The hit British-American drama Downton Abbey now has officially confirmed its tentative airdate for Season 4, which will be on Jan. 5, 2014 in the U.S.

The popular period piece is scheduled to run for eight consecutive weeks until Feb. 23, according to CNN.

DA's third season smashed rating records for the PBS network in America, as it became its highest-rated drama in the company's history.

The show's fourth installment will be hitting Britain earlier in the fall prior to kicking off in America. It will include

Downton executive producer Gareth Neame had told the New York Daily News that he feels the series may have six additional years of high quality stories to tell following Season 4.

However, while Neame would prefer that the series go 10 seasons, he would much rather it finish out on a high note than wear out its welcome.

"I would rather that we picked the right year [to end] and that in 20 years time the show was loved rather than we went on a season too long and people fell out of love with it," he said while in Los Angeles this past weekend for Santa Monica's Britweek.

Downton Abbey, which airs in 219 countries across the world, follows the ups and downs of the royal Crawley family and their staff in the 1920s.

Keep checking back for more of the latest details on the popular TV series.

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Downton abbey, Television