After Bridgerton
The best period dramas on TV
BRIDGERTON, Netflix’s saucy new Shondaland period drama, is a fun and popular escape — one that you might binge your way through in a few days or even hours. If you’ve already finished Season 1 (creator Chris Van Dusen recently announced a forthcoming Season 2), television has a host of period dramas that could make for a worthy replacement. We’ve rounded up some of our favorites below.
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE (1995)
Watch the trailer youtube.com/watch?v=7UYq-ITtxZs We’ll start with a classic: This wildly popular BBC adaptation of Jane Austen’s beloved novel earned Jennifer Ehle a BAFTA Award for her role as protagonist Elizabeth Bennet. It also made Colin Firth, who starred as a brooding Mr. Darcy, a household name. Drama/romance, TV-PG, six 54-minute episodes, streaming on HBO Max, Hulu, iTunes
SANDITON (2019)
Watch the trailer youtube.com/watch?v=bewgZjUVhYg An unconventional woman moves to a coastal England village where she meets an intriguing love interest in this adaptation of Austen’s final, unfinished manuscript. The miniseries picked up somewhat of a cult following when it aired on PBS’s “Masterpiece,” though — fair warning — some viewers weren’t so enthusiastic about the ending. Drama/romance, TV-14, 60-minutes, PBS Masterpiece, PBS Passport
GOOD GIRLS REVOLT (2015)
Watch the trailer youtube.com/watch?v=6ySXJxxjZ7M Speaking of disappointing endings, many viewers were crestfallen when Amazon canceled this ’60s-era drama. The show, which followed the lives of women working at a Newsweek-esque magazine, was given the boot after just one very promising season. It’s still worth watching. Drama, TV-MA, 55 minutes, Amazon Prime
UNDERGROUND (2016)
Watch the trailer youtube.com/watch?v=_nOEUogI7pQ Jurnee Smollett and Aldis Hodge star in this high-octane drama about a group of enslaved people who run away from their Georgia plantation. Produced by John Legend, the series makes use of a modern soundtrack that connects slavery-era stories to contemporary struggles for racial justice. The show aired for two seasons on WGN America before the network canceled it. Drama, TV-MA, 43 minutes, Amazon Prime, Hulu
THE GREAT (2020)
Watch the trailer youtube.com/watch?v=hJGedvRfHYg Elle Fanning plays a plucky and ambitious Catherine the Great opposite Nicholas Hoult’s brutish Peter III in this irreverent and comedic series, which takes more than a few historical liberties, including, like Bridgerton, casting with an eye to diversity. Drama/comedy, TV-MA, 10 45-55 minute episodes, Google Play, Hulu, YouTube
CALL THE MIDWIFE (2012)
Watch the trailer youtube.com/watch?v=mQOBfCm8B-Y This long-running drama, based on Jennifer Worth’s best-selling trilogy of memoirs, follows a group of nurse midwives in London’s impoverished East End. Season 1 begins in the late 1950s, tackling the postwar social issues of the era. Subsequent 10 seasons take on issues including birth control and abortion as the series moves through the decades. Drama, TV-PG, 60 minutes, Netflix, YouTube, iTunes
OUTLANDER (2014)
Watch the trailer youtube.com/watch?v=KAS01FFj1fQ Based on the popular series of novels by Diana Gabaldon, this six-season historical fiction series transports a married former World War II nurse (Caitriona Balfe) to battle-strewn 18th century Scotland, where she falls in love with a Highland warrior (Sam Heughan). Drama/romance/action, TV-MA, 64 minutes, Hulu, Netflix, Starz
PEAKY BLINDERS (2013)
Watch the trailer youtube.com/watch?v=oVzVdvGIC7U This gritty and popular British import follows ruthless gang leader Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) as his crime family takes over the streets of postwar Birmingham, England, in the 1920s. TV-MA, 64 minutes, Hulu, Netflix, Starz
THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT (2020)
Watch the trailer youtube.com/watch?v=CDrieqwSdgI This absorbing chess drama — starring Anya Taylor-Joy as an orphan who becomes a chess prodigy while struggling with addiction — has held steady in Netflix’s Top 10 offerings since its release in October of 2020. The series is set in the 1960s, but as Washington Post gender columnist Monica Hesse noted last year, the series resolutely ignores the sexism of the era. Drama, 65 minutes, Netflix
DICKINSON (2019)
Watch the trailer youtube.com/watch?v=_Yr25gzgSSY Hailee Steinfeld plays a rebellious and rightfully funny Emily Dickinson in Alena Smith’s unconventional, occasionally trippy take on the iconic 19th-century poet. The first three episodes of Season 2 just premiered; the rest will debut weekly. Drama/comedy, TV-14, 30 minutes, Apple TV Plus
THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL (2017)
Watch the trailer youtube.com/watch?v=fOmwkTrW4OQ Rachel Brosnahan has racked up awards — one Emmy and two Golden Globes among them — for her turn as Midge Maisel, a whipsmart comedian navigating the male-dominated stand-up circuit in 1950s New York. Comedy/drama, TV-MA, 57 minutes, Amazon Prime
REIGN (2013)
Watch the trailer youtube.com/watch?v=LVtDw7fpYOQ CW’s four-season historical fantasy revolved around Mary, Queen of Scots (played by Adelaide Kane), and her early years in 16th-century France, where she navigates political and sexual tensions while preparing to wed the would-be king, Prince Francis (Toby Regbo). TV-14, 42 minutes, Netflix — Bethonie Butler/The