Due to success stories such as Downton Abbey in the States, ​PBS’ Masterpiece programming block is about to expand in a major way, adding 20 more hours of content in the coming year.

Beginning Jan. 18, 2015, PBS will add the ITV mystery series Grantchester, to air after episodes from Downton Abbey‘s fifth season. Hilary Mantel’s Henry VIII novel adaptation, Wolf Hall, starring Damian Lewis, follows in April. More series will follow throughout the year, with a plan to expand the successful timeslot by roughly 50 percent.

The programming block will reportedly expand outward from its 9 p.m. timeslot, either starting new shows before or after successful series like Downton. Thanks to the British drama and other fan favorites such as Sherlock, now in its fifth season in the U.K., the PBS block has doubled its audience in the past four years, averaging more than 6 million viewers this year.

Other series making their appearance in 2015 include a remake of Poldark, a British series from the ‘70s, and a 1930s series set in British-ruled India called Indian Summers.

Watch the ITV trailer for Grantchester below:

Read more at The New York Times.

Brief Take: PBS now has many great reasons to ramp up its programming under the Masterpiece brand umbrella, using big names like Sherlock and Downton Abbey to heighten awareness of incoming British dramas for the coming year.

[Image courtesy of PBS]

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