LISA DESJARDINS: Downton Abbey, the# beloved historical drama of charm and wit,## is coming to an end.

At its peak, it# drew more than 13 million viewers,## the most watched drama in PBS history,# and it's going out with some flair.

The movie Downton Abbey Grand Finale is out in# theaters now.

Stephanie Sy spoke with Downton## Abbey creator Lord Julian Fellowes.

He's also the# creator of the HBO series the "Gilded Age" and an## Academy Award winning writer for "Gosford Park.

"# It's part of our arts and culture series Canvas.

STEPHANIE SY: Julian Fellowes, you know, since# Downton Abbey first aired in the U.S. on PBS,## it really feels like you and the Crawleys are part## of the PBS family.

So it's so good# to have you on the PBS NewsHour.

LORD JULIAN FELLOWES, Creator,# "Downton Abbey": Well, it's very## nice to be here.

And of course,# you can imagine after 16 ye..

I shall also feel rather strange# when I'm separated from the Crawleys.

STEPHANIE SY: Well, let's get into the grand# finale of the Crawleys, hopefully without## spoiling the movie, because it begins with Lady# Mary looking gorgeous as always, but shortly after## getting kicked out of a party, she's divorced# and now is still stain on the Crawley name.

WOMAN: I'll go.

I'm very sorry, Lady# Petersfield.

I shouldn't have come.

STEPHANIE SY: Why did you choose that as one# of the central conflicts of this final chapter?

JULIAN FELLOWES: For me, the acceptance of# divorce is really about accepting that the## Victorian age is finished and that they have# moved on to a new world.

And that, I think,## is an important step for the Crawley# family, but also as it was for everyone,## really, that they had been sort of running# on Victorian values, and yet now at last,## they had to accept that times had changed# and the world was a different place.

MAN: Good afternoon, ladies and# gentlemen, and welcome to 1930.

STEPHANIE SY: It seems like the film places# a lot of emphasis on family loyalty and love.## Grudges are overlooked.

They kind of get# past them.

Why was that important to you?

JULIAN FELLOWES: Well, I think that# family is about loyalty and I think## the show is about two things,# really.

One is it's about family,## the power of family and so on.

And the# other is about accepting change and And the fact is that if you live through a period# of change, and all periods are periods of change,## then you must learn to change with it and to get# on with it and to move into the new world.

And## if you refuse to do that, then you're stuffed.# And that's really what I feel the show is about.

It's true that the family.

I mean, I don't know# that they approve of Mary getting divorced,## but nevertheless, when the chips are down, they# are loyal to each other, and that's important.

STEPHANIE SY (voice-over): One such loyal# family member, played by the late Maggie## Smith, was Violet Crawley, the tough and dry# matriarch known for her scene stealing zingers.

WOMAN: There's nothing simpler than avoiding# people you don't like, avoiding one's friends.## That's the real test .# STEPHANIE SY: With the death# of Maggie Smith last year,## Julian, did it feel like you had a vacuum to fill?

JULIAN FELLOWES: You know, when you work# together, you pick up how the other one## works.

And she knew how to say what# I'd written and I knew how to write## what she'd say.

And together it was quite a# strong partnership, I don't think.

You know,## it wasn't a great friendship.

We didn't take# a house by the sea together and sit there## eating supper in the late night.

That wasn't it# at all.

It was that we knew how to work together.

And I feel very blessed having enjoyed# that for as long as I did with Maggie## and not having to explain things, you# know, not having to explain why this## line is funny.

She just always understood# the people I wrote.

And that was something.

STEPHANIE SY: Besides the dame Maggie Smith,# all along, you've had an ensemble cast of an## extremely high caliber, not to mention cameos from# the likes of Shirley MacLaine and Paul Giamatti.

MAN: Perhaps I'll move here.

Sure.

I'd# be more English than Robert in a trice.

STEPHANIE SY: How much did you interact# with the actors in the process,## and do they have input into what# happens to their characters?

JULIAN FELLOWES: You gradually come# to the point when you're writing## for a performance you've already# seen, and so you're not guessing## how they're going to be acting.

You# know how they're going to be acting.

MAN: What's that?

WOMAN: I don't know.

The family upstairs.

MAN: The family upstairs.

JULIAN FELLOWES: And the longer the show goes on,## and went on quite a long time, you gradually# understand which actors can make you cry,## which actors are very funny.

Which actors# are both, which, of course, Maggie was.

And you start, in a way, if you like,# to write for that.

And in that sense,## I feel that the characters were created# by me writing and the actors together to## make these people happen.

And I enjoyed# that very much.

And I loved the cast.## They worked together very well.# They were a very strong ensemble.

I think there were a lot of very# good friendships that came together## and I think will outlast the show, you# know, which is just as it should be.

STEPHANIE SY: The theme of change,# which you mentioned earlier,## bearing down on tradition in good ways# and bad, has been there, as you said,## since the series started.

And by the end, we# have not only a divorced woman in high society,## but a former servant who ends up in a# gay relationship with a Hollywood actor.

MAN: I suppose you think Lady Mary's# lost her moral compass, Mr. Carson?

WOMAN: Perhaps we should all have# a different compass these days.

STEPHANIE SY: When you conceived of the Crawleys,## Julian, did you envision you would be making# these cultural, maybe even moral statements?

JULIAN FELLOWES: I think the statements are# cultural.

With the gay character of Thomas,## I wanted to remind people of how tough it# was, you know, I mean, we had letters from## people saying.

Are you seriously saying# that homosexuality was illegal in 1912?

Well, it was illegal in my day, in the early# 60s.

I remember when it became legal.

And## one of my brother's godfathers was a gay# peer, which was quite wild in those days,## and he lived with his other half# in a house near Sloane Square.

And I remember it well.

I used to go there as a# child all the time.

So I think, to some extent,## I had witnessed how hard all this was, and now# I had the chance to put it into my own writing,## you know, which is one of the great# luxuries, of course, of being a writer.

STEPHANIE SY: You yourself, I understand, Julian,## came from an aristocratic class that would be# foreign to most of us Americans.

I don't know## if you ever had a Crawley kind of life,# but there is a sense of longing I sense## in the Downton story.

I wonder if that's your# longings in any way that you're expressing.

JULIAN FELLOWES: Well, it's quite# an interesting question, really,## and I'm not sure I'm absolutely clear about# the answer.

I come from a much more modest## family than the Crawleys, and certainly# the great days of my forebears was way## back in the 19th century, so we don't# have to waste too much time on that.

But I think there was a sort of order in the# world that seems to be missing at the moment.## I don't know that I long for a Victorian way# of life and all of that stuff.

I don't think## I do.

But I do long for a world of order and# good manners and where people are pleasant to## each other and everyone stops getting so angry# about everything.

I suppose that is true.

Yes.

STEPHANIE SY: That is Julian Fellowes,# thank you so much for joining us.

JULIAN FELLOWES: Thank you for having me.