'Downton Abbey' Season 4 Spoilers: No More Character Deaths, Edith Comes Into Her Own [Video]

Fans may expect season four of hit BBC drama "Downton Abbey" to be all doom and gloom, but that is definitely not the case. 

Although last season featured the two heartbreaking losses of the youngest Grantham daughter, Sybil, (Jessica Brown Findlay) as well as Mary's husband, Matthew (Dan Stevens), the upcoming season will see the characters slowly stepping out of the shadows of mourning and beginning to move on. 

Yet, the season will begin on a sad note. Mary (Michelle Dockery) will still be in mourning, as Tom Branson (Allen Leech) was last season after the death of his wife, Sybil. In a PBS sneak preview video for season four, Michelle Dockery said that Mary is in a "dark space" after losing Matthew. 

For fans who are fearing the demise of more characters next season, feel free to let out a sigh of relief; it looks like the rest of the characters will be sticking around for awhile. 

Michelle Dockery told TVLine that it is unlikely that there will be another character departure next season. "It has to remain as the ensemble, otherwise I don't think we can keep going," Dockery said. "The core reason for the show's success is that it's a huge ensemble of such great characters. It was [one thing to lose] Sybil and Matthew. But any more of that, I think it will start to falter."  

More good news is that Mary will gradually begin to engage in normal life again, even to the point where she will begin accepting new suitors. 

"The arc for Mary over the season is bringing her back to the point where she could entertain the notion that she could fall in love again," said show Creator Julian Fellowes. 

While Mary tries to love again, Edith starts to become her own woman. Edith, the troubled middle sister, was always overshadowed by her older sister, Mary, and her late younger sister, Sybil. In the fourth season, viewers will see Edith finally beginning to shed her feelings of inferiority as she realizes that she is intelligent and capable of having her own successful life apart from the Granthams. 

Fellowes said that "Edith becomes more proactive" in the management of the London newspaper for which she is a columnist. 

Laura Carmichael, who plays Edith, said that viewers will see Edith's transformation manifest itself outwardly as well as inwardly. Edith will be showcasing hairstyles and clothing that were all the rage in the roaring '20s. 

"She is becoming a modern woman," Carmichael said. 

Executive producer Gareth Neame also hinted at some of the new characters that fans will be introduced to in the upcoming season. Tom Cullen will play Lord Gillingham, one of Lady Mary's potential suitors. Julian Ovenden will also arrive at Downton as Charles Blake, another one of Mary's suitors. Most notably, Gary Carr will join the show as jazz musician Jack Ross, the show's first black character. 

"Downton" season four premieres on PBS on Sunday, Jan. 5. 

Watch the sneak preview below.