11 Best Shows of 2011

11 Best Shows of 2011:

#3. 'Downton Abbey'

2011's biggest TV surprise wasn't that Masterpiece produced another excellent miniseries, but that the only thing more voracious than our consumption of Downton Abbey was our desire to dissect the conversational minutia every single scene was rife with.

Set in 1916's England, the two worlds (master and servant) painstakingly brought to life by writer Julian Fellowes have not only fueled the year's most thought-provoking discussions about class, gender and how society rewards both, but also some of the most unexpected laughs. Mostly at the expense of the divine, devilish Dowager Countess.
Best Episode: Episode Three