tavis: good evening. from los angeles, i am tavis smiley.tonight a conversation and the starellows elizabethon abbey" mcgovern. we continue to introduce you to the people who make this show possible. mark engel is the reason i am not standing here in the dark. >> i have been with the show for 10 years. to be in.eat spot every day at work is

informative and entertaining. we always attract an interesting array of guest's. in the light, are tell me who you have got coming up. >> we are glad you joined us. ♪ ♪ >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

the emotional ups and downs of the crowley family have captured the imagination of people here and in the uk. .ur guest created the show let's take a look at the scene ."om "downton abbey peer quote >> my dear. not so good for you. >> to not worry about me. i am an american. >> thing god for you.

for you.god >> we have a wedding to celebrate. let's make sure it is a great day. our last,s to be let's make it wonderful. enjoy the wonderful people. tavis: that gives a whole new meaning to for better or worse. he lost allg you the money. he lost all the money, and you are ok with that. but i got there in the end. tavis: the spirit in which you

accepted that was awfully kind. thisw you have been asked question a thousand times. what is it that makes this such a phenomenal hit in the uk and the u.s.? . iwe were talking about that do not know. obviously we got something i think what it is is are all treated equally in terms of a nurse -- terms of emotional narrative. we do not point out one group and say these are the main guys. these are the supporting cast. we do not do that. they are all somehow presented to the audience in the same way with the same strength.

that is all i can think of. tavis: what about timing? i have to believe there is something happening right now that makes a project like this work on pbs. >> i am sure that is 100% correct eerie at timing is everything, whether it is -- that is 100% correct. timing is everything. there is something about it that despite its injustices it somehow seems like a protected place rather than the unprotected world and random world we are living in now where a lot of people are going through serious difficulty. of course it is a false image. really this was the beginning of organized labor, the battle for women's rights. all sorts of things were changing, but there was a

superficial order i think people turn to in times of trouble. tavis: before i go to the list of things that were happening, is it your sense that at this series goes on you are going to start to wrestle more with what was happening in that era? >> we deliberately started in 1912 so if the show had any legs and went anywhere we were going to have the second series in the war and after the war, and i think the 1920s is an interesting period. in the beginning people were not sure how much had changed. come most of it would back. as it went on it became clearer there was a fundamental shift and the world was not the same

place and society was a different lace with different rules, and we do explore that. ton when we started was traveling like a great steamer on the sea. --re are risks to reedit risks. suddenly these places are in crisis, and we have characters having to deal with it. to thing is do they want deal with it. it is a big headache, and they have to resolve it. i think it does resolve this series. tavis: since we are talking about timing, it is about being in the right lace at the right time. place at the right time. i have had so much over the last actors andbout

directors who understand cable , yetis emerging landscape here is something that has become a huge hit on public television. i am asking what is it you think has mades series that it so successful on public television. tavis: you have to start with its success in britain. when theat a time audience was gone and so on. they had a gut thing that the timing was right for this kind of show, and they let us make it erie adieu did not have a committee of people sticking their $.10 in.

we were allowed to make the show, so you get an un-watered- down vision rather than having to please everyone. did not constantly fiddle. they took the show as it was and were very supportive of it, and i think it paid off for them. puts: i could have together a sizzle reel of major hollywood stars who have been on this program who at some point have referenced "downton abbey peer quote at some point it comes up, so i suspect you realize you are the envy of a lot of folks, given that you are part of this. theou go to twitter,

cultural references to this show. it is a lot of americans secret dream to live in that house and have those servants, and i remember when i was 7, 8, 9, 10, sitting with my granny and mom in the kitchen watching downstairs" and thinking, i will never be apart of of that life, and it is such that i found myself in this situation. hands and knees in gratitude every single day. i really did not plan it. >> the advantage of watching it it is historyn is in that you can enjoy it, but

you do not have to get up at 4:00 and make up the fire. if you are upstairs you do not have to sit in a corset, so you can and sure the order and loveliness, but you do not have to black the stove and all the rest of it erie it it is history -- the rest of it. it is history from an enjoyable perspex is. -- perspective. tavis: it intertwines given that you are american-born but moving. >> i have been there 20 years, and i have raised daughters that are talking to me in an english accent, so i understand what it is to have children who come from a different cultural background to your own, which i think is part of my characters story. childreno understand

educated in a completely different fashion from herself, so it is an interesting conundrum. appeal for a big elizabeth, which is why you did not have to explain why cora felt initially she had to fit in with the english way of life and have english children as the world becomes more sympathetic to her american viewpoint and american education, and by now she is more in tune with what is going on outside the walls than robert is, elizabeth has lived this life, and you have your children saying, that is so american, and all the rest of it exactly as cora does. tavis: i am curious what you are hearing from the pbs audience. since i do this on pbs i know the pbs audience will tell you what they think whether you want to hear it or not.

what are you hearing from the american audience about the future, about what has already aired? what do you hear from the pbs audience? >> we heard quite a lot about matthew dying. i was afraid to go out without bodyguards. people do not understand we are not in control of that kind of wants toand actor leave the show. i love dan, but he felt he had done his years, and that was that. we could not suddenly make y andhappy and hating marriot never wanting to see his son again. we did get a barrage of criticism. it has calmed out in a. ist i am rather touched by

how these people become real to the audience. i had one woman who said, i pray for them every day. i said, you do not have to. have never had it so good. she says, i know, but i worry about cora. >> do you get the same kind of reaction? >> do people worry about my character? tavis: they are engrossed in the character and want to engage in conversation about it? >> i get letters from people who that i have details never experienced this feeling where you think about the detail

and nuance, of but you expect an audience is not going to pick up on it, but for whatever reason, they do. it is a very smart audience, very curious, so it does not surprise me they pay attention. >> a read into details. why did you call the dog something? where do they get this? that i find extraordinary. i know why cora is called cora, because when we were filming "gosford park" at the bottom of the staircase was this wonderful woman who had the in

an american heiress and save the family. -- had been an american heiress and save the family. she was such a success. >> the owner showed me the picture. not that hollywood is a but ir raft of. pieces, wonder whether you have any reason to believe this might call for an asked lotion in hollywood of. pieces -- of period pieces. >> i think we have taken the curse off. i remember when one of those chaps who teaches you how to write scripts wanted a voiceover, and clint eastwood

came up with that wonderful film about a woman boxer. suddenly every film had voiceover. we havethat hopefully allowed people to make those if that is what a want to do. none of us really knows what the ingredient is for success. >> is there a particular joy for you being able to be in a period piece? >> i enjoy being in a hit.

>> what is the mood like when you are filming this. tavis: what is it like when you andfilming this project everybody knows you are part of a hit? >> it is tough. we have got six of them to do.

i think there is a confidence that is nice. >> base it playing this word game. bananagrams. that morning, noon, and night, but it is fun. in a success, everybody wants to be part of -- part of it. it is great. tavis: everybody in america is talking about "downton abbey" except in the black ud shops. i know i will get e-mails from people of color who like it.

i suspect it is because it would be nice to see your self on screen. >> we have a good lack character her coming up. -- a good black character coming up. .e is fairly major i was very keen he should the of positive character. -- he should be a positive character. so many black characters in ,elevision drama are victims and things are not going well for them. even when they are sympathetic things are terrible. it is very important you see they are not all victims, that it is not all going badly, because you just want to get in

there. this guy is a very successful entertainer. there is no negative side to him, and that was important. tavis: what can you tell us about where we are headed next season? can tell you one thing. that is initially when dan did for the to come back beginning of the show, i had this idea everybody would be happy, and he would come back and die, but i realized it would allow us to have a time jump, so we start six months

andr matthew has died, mary has not gotten over it, and they are beginning to start to function again. robert wants to be more protected. cora thinks it is time to wake up. we have the idea where gradually she is taken into real life. nothing is resolved, but you do see her coming alive again. that is in the way the spinal story of it.

>> i am going to concur with the writer on that. the big stories that go through it, but her coming back to life is quite big. they all have different views. when everyone is behaving well -- one of the features is we try to make it so each position is reasonable so there is not a bad guy and a good guy. positions, and hopefully everyone has an which one was right. there are no bad characters in that sense. bad people, and that is deliberate. tavis: what has the success

said to you about your own creative choices? one.at is rather a big >> we have had the best conversation. >> elizabeth, you are late. f that it iseliev possible to make entertainment that is not offensive, not horrible, that can be watched via all age groups, but is not simple and can still be andlicated and intelligent involving, i think i am vindicated. a lot of people think if you are not pushing the boundaries, you have to shock the audience. i do not think so. i think you have to make them inc.. i think you have to make them examine their values.

you can do that in a way the whole family can enjoy. i know that sounds sloppy, but i believe that. >> that is not sappy at all. thanks for coming on. congrats to you as well. , pbs.ow where to find it that is our show for tonight erie get as always, keep the ourh regard -- that is show for tonight. as always, keep the faith. >> for more information on today's show, visit tavis smiley at pbs.org. tavis: hi, i'm tavis smiley. join me next time for a conversation with the baseball great about his memoir. that is next time. we will see you then. ♪ ♪ quack

and♪ it is a beautiful day i cannot stop myself from smiling ♪ ♪ it's a beautiful day ♪ ♪ >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> be more. >> be more. music ♪)

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