• The Hollywood Reporter, Thursday, February 9, 2012 3:04 PM

Sure, the Super Bowl amassed record ratings -- but four million people snuck away from the festivities to catch "Downton Abbey" on PBS, making "Abbey" the second-most-watched show of the night. Its numbers are only expected to go up as DVR ratings come in from those who opted to watch the Super Bowl live. 

Reporter Michael O’Connell notes that "Downton Abbey" “is probably closer to a critical mass than anything that's ever come out of PBS' Masterpiece Classics franchise.”  And, while O’Connell doesn’t mention it, here’s more evidence of the show’s hit status, also from Super Bowl weekend: a "Saturday Night Live"spoof reimagining the show as a Spike TV entry.

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