This is the best news since the last time the Dowager Countess spoke: Downton Abbey will be releasing a Christmas album this year.
Christmas at Downton Abbey will feature a festive version of the show’s theme song as well as traditional hymns and carols, according to ITV, which is the channel Downton runs on in the U.K. Members of the cast will also perform on the album, with Jim Carter, who plays Carson, narrating a spoken-word version of “T’was the Night Before Christmas.”
‘Downton Abbey’s’ Elizabeth McGovern Readies Tour With Sadie & the Hotheads
The show has an annual Christmas episode, where presumably some of this music will make an appearance this year. Many of the show’s cast members are quite musical: Elizabeth McGovern, who plays Cora, is currently touring with her band Sadie and the Hotheads; Julian Ovenden (Charles Blake) has a thriving musical theater career; and Michelle Dockery (Mary) memorably (and beautifully) sang “If You Were the Only Girl in the World” during season 2.
The 45-track album Christmas at Downton Abbey will be released Nov. 10, per ITV. (Billboard has reached out to a rep for the show to confirm that this release date is accurate for the United States as well, but did not immeadiately hear back.)