PBS Pulls "Somewhat Tasteless" Downton Jewelry from Site

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So it's come to this. PBS, America's chronically broke public television network, was trying to make a few bucks off of hit series Downton Abbey—themed jewelry, and the show's creators are none too happy about it, the Daily Mail reports.

Producers Carnival, the UK producer of Downton who owns the copyright to the series, called in lawyers to stop PBS from naming jewelry after Lady Mary Crawley, who is played by Michelle Dockery, and other characters from the show.

PBS knows a good thing when they see one, however (and lord knows Downton Abbey is the best thing to happen to PBS since in a decade), so they originally agreed only to take references to the characters' names off the jewelry line, stating they would continue to sell the pieces—which the Daily Mail refers to as "somewhat tasteless"—on their website.

At this point, however, it looks as though PBS decided to pull the line from the site entirely, meaning no more cash from Downton product for PBS. And if that translates into a more than the usual number of PBS pledge drives this year, we'd just like to say thanks a lot, Producers Carnival.
· Downton Shabby: Unofficial collection of jewellery unveiled by U.S. TV network [Daily Mail]
· All Downton Abbey coverage [Racked]
· Shop PBS [Official Site]