Amazon Grabs ‘Julian Fellowes Presents Doctor Thorne’

Amazon has snagged the period drama Julian Fellowes PresentsDoctor Thorne and plans to premiere the series on Prime Video in the U.S. May 20. Doctor Thorne comes from Julian Fellowes, mastermind behind Downton Abbey. The cast includes Ian Mcshane and Alison Brie.

The Weinstein Company picked up the North American rights from Hat Trick International earlier last year. Amazon Prime members can watch the first season, which debuted overseas earlier this year.

Doctor Thorne’s multilayered storytelling coupled with an outstanding ensemble cast is an exciting addition to our line-up,” said Roy Price, VP, Digital Video and Amazon Studios. “Prime members have loved having access to Downton Abbey, making each season a top streamed show on Prime Video since 2011, and we hope to make Prime Video the home for even more of Julian Fellowes future projects.”

Doctor Thorne comes from a book authored by Anthony Trollope. The series follows a doctor living a quiet life with his niece Mary in the English village of Greshambury, which is ruled by the terrifying Lady Arabella Gresham, whose world is rocked when she learns her beloved son is planning to elope with common-born Mary.

Downton Abbey captivated audiences for six incredible seasons and it’s a tremendous thrill to be part of creator Julian Fellowes’ next endeavor. Amazon Prime is the perfect home to bring Fellowes’ beautiful, smart, and creative world to U.S. audiences,” said Harvey Weinstein, co-chairman of The Weinstein Company. “Amazon’s millions of fans who tuned into Downton Abbey will love this new show. We hope this is the first of many Julian Fellowes Presents that we plan on creating with Amazon and our U.K. partner at Hat Trick.”

Julian Fellowes PresentsDoctor Thorne is executive produced by Fellowes, The Weinstein Company’s Bob and Harvey Weinstein, and Hat Trick’s Mark Redhead, Christopher Kelly and Ted Childs. 

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.