It's cut from the same cloth, right down to its Edwardian-era costumes.
Can Mr. Selfridge cash in on the phenomenal success of Downton Abbey? Will the love affairs of a store's clerks and wealthy patrons enthrall viewers as much as the downstairs-upstairs goings-on at the Grantham estate?
Like Downton, Mr. Selfridge is a lavish costume drama, premiering on PBS' Masterpiece Sunday (9 ET/PT, times may vary). Also set in early 20th-century England, it's the rags-to-riches story of Harry Gordon Selfridge, the charismatic, American entrepreneur who in 1909 threw open the doors to Selfridge's, welcoming London and the world to the first truly modern department store.
"No one does period drama better than the Brits," says Jeremy Piven, the three-time Emmy-winning actor who played Hollywood agent Ari Gold in HBO's Entourage, and who stars as the bigger-than-life Selfridge. The timing, he says, couldn't be better.
"If you would have said three years ago that America would fall in love with a period drama that takes place at the turn of the century, with a group of British actors Americans weren't familiar with, that it would be a hit and it was on PBS, I think it would be hard to wrap your mind around it," Piven says.
But Mr. Selfridge is banking on more than good timing. The eight-part series is written by Andrew Davies, who has smitten audiences worldwide with screenplays based on classic characters and stories. His Pride and Prejudice, based on Jane Austen's iconic novel, will forever evoke an image of Mr. Darcy's (Colin Firth) toned torso encased in a clingy, wet white shirt.
"Mr. Selfridge is the story of one man's life, a pretty remarkable man at that, and it's a family story and a workplace story," says Davies, who loosely based the series on British writer Lindy Woodhead's 2007 biography Shopping, Seduction Mr. Selfridge.
Like the Granthams' sprawling Downton estate, Davies says a department store, where much of Mr. Selfridge's story is set, is "a really great place for ambitions, rivalries, jealousies, all this kind of thing. I felt it could make for quite a rich mix."
In some ways it reminds him of another series. "My favorite television show of all time is probably The Sopranos," Davies says. "Like Mr. Selfridge, it's got one charismatic man at the center. It tells the story of a long marriage, and it's a big family drama. And if you think of the Mafia as a workplace, it's a workplace drama as well, with all the friendships and rivalries and betrayals that go on there."
In the U.K., where Season 1 of Mr. Selfridge has already aired — Season 2 begins filming in April — some in the British media have dubbed Mr. Selfridge "Downton Abbey with tills" (cash registers).
"We're quite pleased to be thought of in the same breath," says Davies, who envisions a four-season arc for Mr. Selfridge, "but where we're so different from Downton is that our values are tremendously American and log-cabin-to-White-House-ish, and (getting) there by your own efforts. Downton is all about tradition and continuity, and sitting on your bum for 500 years and not doing any work."
Davies hopes Downton fans will get caught up in the show's own upstairs-downstairs hook, especially the romantic entanglements. Piven hopes viewers will also be drawn to Selfridge's zest for life and the "beautiful, tragic dualities" of his personality.
"When he's in his professional mode and he's dealing with all the people in that world, he has a certain demeanor and it's nothing but passion and sunshine. And behind closed doors are his doubts and fears," says Piven. Not to mention his weakness for showgirls: "He loved his wife and his kids, but he's a risk junkie and just can't help himself."
Masterpiece executive producer Rebecca Eaton hopes the Downton crowd gives Mr. Selfridge a chance. She admits the ssuccess of Downton "looms over everything. How many times does lightning strike?"
Says Eaton, "Downton was a phenomenon, and I think everybody recognized it as a phenomenon. It's inevitable that everything we do for a while will be measured against it. But each of these shows are unique, so they're not cookie cutter."
Source: http://www.news.theusalinks.com/2013/03/26/mr-selfridge-could-profit-from-downton-abbey-love/
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