Downton Abbey is America's favorite British show these days, and on Season 3, we'll get a bit more representation on screen, in the form of Lady Grantham's American mother, played by none other than Shirley MacLaine.

Recently, Shirley talked to TV Guide about her part, and hinted at what's to come for her in the new season.

The character, named Martha Levinson, "is from Long Island and finally lands at Downton Abbey and sees what's happening to the place when everyone's coming back from the war." 

Unlike the indomitable Dowager Countess, Martha does not cling to the past — at least not the British past. "Her reactions to tradition and the class system" are interesting, Shirley says. "I do my best to be kind to tradition, but frankly think it should shift."

Shirley also teases that Martha's relationship with the Dowager Countess "is probably not what you'd think." Hmmm...

She also says she doesn't share a scene with Mr. Bates — is it because he's still in jail? — but we will see her interact with Mr. Carson.

《唐顿庄园》（Downton Abbey）是近日在美国最受欢迎的一部英国电视剧。在第三季中，除了格兰瑟姆夫人（Lady Grantham），美国观众还将在电视屏幕上看到另一个美国人——格兰瑟姆夫人的母亲，而出演这个角色的正是美国老牌演员雪莉·麦克雷恩（Shirley MacLaine）。

不久前，雪莉和《电视导刊》杂志（TV Guide）在谈到这个话题时透露了一些这个角色在第三季中的情况。

这个名叫玛莎·莱文森的老妇人（Martha Levinson）“从千里之外的长岛（Long Island）来到了唐顿庄园，她想看看经历了战争的人们会给这个庄园带来些什么变化。”

她不像保守的老伯爵夫人（Dowager Countess）那么因循守旧——起码她不会拘泥于英国过去的往事。“她对英国的传统文化，传统思想还有等级制度的看法很有趣”雪莉说，“我本人非常尊重传统，但坦白地说，我也认为人们不应该再坚持某些传统。”

雪莉还透露玛莎与老伯爵夫人的关系“并不是观众所想的那样”。

雪莉同时也表示说她不会和贝茨（Bates）出现在同一个场景中（是因为贝茨还没出狱吗？），但我们将看到很多她和卡森（Carson）的对手戏。

我们迫不及待地想知道更多关于《唐顿庄园》第三季的消息！