Downton Abbey season 4, the highly acclaimed British period drama, will return to the small screen in the U.S. on January 5, 2014.

The fourth series already premiered September 1 last year for viewers in the U.K., but will finally premiere in the States this weekend.

The U.S. premiere of Downton Abbey season 4 will premiere on PBS Masterpiece at 9 p.m. ET on Sunday, January 5, 2014. The series will run for eight consecutive weeks after its US premiere.

Be sure to watch the Downtown Abbey season 4 episode 1 premiere online via live stream on PBS Masterpiece. You can also view the full season 3 episode 7 episode online until January 5.

Cast members returning to the series are Dame Maggie Smith, Elizabeth McGovern, Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery, Jim Carter, Joanne Froggatt, Penelope Wilton and more. Guest stars for the new series will include Shirley MacLaine, Tom Cullen, Joanna David, Julian Ovenden, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Nigel Harman, Dame Harriet Walter and Gary Carr.

The PBS synopsis for the Downton Abbey season 4 episode 1 is as follows: "Six months after Matthew's death, Mary is mired in grief, and the family and servants try to help her face a future without Matthew. Meanwhile, both Tom Branson and Carson face figures from their pasts, and Edith experiments with modernism."

The shocking season 3 finale last year saw the untimely death of Downton heir Matthew Crawley. Season 4 will be set 6 months after his death, with widow Lady Mary Crawley dealing with her husband's sudden death and a newborn baby.

In sneak peak videos, Lady Mary Crawley (Michelle Dockery) is seen looking out a window dressed in black. Other previews show her being courted by a new man, Lord Gillingham (Tom Cullen) who could potentially end up being her new suitor.

Downton Abbey is Britain's most successful TV export ever and has a global audience estimated at 120 million.