Streaming tips

Series that’ll take you back...

Rome

So many of the things that made Game of Thrones a phenomenon—devious political machinations, gratuitous sex scenes, grisly violence—were first present in this Emmy-winning drama series. Attention to ancient Rome’s odd details and customs paint a place as weird as GoT’s Westeros, and the historical characters are every bit as ruthless or valiant as those in George R.R. Martin’s fantasy world. HBO Max

Victoria

Queen Elizabeth II gets all the awards-season attention these days, but Britain’s second-longest-reigning monarch deserves love, too. Across three seasons, Jenna Coleman grew into the role of Victoria, who oversaw a massive expansion of her empire, bore nine children, and apparently had great chemistry with her husband, Prince Albert. Amazon Prime

Vikings

For six seasons, this History channel series was everything you could want in a historic epic. There’s that much blood-soaked fun to be had following Ragnar Lothbrok, a figure of Scandinavian lore said to have risen from farmer to king by raiding 9thcentury England. Hulu

The Last Kingdom

If you’ve seen all of Vikings, why not voyage across the North Sea to hang with the Saxons? Watching this BBC series is like getting the other side of the story, and Alexander Dreymon’s Uhtred is a warrior on par with Travis Fimmel’s Ragnar. Netflix

The Tudors

If you like history with a big dose of lust, The Tudors is for you. Lush production aids a steamy telling of King Henry VIII’s infamous exploits. Jonathan Rhys Myers (as Henry) and Natalie Dormer (as Anne Boleyn) lead the parade of eye candy. Netflix