13 for '13: TV We're Most Excited About in 2013

"Downton Abbey" returns and Jeremy Piven stars in the next British TV hit (January 6 on PBS)

And speaking of soap operas … the Downton gang faces major financial woes; Shirley MacLaine pops in as Cora's feisty mother, Martha; Bates tries to maneuver prison life; and a major shocker unfolds in the Christmas special as the Emmy and Golden Globe-winning period drama returns for its third season.

Meanwhile, as the new season of "Downton Abbey" improves... more 

"Downton Abbey" returns and Jeremy Piven stars in the next British TV hit (January 6 on PBS)

And speaking of soap operas … the Downton gang faces major financial woes; Shirley MacLaine pops in as Cora's feisty mother, Martha; Bates tries to maneuver prison life; and a major shocker unfolds in the Christmas special as the Emmy and Golden Globe-winning period drama returns for its third season.

Meanwhile, as the new season of "Downton Abbey" improves upon what was a somewhat disappointing Season 2, a new series starring an American TV fave may be poised to become the next Brit hit. "Entourage" Emmy winner Jeremy Piven stars in the upcoming 10-part PBS drama "Mr. Selfridge," about American Harry Gordon Selfridge, who founded the famed British department store Selfridges and was a marketing whiz who coined phrases like "The customer is always right" and "Only ___ shopping days until Christmas." The series premieres in the U.K. on Jan. 1 and as a PBS "Masterpiece Classic" presentation in America later in the year. less