The term DOWNTON ABBEY is a British period drama television series created by Julian Fellowes and co-produced by Carnival Films and Masterpiece. It first aired on ITV in the United Kingdom on 26 September 2010, and on PBS in the United States on 9 January 2011. The series depicts the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants in the fictional Yorkshire country estate of Downton ABBEY. The show has been praised for its historical accuracy and has won numerous awards, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Miniseries or Television Film and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries or Movie.