Look who's coming to Downton!

Shirley MacLaine will join the cast of British period drama Downton Abbey for its third season, producers confirmed Monday.

MacLaine, 77, will play Martha Levinson, the American mother of Elizabeth McGovern's wealthy countess, Lady Cora Grantham. The Oscar-winning screen legend will go toe to toe with Maggie Smith, who portrays the tart-tongued Dowager Countess Violet, according to the show's producers.

Gareth Neame, managing director of Carnival Films, which produces the series, said the new character "will be a wonderful combatant for Maggie Smith's Dowager Countess and we are excited at the prospect of Shirley MacLaine playing her."

The second season of Downton Abbey, which airs in the United States on PBS, concludes on Feb. 19. Production for the Golden Globe-winning show's third season, which will reportedly take place during the 1920s, will begin in the spring. The show is expected to air in September in the U.K., followed by a U.S. premiere.?

滬江娛樂快訊：美國老戲骨雪莉·麥克雷恩要加盟英劇《唐頓莊園》啦！昨天，電視劇片方確認(rèn)了這一消息。77歲的美國傳奇性女演員，奧斯卡得主雪莉·麥克雷恩將傾情加盟剛剛獲得金球獎(jiǎng)的英劇《唐頓莊園》。雪莉·麥克雷恩與英國國寶級(jí)演員瑪吉·史密斯將如何飆戲？我們拭目以待！據(jù)悉，《唐頓莊園》的第三季將于今年9月回歸。