MODERNIZATION

‘Downton’ to Add Black Character

Will be a male musician named Jack Ross.

It’s still too soon for some of us to even think about new cast members now that Sybil and Matthew are gone, but Julian Fellowes is moving on already. The show is apparently casting a black character—fueling speculation that the show will address 1920s race relations. According to the casting call, the period drama will be adding Jack Ross, a black jazz musician between the ages of 25 and 30. Fellowes said last year that he would be writing in a black or Indian character to “open up the show ethnically.” The show is also casting a new love interest for Mary Crawley, as well as a character named Sir John Bullock who "must be able to act drunk." The fourth season will begin filming in March.