The season four premiere of acclaimed British drama "Downton Abbey" broke ratings records with its two-hour special. 

The show picked up six months after the tragic, untimely death of Matthew Crawley (Dan Stevens). Although months have passed, a devastated Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) is still donning black and spending her days wallowing over the loss of her beloved. 

While her extreme dejection is understandable, the rest of the Crawleys (except for Lord Grantham) want her to rejoin the land of the living and take an active interest in her son, George. Tom (Allen Leech) is especially pressing for her return into normal life, as he wants help reforming the massive Downton estate and pushing back against Lord Grantham's (Hugh Bonneville) traditionalism. 

After a speech from her sage matriarch grandmother (Dame Maggie Smith), Mary decides to shed her black clothing and delve headfirst into matters concerning the estate. 

Meanwhile, O'Brien (Siobhan Finneran) takes flight in the middle of the night to be the lady's maid for young cousin Rose's (Lily James) mother. This leaves Cora (Elizabeth McGovern) without a lady's maid, and Rose, who is staying with the Crawley's, with some guilt, even though she is not to blame. 

Ex-Downton maid Phyllis Baxter (Raquel Cassidy)--who was dismissed from Downton after having a mini-tryst with Tom--comes back to fill O'Brien's lady's maid shoes and mirror her scheming ways. She quickly strikes up a friendship with the devious Thomas Barrow (Rob James-Collier). 

Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael) is finally finding some happiness with her new beau, newsman Michael Gregson (Charles Edwards). However, there is one slight problem: he is still legally married, and cannot be granted a divorce because his wife is in a mental asylum. Yet, he can be granted a divorce if he becomes a German citizen. Therefore, he proposes the drastic idea to Lady Edith of moving to Germany with him. 

The love quadrangle between Daisy (Sophie McShera), Alfred (Matt Milne), Ivy (Cara Theobold) and Jimmy (Ed Speelers) also continues, featuring a Valentine's note mix-up and Jimmy and Ivy's ill-advised trip to the pub, which ends with Ivy vomiting in the yard. 

Isobel Crawley (Penelope Wilton) is heartbroken after the death of her son, but shows her strength when Mrs. Hughes (Phyllis Logan) convinces her to take in Carson's (Jim Carter) down-and-out old friend. 

Anna (Joanne Froggatt) and Bates (Brendan Coyle) finally seem happy, and even help out hapless Molesely (Kevin Doyle). 

Anna also attends a dance with flirtatious young Rose, who gets into a bit of trouble, as per usual. 

On the next episode, Downton will host a posh event, with the likes of Dame Kiri Te Kanawa making an appearance, who is playing real-life 20th-century opera singer Dame Nellie Melba. Lady Mary's new suitor, Anthony Foyle, also known as Lord Gillingham (Tom Cullen), will also make his debut. 

The next episode airs on PBS on Sunday, Jan 12 at 9 p.m.