'Downton Abbey' switching Emmy category to Best Drama Series

Last September, "Downton Abbey" took home a boatload of Emmy awards - all from the Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic special category. The 2012 awards will put it to an even greater test, as the show aired too many episodes in Season 2 to still be considered a Miniseries and must now compete as Best Drama Series, reports Gold Derby.

We were actually unaware that "Downton" aired as only four episodes its first season, hence the Miniseries category (we came to the "Downton" party a little late, but we're happy we just showed up at all). Season 2 aired as seven episodes and therefore must now compete against the likes of "Mad Men," which returns March 25, "Boardwalk Empire" and "Breaking Bad."

Will "Downton Abbey" be taking home the hardware for Season 2? Perhaps. We don't really see it taking home Best Drama Series (if it gets nominated) - Season 2 was quite uneven for us. However, the acting still remained stellar and we think the stars could certainly see some Emmy gold heading across the pond.

Gold Derby also points out that a similar kerfuffle took place in the 1970s over "Upstairs Downstairs," a British show which "Downton" is similar to. "Upstairs" bounced back and forth between Best Drama Series and Best Limited Series (the former name of the Miniseries category) and some critics claimed it was because the Americans were basing it on which popular show "Upstairs" might be up against at the time (i.e., moving it to Best Dramatic Series the year "Roots" aired as a miniseries, after "Upstairs Downstairs" beat out "Rich man, Poor Man" in the miniseries category previously).

We aren't sure that's the case here - we don't remember being outraged last Emmys about "Downton" beating out some other miniseries. It sounds like it's a case of the show, well, not being a miniseries.