Stuart Varney Ponders The Social and Political Impact of Downton Abbey In America

Stuart Varney Ponders The Social and Political Impact of Downton Abbey In America

Julian Fellowes' Downton Abbey enjoyed a fruitful migration to U.S shores, proving to be a great success, which was a surprise considering the British brand of comedy is yet to truly take America by storm. For drama, however, the lines are less blurry. 

Stuart Varney - British economic journalist and host of Fox's Business series - has trepidations about the message it sends out, especially for leftist politics. "The politics of Downton are very important and it's important that they are popular in America today," Varney said. "Rich people, powerful people, in America today, are reviled. They're dismissed as fat cats who don't pay their fair share. We just hate 'em -- 'Rich people are evil' ... Yet, along comes this show 'Downton Abbey' -- rich people prominently featured and they're generous; they're nice people; they create jobs, for heaven's sake; they're classy; they've got style and we love 'em ... That show is wildly popular, which poses a threat to the left, doesn't it?"

HuffPost TV's Maureen Ryan wrote about her problems with "Downton Abbey" Season 3 and said, "The big problem during a large chunk of the season amounts to the following, more or less: 'Oh no, a very rich man is having to face the possibility of being slightly less comfortable!' It's fun to escape into a world of lush privilege when times are hard, but the tenor of the times also make it quite difficult to care about a well-to-do family having to trim its budget a bit."