First trailer for Downton's final season

It's the beginning of the end for Downton Abbey fans, with the first trailer going online for the period drama's final season.

The one-minute trailer plays on fan's emotions, hinting at departures and changes for the main characters with a rendition of Time to Say Goodbye playing over shots of the cast.

"If I could stop history in its tracks, maybe I would," Hugh Bonneville's Lord Grantham says to his butler. "But I can't, Carson. Neither you nor I can hold back time."

Despite the short length, the trailer still manages to include most of the main characters.

There are no plot details yet, though the trailer hints as a possible wedding and funeral, and implies some degree of finality for the show.

Over its six year run, Downton has won dozens of awards and helped make period dramas popular again. It has also launched the careers of its stars, including Bonneville, Dan Stevens and Lily James.

In recent years, attention for the show has diminished. The show shed a million viewers between seasons four and five when it premiered in the UK last September. Awards recognition has also dropped, going from a high of 14 Emmy nominations for the second season down to just eight for the fifth.

The sixth season will be eight episodes long, and concludes with a Christmas special set in 1927.

The cast of Downton Abbey in a shot from the new trailer

Earlier this month, executive producer Gareth Neame said there were no movie plans yet, though he thinks it would be a great idea. At this week's Edinburgh Television Festival, he also suggested that the show could be revived for future generations.

The final season premieres in the UK on September 20. There is no New Zealand premiere date yet, but it will air on Prime.

- nzherald.co.nz