The show’s underpinned by the differences in character and country of Lady Cora and her formidable mother-in-law, the dowager Countess Violet Crawley, played by the equally formidable and much missed Dame Maggie Smith.
—
Baz Bamigboye,
Deadline,
22 July 2025
The empress dowager’s legacy Empress Dowager Ling was largely unsuccessful in her bid for power.
—
Stephanie Balkwill,
The Conversation,
17 Mar. 2025
Cudlitz joins the cast as Randall Clegg, the patriarch of a ranching family that's said to be nearly as old as the Duttons.
—
Samantha Highfill,
Entertainment Weekly,
23 Feb. 2026
Created by Seth MacFarlane, who voices the family’s patriarch and Roger the alien, the show has gained popularity partly for its musical numbers performed by the Smith family’s pubescent son and Roger.
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