'Downton Abbey' to wrap up with Season 6

LONDON, March 21 (UPI) -- The upcoming sixth season of Downton Abbey will be the beloved costume drama's last.

TV Line said most of the stars' contracts expire at the end of next season and the actors are ready to move on to other projects.

"You can keep the show going without Matthew and Sybill, but you can't continue it without the entire Crawley family," an insider told the entertainment news website.

The program -- which follows the lives of an aristocratic family and the people who serve them at their English country estate in the early 20th century -- airs each season first on ITV in the United Kingdom, then on PBS in the United States.