<P> Downton Abbey is a British period drama television series created by Julian Fellowes and co-produced by Carnival Films and Masterpiece . It first aired on ITV in the United Kingdom on 26 September 2010 , and on PBS in the United States on 9 January 2011 , as part of the Masterpiece Classic anthology . Six series have been made , the sixth airing in the autumn of 2015 in the UK and Ireland , and in January 2016 in the United States . On 26 March 2015 , the sixth series was confirmed to be the final series , with the final episode airing in the UK on 25 December 2015 on ITV . During the course of the programme , 52 episodes of Downton Abbey aired over six series . </P>
what is the final season of downton abbey
sixth