Downton Abbey is no stranger to parody.
When the series was on air, it inspired everything from a recurring Jimmy Fallon Downton Sixbey sketch to a Downton meets Breaking Bad spoof on The Colbert Report. It was even speared on Saturday Night Live with a sketch that posited what would happen if Downton Abbey and the now-defunct Spike TV were mashed up.
But now that Downton Abbey has returned with a grand big screen extravaganza just in time for the SNL season premiere, it’s providing fodder for spoofs once again.
On Saturday night’s episode of the series, the season’s first digital short of the year lovingly mocked the new film with a fake trailer featuring Cecily Strong as Lady Mary, Kate McKinnon as Violet, Beck Bennett as Carson, and new cast-member Chloe Fineman as Lady Edith among others.
“The beloved television show is now a feature film and it’s mostly about cleaning,” teases the sketch. To be fair, Downton Abbey does spend a lot of time on the housekeeping preparations for a royal visit from the King and Queen.
It sends up numerous plotlines from the film and asks, “Were the stakes in the show always this low?” in a fake critic pull quote. For the record, yes they were, and it’s why we love the show.
Seeing Downton Abbey in movie theaters has been a special treat for fans of the series, one that has extended past the multiplex as it’s provided audiences chances to see their favorite show once more the subject of hilarious sketches, late-night talk show appearances, and more.
