Benedict Cumberbatch Weighs In on 'Downton' Season 2

You don't need experience as a renegade private detective to deduce that "Downton Abbey" has been experiencing a mild critical backlash. Nonetheless, fictional "Sherlock" Benedict Cumberbatch has offered his perspective on all the "Downton" debate. 

As "Abbey" fans are well aware, star Elizabeth McGovern caught some heat last week for confessing that she preferred its first season. And in a subsequently published New York Times interview to promote the stateside return of "Sherlock," UK thespian and upcoming "Star Trek 2" baddie Cumberbatch (insert joke here about his name evoking a goofy celebrity hybrid) took the bait, offering his cheeky two pounds on the maligned second installment of his fellow "Masterpiece" franchise.

According to the story, "Downton" Executive Producer Rebecca Eaton affectionately teased Cumberbatch at this past January's Golden Globers with her statue, and in his own words, Cumberbatch "just looked at it and went: ‘Begone, woman. Bring it back when it says 'Sherlock Holmes' or ["Holmes" co-creator] Steven Moffat or myself -- someone else who’s more deserving than the second series of 'Downton Abbey.’"

 

Also: What shows will be returning next season?

 

Clearly, Cumberbatch was being playful, and chances are, the interview itself occurred before McGovern's comments, inadvertently creating a perfect storm of tabloid fodder. Still, truth is oft hidden in jest, and there's no denying that "Downton" has an uphill climb to regain its credibility next year. Case closed.