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‘Downton Abbey’ Michelle Dockery In Racy TNT Drama ‘Good Behavior’

By Amy Feinstein
Published on: 07:43 PST, Jul 30, 2016

With Downton Abbey behind her, Michelle Dockery is saying goodbye to Lady Mary and hello to new roles, like that of Letty Raines in TNT’s Good Behavior. Behind Dockery is the prim and proper Mary Crawley, and now she is a hard-drinking, drug using character who is frequently a falling down drunk. Dockery is now a con artist who plays by her own set of rules rather than those of corseted Victorian England.

Downton Abbey is an iconic series, according to the Inquisitr, and Michelle Dockery could easily have been stereotyped as Lady Mary. Though the whole cast of Downton Abbey has moved on with new roles, the last days of Downton Abbey were tear-filled. Though most of the cast of Downton Abbey seemed traditionally stiff upper-lipped, there were many tears and hugs leading to the final scenes. Even Jim Carter, who played the stoic Mr. Carson said that he shed enough tears that there were puddles in the set of Downton Abbey. Much of the cast is hoping for a Downton Abbey movie in the near future.

People Magazine reports that Michelle Dockery is reinventing herself as a badass on the new TNT show Good Behavior. Michelle Dockery’s character, Letty Raines, tells her audience in the opening scene that she doesn’t have many redeemable qualities.

“I’m a piece of s—. Why keep fighting it, you know?”

Very un-Lady Mary-like, but Dockery is breaking out with new roles in the United States. And Dockery won’t be speaking with an upper-crust English accent. As Raines, Dockery will be putting on different accents, including a convincing Southern one.

Deadline reveals that Michelle Dockery is playing the lead in Good Behavior as a con artist and thief “whose life is always a wrong turn.” Dockery’s character is fresh out of prison and is just trying to stay afloat and alive. Dockery’s character Letty overhears a man hiring a hitman to kill his wife and sets out to derail the process. She soon finds herself once again in danger, mixing with a variety of criminals. Along with the show Animal Kingdom, Sarah Aubrey of TNT says adventure is coming to the network.

“Good Behavior and Animal Kingdom are muscular, distinct dramas that will define the new direction of TNT. We believe audiences will love watching Michelle Dockery trade in her manners for the life of a sexy, complex ex-con in Good Behavior and Ellen Barkin and Scott Speedman command an unruly family of criminals and adrenaline junkies in Animal Kingdom.”

Express says that Michelle Dockery is a long way from Downton Abbey with Good Behavior, and fans will get to see a lot more of the former Lady Mary. Dockery can often be seen stripping down to her underwear, and handling firearms while drinking other under the table. In addition to playing the character of Letty, Michelle Dockery provides voice overs in an American accent.

“Everyday you do nothing but make choices. You choose to be exactly where you are. But ask yourself this, is the person you say you want to be the person you’re choosing to be?”

And while Dockery’s Lady Mary’s sexual escapades were scandalized in Downton Abbey, they are quite every day in Good Behavior. Dockery’s character is involved with the dangerous Javier, as they pour liquor into each other’s mouths, and get “down to business.”

This character is a long way from Michelle Dockery’s last role in BBC and PBS’s Downton Abbey. There is nothing aristocratic about her new character of Letty Raines. Dockery is hoping to break out of the costume drama box with Good Behavior.

Will you watch Michelle Dockery in Good Behavior on TNT?

[Photo by Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images]

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