17 Visually Stunning TV Opening Credits
12. Downton Abbey
Downton Abbey’s opening credits unapologetically puts the titular estate front and centre. And why wouldn’t it, when the house has so much character itself?
It isn’t the first time a British show’s title sequence focuses on the setting rather than cast. The rebooted Poldark's introduction depicts the rolling waves, hidden coves, and orange skies of Cornwall with great care.
In the Downton Abbey credits, the camera blurs the houses’ occupants and servants in the background or keeps them just out of frame, basking in the estate’s grandeur and liveliness instead.
The two Downton Abbey lifestyles are framed equally; the servant quarter’s copper pots and service bells hold as much significance as the sash windows’ shutters and elegant dining sets. It’s a subtly painted picture, yet striking nonetheless.