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If, like me, you grew up in the 90s and were weaned on Public Television, then you’ve seen shows just like Upstairs, Downstairs, if not the show itself. At the very least you know the type: low budget British dramas from the seventies, with one set, a large ensemble cast, simple camera work but a high minded conceit, clichéd characters going through powerful storylines. If you’re like me, you find this kind of television show very comforting, like an old blanket. If not, you’ll probably find it in turns charmingly naïve, embarrassingly old-fashioned and powerfully insightful.

Upstairs, Downstairs follows the lives of the wealthy Bellamy family, owners and residents of 165 Eaton Place, and their live-in servants and cooks (who, as in the British townhouse style, work in the servants quarters downstairs, hence the title). The series entire takes the family and its employees from 1903 to 1936, but season...