The device that sets the drama in motion is the fee tail or 'entail' governing the (fictional) Earldom of Grantham, endowing both title and estate exclusively to heirs male and complicated by the dire financial state of the estate, the latter only resolved when the earl-then the heir apparent-married an American heiress. The first series is focused on the need for a male heir to the Grantham estate, and the troubled love life of Lady Mary as she attempts to find a suitable husband.

The series looks keenly at issues relating to class and privilege in a variety of aspects, such as the compassionate treatment of homosexuality seen with depictions of the character of Thomas Barrow.

The ties between blood relations in family are an important part of the series. The first series of Downton Abbey comprises seven episodes, was broadcast in the UK from 26 September 2010, and explored the lives of the Crawley family and their servants from the day after the sinking of the RMS Titanic in April 1912 to the outbreak of the First World War on 4 August 1914.

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