I’ll be the first to admit it: I’m a fan girl. For years, I’ve been watching a lot of mainstream television shows like “Vampire Diaries” or “Pretty Little Liars.” Don’t get me wrong; I’m still a huge fan. However, lately I’ve fallen head over heels in love with a new show that may not have supernatural beings or an A-Team, but “Downton Abbey” is a show of pure quality and here are five reasons why.

5) The parallel between the classes: At Downton Abbey, the inhabitants can be divided as simply as “upstairs” or “downstairs.” While the show displays the elegant lifestyle of the rich and powerful, the show also follows the lives of their employees. Downton Abbey is monumental estate in England, owned by the Crawley family. While there is only the Lord, Lady and their three daughters, Mary, Ethel, and Sybil living in the house, there is enough staff to keep a small village going. Between maids, butlers, footmen (what?) and chauffeurs,  the staff at Downton is a family within themselves.  The lives, trials and tribulations of the people living in this glorious home are all showcased.

4) The clothes: “Downton Abbey” kicks off following the sinking of the Titanic. Living in the world of ugly UGGs and Northfaces brings this new and beautiful perspective to a life none of us really know about. The women in the show wear beautiful and intricate dresses all day, with their hair up in elaborate curls. I am fascinated with their wardrobe and I am not ashamed to say that it makes me wish I was born in a different era.

3)  Eye-Opening:   In the early twentieth century, a lot of justices and morals that we hold to be inalienable in our current culture were taken for granted.  One of the main story-lines of the show is what happens to this huge estate when Lord Grantham, played by Hugh Bonneville, has three daughters which causes a major upset in the lineage of his estate.  Back in the day, women were not allowed to inherit, vote, or have much free reign over who they married if they were part of the aristocracy. Women in the lower class married for stability and financial reasons.  It makes you think.

2)  The love stories: I couldn’t abandon the institution of rooting for a forbidden or classic romance (like in my CW shows) forever, and Downton still offers that for me.  The love stories in this show come in all forms: family and friendship torn about by societal structures, forced love due for money and status, forbidden love, and love in it’s purest form. You are rooting for these couples. I won’t give anything away, but there are cute boys too. Ha, take that, PLL.

1) The originality: “Downton Abbey” transports you back to the early twentieth century to an era of butlers, World War I, and horse-drawn carriages. It is a show as unique as it could possibly get. There is nothing else new out there on the market. I am pretty devastated that it’s on season hiatus but when it returns for season 4, I know it will be better than ever. But I must warn you: you’ll want to talk with a British accent for the next 24 hours after getting hooked on this fantastic show.