Downton Abbey creator announces new TV show about the royal family

Julian Fellowes has announced a new TV show about the royal family.

The Downton Abbey creator is working on a new series based around a collection of paintings belonging to Queen Elizabeth. Each episode of the series, called The Royal Collection, will draw from individual pieces of art that are currently housed across 13 royal residences in the UK. Every episode will tell a different story and end with a portrait being painted. Simon Cowell's production company Syco will also be involved in the project. Syco's Global Head of TV told Deadline:

"We’re doing stories behind portraits in the royal collection. This came out of conversations about every great film like The Duchess. "The portraits hang in the royal collection and there’s incredible stories behind them."

They said that it was Fellowe's idea to have a portrait painted at the end of each episode. "For instance, one of the stories is a servant who worked for three kings and the queen," they said. "It’s a bit like The Butler. They’re all fascinating stories." The writer is currently working on the Downton Abbey film which is scheduled for release next year.