Downton Abbey Season 4 is a go, but will Matthew be back?

Fans of Downtown Abbey have two good reasons to rejoice today, tainted by one wee bit of worry.

To kick things off, we're thrilled to share news that the beloved period drama from across the pond has been renewed for a fourth season! Laura Carmichael and Michelle Dockery, seen here in London, will be back on the small screen. However, another cast member's return is in doubt.

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As of yet, Dan Stevens hasn't signed on for Downton Abbey Season 4. Whatever shall Lady Mary Crawley do without her cousin/love interest, Matthew Crawley, at hand?

The UK's Daily Mail reports that 30-year-old Dan Stevens is expected to be a part of the Christmas special and the first episode of the new season, but he will then leave the show.

The third season of Downton Abbey has already aired on ITV across the globe, while fans stateside will be treated to the first episode of Season 3 on PBS starting Jan. 6.

Despite the disappointing rumors surrounding Dan Stevens, there's more to celebrate today — especially for the show's creator, Julian Fellowes!

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Thanks to the success of Downton Abbey thus far, other networks, including the peacock, are itching for more of his work.

Entertainment Weekly reports that Fellowes has been tapped to write and produce The Gilded Age for NBC, a drama touted as an "epic tale of the princes of the American Renaissance, and the vast fortunes they made — and spent — in late 19th-century New York."

"This was a vivid time," Fellowes said in a statement, "with dizzying, brilliant ascents and calamitous falls, of record-breaking ostentation and savage rivalry... a time when money was king."

Here's hoping Fellowes can bring yet another time period to life so beautifully — and that he isn't yet done working with Dan Stevens!

Will you be watching Downton Abbey's fourth season if Matthew Crawley doesn't return?

Image via WENN