59 articles
Alias Grace (miniseries)
Alias Grace (2017) is a six-part Netflix/CBC miniseries adapted by Sarah Polley from Margaret Atwood's 1996 novel, directed by Mary Harron and starring Sarah Gadon as Irish servant Grace Marks, convicted of the 1843 Kinnear murders.
Around the World in 80 Days (2021 TV series)
Around the World in 80 Days (2021 TV series), also In 80 Tagen um die Welt, is an eight-part European Alliance co-production adaptation of Jules Verne's novel, starring David Tennant as Phileas Fogg, with a female journalist Fix inspired by Nellie Bly, filmed in Romania and South Africa.
Becoming Elizabeth
Becoming Elizabeth is a 2022 Starz historical drama created by Anya Reiss about Elizabeth I's teenage years after Henry VIII's death, starring Alicia von Rittberg and Tom Cullen; eight episodes, one season, canceled despite a Metacritic score of 73.
Beecham House
Beecham House is a 2019 ITV historical drama, co-created and directed by Gurinder Chadha, set in Delhi in 1795. Its fictional Beecham family story stars Tom Bateman, with real figures Begum Samru and Shah Alam II; canceled after one season.
Belgravia (TV series)
Belgravia is a 2020 six-part British period drama by Julian Fellowes, adapted from his 2016 novel, airing on ITV and Epix; it follows the Trenchard and Bellasis families and a Waterloo-era secret, with a 2024 sequel, The Next Chapter.
Black Sails (TV series)
Black Sails, Starz pirate drama (2014-2017) by Jonathan E. Steinberg and Robert Levine, a Treasure Island prequel set in Nassau in 1715, mixing historical pirates with Stevenson's characters.
Bridgerton
Bridgerton is a Shondaland Netflix historical romance series (2020–present) created by Chris Van Dusen from Julia Quinn's Regency novels, following the eight Bridgerton siblings' love stories each season, with colorblind casting, Lady Whistledown, four seasons released, and a 2027 Francesca–Michaela season five.
Catherine the Great (miniseries)
Catherine the Great (miniseries), also known as the HBO Catherine the Great 2019 series, is a four-part HBO/Sky historical drama starring Helen Mirren as Empress Catherine II and Jason Clarke as Grigory Potemkin, focusing on her later reign and their affair; it premiered October 21, 2019.
Da Vinci's Demons
Da Vinci's Demons is a Starz-BBC Worldwide historical fantasy series (2013-2015) created by David S. Goyer, starring Tom Riley as a young Leonardo da Vinci in Florence, questing for the Book of Leaves across three seasons.
Dickinson (TV series)
Dickinson (2019–2021) is an Apple TV+ half-hour comedy-drama created by Alena Smith, starring Hailee Steinfeld as young Emily Dickinson; three seasons, 30 episodes, Peabody Award, intentional anachronism.
Doctor Thorne (TV series)
Doctor Thorne (2016) is a three-part ITV period drama miniseries adapted by Julian Fellowes from Anthony Trollope's 1858 novel, starring Tom Hollander, Stefanie Martini, and Ian McShane, later an Amazon Original in the US.
Empresses in the Palace (后宫 甄嬛传)
Empresses in the Palace (后宫·甄嬛传, The Legend of Zhen Huan) is a 2011 Chinese 76-episode palace drama directed by Zheng Xiaolong, adapted from Liu Lianzi's novel, set in the Yongzheng-era Qing harem; Douban 9.4, Netflix 2015 six-episode version.
Gentleman Jack (TV series)
Gentleman Jack is a British TV drama created by Sally Wainwright, starring Suranne Jones as 19th-century Yorkshire landowner and diarist Anne Lister, first aired in 2019.
Gunpowder (TV series)
Gunpowder (2017) is a three-part BBC One miniseries, also aired on HBO, dramatizing the 1605 Gunpowder Plot through mastermind Robert Catesby, played by his descendant Kit Harington; noted for graphic execution scenes and mostly accurate history.
Harlots (TV series)
Harlots is a British period drama (2017-2020, three seasons, 24 episodes) created by Moira Buffini and Alison Newman for ITV Encore and Hulu, starring Samantha Morton and Lesley Manville as rival 1760s London madams, inspired by Harris's List.
Hornblower (TV series)
Hornblower (1998–2003) is a British TV film series based on C.S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower novels, starring Ioan Gruffudd, aired on ITV and A&E, costing about £12 million and winning the 1999 Emmy for Outstanding Miniseries.
Jamestown (TV series)
Jamestown (2017-2019) is a three-series Sky1 historical drama from Carnival Films, written by Bill Gallagher, about Alice, Verity, and Jocelyn, women sent in 1619 to marry Virginia colonists, with mixed reviews over historical accuracy.
Leonardo (2021 TV series)
Leonardo (2021 TV series): eight-part drama on Leonardo da Vinci created by Frank Spotnitz and Steve Thompson, starring Aidan Turner, framed by a fictional 1506 murder investigation; Rai 1 premiere 23 March 2021, Amazon Prime Video from 16 April 2021.
List of Bridgerton characters
Bridgerton characters: the cast of the Netflix series and spin-off Queen Charlotte, drawn from Julia Quinn's eight novels; each season adapts one sibling's book, with show-only characters like Queen Charlotte and the Mondriches.
Marie Antoinette (TV series)
Marie Antoinette (Marie-Antoinette) is a 2022 French-British Canal+/BBC historical drama by Deborah Davis starring Emilia Schüle; premiered 31 October 2022 on Canal+, aired on BBC Two and PBS, renewed for season 2, controversial in France for its feminist take.
Mary & George
Mary & George is a 2024 seven-part Sky Original and Starz historical drama created by D.C. Moore, based on Benjamin Woolley's The King's Assassin, starring Julianne Moore, Nicholas Galitzine, and Tony Curran as the Villiers family and James I.
Medici (TV series)
Medici (2016–2019) is an Anglo-Italian historical drama, also called Masters of Florence and The Magnificent, created by Frank Spotnitz and Nicholas Meyer, starring Richard Madden, Dustin Hoffman, and Daniel Sharman, broadcast on Rai Uno and Netflix in three seasons and 24 episodes about the Medici banking dynasty of Renaissance Florence.
Miss Scarlet and The Duke
Miss Scarlet and The Duke (retitled Miss Scarlet from season 5) is a Victorian-era detective drama created by Rachael New, starring Kate Phillips as Eliza Scarlet, premiering on PBS Masterpiece in January 2021, renewed through season 7 in 2027.
My Fair Princess
My Fair Princess (还珠格格) is Qiong Yao's 1998 Taiwan-mainland Qing-court costume drama starring Zhao Wei, Ruby Lin, and Alec Su; peak ratings reached 62.8%, and it spawned sequels, a 2011 remake, and a 2025 short drama.
My Lady Jane
My Lady Jane: Prime Video historical fantasy comedy (2024) based on the Lady Janies novel, starring Emily Bader as Lady Jane Grey with shapeshifting Ethians; eight episodes, cancelled August 2024 after one season.
North & South (TV serial)
North & South (2004) is a four-part BBC One serial adapted from Elizabeth Gaskell's 1855 novel, written by Sandy Welch, directed by Brian Percival, starring Daniela Denby-Ashe and Richard Armitage, set in Milton, a Manchester stand-in; distinct from the 1985 American Civil War miniseries.
Our Flag Means Death
Our Flag Means Death is an HBO Max period comedy (2022-2024) created by David Jenkins, starring Rhys Darby as Stede Bonnet and Taika Waititi as Blackbeard, reimagining their 1717 piracy liaison as a queer romance across two seasons, 18 episodes, cancelled January 2024.
Outlander (TV series)
Outlander is a Starz television series (premiered August 9, 2014) adapted from Diana Gabaldon's novels, developed by Ronald D. Moore, starring Caitríona Balfe and Sam Heughan as time-traveling couple Claire and Jamie Fraser; eight seasons, 101 episodes, prequel Blood of My Blood.
Picnic at Hanging Rock (TV series)
Picnic at Hanging Rock (2018 Foxtel/FremantleMedia miniseries, also on Amazon Prime US and BBC UK): six-part Natalie Dormer adaptation of Joan Lindsay's 1967 novel about schoolgirls vanishing at Hanging Rock on Valentine's Day 1900, reframed through Mrs Appleyard.
Pride and Prejudice (1995 TV series)
Pride and Prejudice (1995 TV series), BBC One six-part miniseries directed by Simon Langton, written by Andrew Davies, produced by Sue Birtwistle, starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle; broadcast 24 September to 29 October 1995, famous for the invented wet-shirt Pemberley scene and regarded as the most faithful screen adaptation of Austen's novel.