When Will The 'Downton Abbey' Christmas Special Air? A Viewing Guide For US Fans

“Downton Abbey” will come to an end this Christmas. The holiday special will serve as the series finale, but Americans will celebrate Christmas with the Crawleys a little later than British fans. PBS hasn’t even started airing the series.

U.S. viewers will be able to start watching “Downton Abbey” Season 6 on Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016. They’ll have to wait several weeks before the finale. The “Downton Abbey” Christmas special will air March 8. Longtime fans are used to the wait, but they also know a way to watch it sooner.

Viewers can get their hands on the entire series early. The DVD and Blu-ray box sets will come out Jan. 26 and is already available for pre-order. Once that is available, fans can binge-watch the entire last season before PBS airs the final episodes.

It isn’t clear why American audiences are forced to wait so long, but the actors aren’t particular happy with the wait either. “I, along with [showrunner] Julian Fellowes, have been great champions of the idea of having the show out there at the same time,” Alan Leech, who plays Tom Branson, told E! Online last year. “I don't know why it's not. I'm going to be shot for saying that and right now PBS probably has a sniper's rifle on me, but it doesn't make sense in this day and age.”

The Christmas special will bring back Rose (Lily James) and her husband Atticus (Matt Barber), who went to America last season. The finale episode will take viewers through to 1926, and will reportedly have a satisfying ending for longtime fans. Watch a trailer for the final season of "Downton Abbey" below:

Though American audiences still have to wait for the Christmas special, British viewers will see it Dec. 25. Fans who like to read about the show on the internet should be cautious of spoilers.

“Downton Abbey” Season 6, the final season, premieres in the U.S. Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016, at 9 p.m. EST on PBS.