Downton Gabby

Just when you think you're at the cool kids party, you realize you're Ward McAllister at your grandma's dusty opera box. Oh how sweet the victory is for Bertha, it only cost her the bargain price of her daughter's soul to the Duke (or, we presume). Thank goodness, he'll have the funds he needs to restore his crumbling English manor back to its glory and Bertha will have the feather in her cap to completely rule New York's social scene.

Meanwhile the table's turn with Ada ordering dinner (clam chowder for everyone!) while Agnes must now answer to the new lady of the house. And finally, we get that boring love story of those two toothpaste models we were promised.

We must raise a glass to Peggy who brought such riveting news stories to New York: may she kick Mr. Biceps out of The Globe and take it over in the next season. And cheers to Larry and Marian finally looking each other in the eye.

Another social season comes to an end, so we must pack away our tiaras and sharpen our butter knives for next season. Until then, may the champagne always be sparkling and the conversation always polite.

Love is blooming everywhere in New York, but also dying awkwardly in the botanical gardens. Our hearts swell and break for Ada and cringe for Marion. Meanwhile George's heart might be softening to the working man. But on the opera battlefield, the blades are sharp and the cuts are deep. How much blood will be spilled for the center box?! Whether you want homebrewed coffee or broth supped from a spoon, raise a glass for the dramatic twists and turns only Uncle Julian can bring, one alarm clock at a time.

One favorite thing:

Shannon - The Empress (Netflix)

Brandi - Saltburn (film by Emerald Fennell)

Therese - Buccaneers, 1993 miniseries (Amazon Prime/BritBox)

Your hosts: Shannon Bowen, Therese Shechter, & Brandi Sperry

As we all know, the sharpest weapon in any proper lady's arsenal is a Duke, and Bertha will stop at nothing to win the Elder Wand of New York! Mrs. Winterton is just starting to taste Bertha's revenge and we are here for it. Was Julian abused as a child by a ladies maid or does he only have one character study he keeps going back to? (cough Mrs. O'Brien, Jane, cough) In these episodes, the real action is between the sheets with the hottest widow and a doe-eyed Larry Russell. But just as watercolors fade in the sun, so do most romances in the hands of Uncle Julian. So much to unpack in episodes 2-4! Pull up a seat, swat away the bee, and let's dig into this juicy drama!

Hang on to your bonnets! The damsels are back in their corsets ready to dissect the big war brewing in the battle of the opera boxes!

Thank you, Julian, for giving us the polite drama we need these days,complete with the rapid-fire frock changes we so love. Will Bertha reign supreme or will Mrs. Astor twist the silver butter knife this season? Listen in as we dig into all of the delicious details and share all of our juicy predictions!

Ahhhh, it's great to be back at Downton! How we all missed the serious challenges of French weather, bad accents, and servants sitting where the king once sat. The damsels dig into this delight of a movie that (spoiler) we all loved! Julian may be listening to this podcast since one of our predictions came true ;) So pop open the good champagne, toast our girl Violet, and dig into Edith's article about the new sensational vacation everyone is talking about: the south of France IN THE SUMMER!

PLUS we have a very special surprise at the end!

We've reached the final stretch of the debut season of The Gilded Age -- young ladies are coming out, old ladies are crossing streets, and secrets are being revealed! The scent of wealth is in the air from the beaches of Newport to the ballrooms of New York (but it seems no amount of money can buy reliable help these days). The damsels are happy with a strong season ending, and we have many hopes, wishes, and theories for season two to come. Join us for one more round of Gilded Gabby!

One fabulous thing:

Brandi: The Dropout (Hulu)

Therese: Beforeigners (HBO Max)

Shannon: Freeland Distillery (Woman-owned distillery)

Downton Gabby aka Gilded Gabby is back and analyzing episodes 4 - 7 of Uncle Julian's latest show "The Gilded Age"! The damsels cringe over Marian's faux pas and Ward McAllister's accent, and pit frisky adventurer Mr. Raikes against Peggy's hunky editor Mr Fortune. We wonder if we'll see any more of Turner's breasts, marvel at Agnes' hilarious silent treatment, and covet Bertha's red opera cape. Welcome back old friends! Marvel at your electric lights, pour a snifter of brandy, face away from Bannister, and let's dig into New York money politics!

One fabulous thing:

Brandi: Tournament of Champions (Food Network)

Therese: The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz (Novel)

Shannon: Meddling (Ice Skating docu-series/Peacock)

Downton Gabby is back lovingly analyzing Uncle Julian's latest show The Gilded Age, one hat feather at a time. And boy, do we have opinions! Old vs. new! Upstairs vs. downstairs! People whose ancestors arrived on the Mayflower (or so they say) vs. people whose ancestors picked potatoes in Ireland. And all with a (shocking) American accent. The damsels dig into whether Julian truly can learn some new tricks about diverse characters while sticking to his old standbys: passing a letter from hand to hand, and judgy conniving ladies maids. Welcome back old friends, pour a glass of your best bubbly and let's get into whether Mrs. Russell's dresses are horrifying or fab!

The movie! The movie! Shannon, Brandi and Therese are so excited to reunite to talk about the brand new Downton Abbey movie. We couldn’t be more excited–and worried. The chairs need to be set up! Edith’s ball gown is missing! The servants are revolting! And the King and Queen are coming to Downton! On the plus side…#BoyfriendForBarrow.

Join us for all the the sweet, silly, gorgeous, ridiculous details of what we seriously hope will be the first of many more Downton Movies. So put on your tiaras (It’s OK even if you’re not married) and join us for a “Fast and Furious'“ rundown of the new film.. NOTE: Spoilers abound so if you haven’t seen it yet, press pause, watch the film, and then come back. On second thought, nothing will really surprise you, so stick with us.

[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 long and fractious friendship of besties4ever Isobel and Violet; and all those scary appliances, cunning devices, and stylish ladypants that showed us just how inevitable change was. A huge thank you to this show's contributors*, as well as to all of you who listened, tweeted, facebooked, watched the show with us in sparkly headbands, and otherwise supported the podcast for all these years.

Please raise your glasses for a final toast to our beloved Downton Abbey...and to all us crazy fans.

*Thanks to our contributors in order of appearance: Hilary, Jaclyn, Kate, Mike, Jen, Sarah, Paula, Megan, Monica, Valerie, Sara, Vanessa, Melissa, Rebecca, Emily, and Birgit.