Critical response
At Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the first series received an average score of 91, based on 16 reviews, which Metacritic suggests indicates "universal acclaim". This result earned the show a Guinness World Record in 2011 for "Highest critical review ratings for a TV show", making Downton Abbey the critically best received TV show in the world. Season 4 of Breaking Bad surpassed Downton Abbey's record later in the year, with a score of 96, making the first series of Downton Abbey the second highest rated show of 2011.
The series has been noted for its relatively sympathetic portrayal of the aristocratic family and the class-based society of early 20th-century Britain. This has led to criticism from the political left and praise from the right. James Fenton wrote in The New York Review of Books, "it is noticeable that the aristocrats in the series, even the ones who are supposed to be the most ridiculous, never lapse into the most offensive kind of upper-class drawl one would expect of them. Great care has been taken to keep them pleasant and approachable, even when the things they say are sometimes shown to be class-bound and unfeeling." Jerry Bowyer argued in Forbes that the sympathy for aristocracy is over-stated, and that the show is simply more balanced than most period dramas, which he believes have had a tendency to demonise or ridicule upper class characters. He wrote that Downton Abbey shows "there is no inherent need for good TV to be left of center. Stories sympathetic to virtue, preservation of property and admiration of nobility and of wealth can be told beautifully and to wide audiences."
Downton Abbey has been a commercial success and received general acclaim from critics, although some criticise it as superficial, melodramatic or unrealistic. Others defend these qualities as the reason for the show's appeal. David Kamp wrote in Vanity Fair that "melodrama is an uncool thing to trade in these days, but then, that's precisely why Downton Abbey is so pleasurable. In its clear delineation between the goodies and the baddies, in its regulated dosages of highs and lows, the show is welcome counter-programming to the slow-burning despair and moral ambiguity of most quality drama on television right now." In September 2019, The Guardian, which ranked the show 50th on its list of the 100 best TV shows of the 21st century, stated that the show "was TV drama as comfort blanket: at a time of austerity, Julian Fellowes's country house epic offered elegantly realised solace in the homilies of the past". Mary McNamara of Los Angeles Times wrote, "Possibly the best series of the year." Jill Serjeant of Reuters wrote, "There's a new darling in U.S. pop culture." The staff of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "It's the biggest PBS phenomenon since Sesame Street." David Hinckley of New York Daily News wrote, "Maintains its magic touch."
James Parker, writing in The Atlantic, said, "Preposterous as history, preposterous as drama, the show succeeds magnificently as bad television. The dialogue spins light-operatically along in the service of multiplying plotlets, not too hard on the ear, although now and again a line lands like a tray of dropped spoons. The acting is superb—it has to be." Ben W. Heineman Jr. compared the series unfavourably to Brideshead Revisited, writing "Downton Abbey is entertainment. Its illustrious predecessor in television mega-success about the English upper class, Brideshead Revisited, is art." He noted the lack of character development in Downton. Writing in The Sunday Times, A. A. Gill said that the show is "everything I despise and despair of on British television: National Trust sentimentality, costumed comfort drama that flogs an embarrassing, demeaning, and bogus vision of the place I live in."
Sam Wollaston of The Guardian wrote,
It's beautifully made—handsome, artfully crafted and acted. Smith, who plays the formidable and disdainful Dowager Countess, has a lovely way of delivering words, always spaced to perfection. This is going to be a treat if you like a lavish period drama of a Sunday evening.
While rumoured due to the departure of actor Dan Stevens, the death of Matthew Crawley in the 2012 Christmas special drew criticism. Fellowes defended the decision stating that they 'didn't really have an option' once Stevens decided to leave. Stevens later said that he had no say in the manner of his character's departure but that he was 'sorry' his character had died on Christmas Day.
The third episode of the fourth series, which aired on 6 October 2013, included a warning at the beginning: "This episode contains violent scenes that some viewers may find upsetting." The episode content, in which Anna Bates was raped, led to more than 200 complaints by viewers to UK television regulator Ofcom, while ITV received 60 complaints directly. On 4 November 2013, Ofcom announced it would not be taking action over the controversy citing the warning given, that the episode was screened after 9 pm, and, that the rape took place 'off-screen'. Series four also introduced a recurring character, black jazz musician Jack Ross, who had a brief romantic affair with Lady Rose. The casting of Gary Carr drew critical accusations of political correctness in the media. The character of Ross was partially based on Leslie Hutchinson ("Hutch"), a real-life 1920s jazz singer who had an affair with a number of women in high society, among them Edwina Mountbatten.
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