Sitting down with the stars of 'Downton Abbey: A New Era'

ATLANTA - Six seasons of television and one feature film just weren’t enough — so this weekend, the beloved characters of "Downton Abbey" are back in the big screen.

"Downton Abbey: A New Era" is the highly-anticipated sequel to 2019’s Downton Abbey, and continues the story first told in the blockbuster PBS series of the same name. This time around, half of the characters head off to the French Riviera to check out an inherited villa, while the rest stay behind in the house as a Hollywood film crew takes over to make a movie.

"You know, I was fine with it when I read the script," laughs Michelle Dockery, whose Lady Mary stays behind at Downton Abbey. "It was seeing the footage of them in France on our WhatsApp group — we had a whole group, and they would send us this flurry of messages — and seeing them on the beach and everything, of course I was completely envious. It looked absolutely glorious, and looks stunning in the film."

Adds Allen Leech, who did film in France, "We were the lucky ones. We didn't know anything about it until we read the script. So, we felt very lucky when we read it, and there was some furious texting going on: 'How do we break this to Michelle?'"

Hugh Dancy joins the franchise in the new film, portraying the director helming a film at Downton Abbey. The actor says portraying a director was an illuminating experience — especially when getting some insight from director Simon Curtis.

"Our director, Simon, would say, ‘All you care about is your film. You don't care about any of these people. You just want to get out of that house, and the actors are really annoying, and you just want them to do the scene properly and get on with the next scene because you've got to make your day.' And I thought, 'Oh, wow, that's what's going on in your mind all the time?’"

When told that Atlanta recently hosted "Downton Abbey: The Exhibition," Laura Carmichael (who plays Edith) recalls being a fan of the experience when she attended its opening in Singapore. 

"I loved it," says Carmichael. "It's something that people can enjoy, because so much of the enjoyment of the show is seeing the details. So, being up-close to the costumes and you get to see some of the attention to detail that goes into making the show."

"Downton Abbey: A New Era" is open in theaters nationwide now. For more information on the film, click here. And click the video players in this article to watch our interviews with the stars!