NOTE: If you have not already seen Season 3,hurry up already, I mean, there are spoilers ahead!

I’ve been hearing a lot of news here and there about Season 4 and the new cast members so I thought I’d put post a few of the highlights for this week’s 7 Quick Takes, hosted by Jen.

~~ 1 ~~

Earlier this month Masterpiece released the first official photo of Lady Mary and Baby George Crawley.

Source: Carnival Films

~~ 2 ~~

Season 4 will pick up the storyline six months after Matthew Crawley’s death. (I am still shaking my fist over that one.) There are two new love interests waiting in line for her.

Source: Getty

Tom Cullen will play Lord Gillingham, a childhood family friend of the Crawleys who visits the family when he attends a house party.

Source: Getty

Julien Ovenden will play aristocrat Charles Blake, another potential love interest for Lady Mary.

Note: Ovenden played Andrew the son of Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle in Foyle’s War. I loved that show. Not to mention, I also feel in love with the name “Andrew” while watching it and hoped to one day have a son named that. 🙂 Also, did you know that the show is returning? Woohoo! But more on that later.

~~ 3 ~~

Other new cast members include… (Photos from Getty.)

Dame Harriet Walter as Lady Shackleton, an old friend of the Dowager Countess.

Joanna David will have a guest role as the Duchess of Yeovil.
(Remember her as Mrs. Gardiner in the original Pride and Prejudice?)

Nigel Harman will play Green, a valet.

Dame Kiri Te Kanawa will play a guest who sings in the house.

~~ 4 ~~

Source

Shirley MacLaine will return as the outspoken Martha Levinson. The Dowager will no doubt be ready with her razor sharp tongue.

Source

 Lily James who originally made a guest appearance as Violet’s rebellious great niece Rose has been confirmed as a series regular for Season 4.

~~ 5 ~~

Another character which has not been cast as of yet, is the role of Jack Ross. He is to be a musician/singer at an exclusive club in the 20’s. He is black, very handsome, a “real” man (not a boy) and has charm, charisma and the “wow” factor. Just reading that makes me say, Wow. It’ll be interesting who they find!

~~ 6 ~~

As if it wasn’t enough that we had to watch Sybil die in agony, watch Matthew be ridiculously killed off, now we have to say goodbye to the woman (and bangs) that we love to hate.  Siobhan Finneran has quit Downton Abbey. Blast!

Source: Carnival Films

The DailyMail.co.uk reports:

The big question, of course, is why quit the biggest show on TV? Siobhan admits there is no plan to cross the pond like her fellow cast member Dan Stevens, whose character Matthew Crawley was killed off when he picked Broadway over being the heir apparent.

She just wanted out — and has done for a while. ‘I signed up to do three series and that was all I wanted to do,’ says the 47-year-old. ‘I talked it through with my family and it was the right decision for all of us. I had great fun doing it but I just didn’t want to do it any more. I decided this before we even did the last series. When I stop loving something, I stop doing it.’

She has made her mind up — although the Downton people are hoping she will change it. While Dan was killed off in a car crash in the Christmas special, according to producers the door has been left open for Siobhan to return. Not that she appears to care much about what happens to Sarah O’Brien. ‘I have no idea how they will explain my absence,’ she laughs.

Read more here.

And to signify a change in her life, Siobhan had a hair makeover. She is now even harder to recognize.

Source: Getty Images

~~ 7 ~~

Well, we still have many, many longs months until Season 4 arrives. In the meantime, you can get your period drama fix next week with the new series Mr. Selfridge. It premiers on Masterpiece on March 31, 2013 and will run until May 19. The first episode is 2 hours. Episodes 2-7 will be an hour and Episode 8, 90 minutes. Here’s a preview.

Watch Mr. Selfridge Preview on PBS. See more from Masterpiece.

Oh, and for those still going through seasons 1 – 3 of Downton Abbey, if you want to read my two cents on the episodes, go to my Downton Abbey page. 🙂

Have a great weekend!