UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Local fans of "Downton Abbey" once again have the opportunity to discuss the hit British drama’s new season with WPSU-TV producers and guest experts.
The second season of "After Abbey" premiered on Jan. 5, the first of eight live call-in shows dedicated to recapping each new "Downton" episode this season. WPSU producer Whitney Chirdon joins cohosts Lindsey Whissel and Jessica Peters weekly to discuss the show with experts and viewers. The program’s interactive structure allows fans to participate in the conversation through phone calls, emails and social media.
"After Abbey" airs on WPSU-TV and WQLN in Erie immediately following new "Downton Abbey" episodes at 10 p.m. Sundays and can also be seen at wpsu.org. Fans can interact by calling 800-543-8242, through the "After Abbey" Facebook page at www.facebook.com/afterabbeytv or through Twitter @AfterAbbey. Viewers can also submit their thoughts and questions through email at afterabbey@wpsu.org.
Guest experts joining Chirdon, Whissel and Peters this season include Penn State faculty and PBS producers.
Lori Ginzberg, professor of history and women’s studies with Penn State’s College of the Liberal Arts, will joined the conversation on "After Abbey" on Jan. 12. She is a historian of 19th-century American women, with research focusing on how gender relates to class and politics.
On Jan. 19, "After Abbey" will welcome Janet Lyon to the WPSU studios. Lyon is an associate professor of English and women’s studies at Penn State. Her scholarship focuses mainly on modernism and its historical, sociological and philosophical contexts in Ireland, Great Britain and the global reaches of the British Empire.
Executive producer of PBS’s "Masterpiece Classic" Rebecca Eaton joins "After Abbey" on Jan. 26. Eaton has worked with "Masterpiece" for 28 of its 42 years, working on shows like "Downton Abbey," "Sherlock," "Prime Suspect" and other PBS hits. Awards on her watch include 43 prime-time Emmy Awards, 15 Peabody Awards, two Golden Globes and two Academy Award nominations. Eaton appeared as a guest expert in the show’s first season.
The guest expert for "After Abbey" on Feb. 2 will be Dara Purvis, assistant professor of law at Penn State. Purvis is a scholar of family law, contracts, feminist legal theory, and sexuality and the law.
The Jan. 5 season four premiere of PBS’s "Masterpiece Classic’s Downton Abbey" received record-breaking viewership, averaging an audience of 10.2 million viewers, according to PBS.
For more information on WPSU's "After Abbey" and its guests, visit http://wpsu.org/tv/afterabbey online.