The premiere date for the sixth and final season of "Downton Abbey" has been set.

PBS Masterpiece has announced that the new season will premiere on Jan. 3, the Monday after the holiday weekend.

It is not surprising that the sixth season will air in January, as it had been noted that it would premiere in 2016 and would air after the British premiere in September.

The date was announced at the Television Critics Association's summer press tour in Beverly Hills where Hugh Bonneville was present. The actor, who portrays Lord Grantham, said during the panel that it was Julian Fellowes who should be credited for extending the series.

He said, "We were all expecting to finish after Series 5. And it was Julian who said to us... he felt it would be a bit truncated to try and bring it in to land over in that fifth series, so he asked if we wanted to do another nine episodes to make the stories all land in a more appropriate way."

The actor also stated, "This final season very much has a flavor of the end of an era, you know, quite literally. And it's brought home to [the characters] when we go to visit a neighbor in the county who is literally having to sell the family silver. ... And the entire family sees that, and sees the writing on the wall."

During the conference, PBS Chief Paula Kerger also revealed that the series will have a float in the Pasadena Tournament of Roses parade.

While it may be the last season, there has been speculation of spin offs in theaters, a musical or a potential movie. There have also been speculations that the new series will end on a very wide open finale, leaving room for possible future development.

Nothing has been confirmed, but given the popularity of the show and the recent trend of adapting TV series to other media, anything is possible.

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