Jewish version of ‘Downton Abbey’

Cast members of the TV drama Downton Abbey hold their award for "outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series" backstage at the 19th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles, California January 27, 2013. REUTERS/Adrees Latif

After numerous complaints about the hit PBS show “Downton Abbey” not having any Jewish characters, Downton makers Carnival Films has confirmed it is developing a similar show with a Jewish family, U.K.’s Jewish Chronicle reports.

The new show will be based on Francesca Segal’s book “The Innocents,” which is loosely based on Edith Wharton’s classic novel “The Age of Innocence.”

The book, which won the 2012 Costa First Novel award and the 2012 National Jewish Book Award, is set in modern-day, upper-crust Temple Fortune, a tight-knit Jewish community in northwest London. The book opens with a scene during Kol Nidre and follows 28-year-old Adam Newman, who is destined to marry his girlfriend of 12 years, Rachel Gilbert, but ultimately succumbs to the attraction of her younger cousin, Ellie Schneider.