last episode of the off-season before the (sob) final season of Downton Abbey begins. We're preparing, reminiscing, and predicting, and one of us might be taking a deeper dive into fandom activities than ever before (send 1920s garb now!). Helping us fill some of the time before the Crawleys and company return is Netflix's Jess...

[Downton Gabby Off-Season 8] - This episode celebrates The Danc e, and who better to title it than Zoe Saldana's epic Eva in beloved teen film Center Stage. We take a nostalgic trip back to that 2000 ballet classic, but first we talk about Starz's (sadly) limited series Flesh and Bone. This story of a simple girl from Pittsburgh who becomes the toast of the ballet world embraces the tropes we love...

[Downton Gabby Off-Season 7] - Fall TV has just begun and we are treating it like a big appetizer sampler. We run through our opinions on new buzzy shows like Quantico and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend while also touching base with some old faves Nashville and Jane the Virgin. Then we dive into a big discussion on Nancy Meyer's latest film The Intern, which we would love to re-write as The CEO. The damsels...