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Alastair Bruce has accomplished much in his life.

He is a British television journalist and a former senior officer in the British Army Reserves, serving as governor of Edinburgh Castle from 2019 to 2024.

Yet among his accolades, Bruce holds dear the time he spent as historical advisor for the PBS series 鈥淒ownton Abbey鈥� and its three feature films.

鈥淒ownton Abbey鈥� was a hit when it debuted on PBS in 2011 and is widely credited with reigniting America鈥檚 love for British drama. Spanning the tumultuous years from 1912 to 1925, the series followed the aristocratic Crawley family as they dealt with an ever-changing world.

The series returns to New Mexico PBS, channel 5.1, with rebroadcasts of Seasons 1-3 at 9 p.m. Sunday evenings: Season 1 from May 17 to June 7; Season 2 from June 14 to July 26; and Season 3 from Aug. 2 to Sept. 13. Seasons 4-6 will air in 2027.

Bruce says he tried 鈥渁lways to make sure that whilst not intervening on the importance of a good narrative, I鈥檝e made sure that the environment and background of every scene, if possible, can be true to the time in which it鈥檚 set.鈥�

He says there were aspects that production couldn鈥檛 take back to that time, like the way people spoke, because the dialect of the era would have been difficult for modern audiences to understand.

鈥淚 think it would鈥檝e been a quaint, but not entertaining asset to the lexicon of good television,鈥� Bruce says.

Since its debut, the series has become ingrained in popular culture. Bruce believes the reason the series connected with people is because 鈥淒ownton Abbey鈥� portrays a society where every single person is part of the foundation stone of society.

鈥淭hose are the people who are doing the real graft. Everybody knew their place. Now, I don鈥檛 want us to go back to that time. We have all evolved. It鈥檚 a much more meritocratic society, not least in America, but also in the United Kingdom,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut I sense that whether you were at the top or at the bottom, your place gave you a sense of credibility of who you were in the world as it then was. I think there are a lot of people now who don鈥檛 quite know what their place is.鈥�

Bruce says he thinks society struggles sometimes because people aren鈥檛 finding their place in the world.

鈥淚 think 鈥楧ownton Abbey鈥� gives a place where it鈥檚 obviously from another time, but I think it can become very reassuring. It鈥檚 also, there鈥檚 a great order to it. There鈥檚 a lot of courtesy there. Everyone is trying to live within the restraints of the culture of that time,鈥� he says. 鈥淪ometimes culture doesn鈥檛 feel very constrained now. You can be quite rude to people. I鈥檓 not saying that people weren鈥檛 rude then, but at least there was a consequence to a lot of ill behavior, which maybe society is losing to a great degree now.鈥�

Bruce acknowledges that the time period was one of innocence.

鈥�... It鈥檚 a place you can go to in your mind, you can settle into, you feel you can get to know it, but you still have to turn the television off and then return to your life,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut entertainment is there to give people an escape and a place where they can restore themselves and feel their batteries are charged. And if I鈥檓 right, then I think that might鈥檝e been one of the reasons 鈥楧ownton Abbey,鈥� contrary to all our expectations, became such a worldwide success.鈥�