There is no denying that Downton Abbey is a phenomenon — in the United States. But when I visited BuzzFeed's London bureau, I was rather shocked to discover that pretty much every single staffer could barely give a rip about the ongoing early 20th century saga of the Earl of Grantham's vast English estate and the lives of those who live and work there. They all recognized that the show was popular in their native country — but among their parents, not them.
So, I decided to pull a handful of BuzzFeed U.K. staffers into a room, show them a series of photos of the Downton Abbey cast, and ask them to describe who they thought these characters were, and how they fit into the show. Two of them, Scott and Ailbhe, admitted they had, on rare occasion, watched the show (although their answers seemed to prove otherwise). The rest had not seen a single episode. Here are their responses.