"Downton Abbey," the carriages-and-corsets drama series that crossed the Atlantic from Britain and became an American hit starting in 2011, returns to U.S. screens for its third season at 9:00 p.m. Sunday on WHYY (Channel 12 on most local cable systems) and other PBS stations.

Unfortunately for viewers who don't want to have the story "spoiled," this season of the show has already finished airing in Britain. Since September, many of its plot details have found their way to American fans' sensitive eyes and ears.

Others, who didn't feel like waiting for the American premiere, have resorted to illegally downloading the show's third season from various sources on the Internet. Watch the video to learn more.

One doesn't need to trawl the Internet to be spoiled as to Downton Abbey's probable ultimate fate. The history of the 20th century offers plenty of clues. If the Crawleys are headed in the same direction as most of England's traditional landed gentry, those bells on the basement wall will eventually stop ringing.

But we'll still have to tune in to find out when and how.