12 Shows Like The Empress to Watch While You Wait for Season 3
Since first premiering in 2022, Netflix‘s German historical drama series, The Empress, has been a huge hit for the platform. Season one stayed in the global Netflix Top 10 of non-English shows for five weeks after it debuted. Fans waited two years for its second season, which launched on November 22, 2024.
Recently, Netflix officially confirmed that the German-language series will return for a third and final season to conclude the story of Empress Elisabeth of Austria, played by Devrim Lingnau. Lingnau will also return along with Philip Froissant, Melika Foroutan and Johannes Nussbaum in their respective roles.
If you’re looking for other shows like The Empress to fill that period drama void, we got you covered.
While you wait for season 3, here are 12 shows like The Empress you can stream now.
Belgravia (2020 miniseries)
Cast: Philip Glenister, Tamsin Greig, Harriet Walter, Tom Wilkinson, Saskia Reeves, Ella Purnell, Alice Eve, Paul Ritter, Jack Shalloo, Richard Goulding
Synopsis: “This Six-Part Limited Series by Julian Fellowes is a story of secrets and scandals amongst the upper echelon of London society in the 19th Century. When the Trenchards accept an invitation to the now legendary ball hosted by the Duchess of Richmond on the fateful eve of the Battle of Waterloo, it sets in motion a series of events that will have consequences for decades to come as secrets unravel behind the porticoed doors of London’s grandest neighborhood.”
Where to watch: Fubo
Belgravia: The Next Chapter (2024)
Cast: Harriet Slater, Benjamin Wainwright, Alice Eve, Adam James, Toby Regbo, Gerard Horan, Elaine Cassidy, Sophie Thompson, Liam Garrigan, Sophie Winkleman, Edward Bluemel, Lauren McQueen
Synopsis: “Belgravia: The Next Chapter picks up in 1871, three decades after the events depicted in the 2020 limited series, which was written by Julian Fellowes and based on his novel of the same name. Developed and written by critically acclaimed playwright and screenwriter Helen Edmundson, the series tells the love story of Frederick Trenchard (Benjamin Wainwright), the third Lord Trenchard, and his new love interest, Clara Dunn (Harriet Slater), who is a newcomer to London society. Unaware that his birth was the product of an affair between his mother Susan (Alice Eve) and the scoundrel John Bellasis (Adam James), a troubled childhood has left Frederick deeply insecure, which challenges his courtship of, and marriage to, Clara.”
Where to watch: Fubo
Cast: Kristine Frøseth, Alisha Boe, Josie Totah, Aubri Ibrag, Imogen Waterhouse, Mia Threapleton, Christina Hendricks, Josh Dylan, Guy Remmers, Matthew Broome, Barney Fishwick
Synopsis: “Girls with money, men with power. New money, old secrets. A group of fun-loving young American girls explode into the tightly corseted London season of the 1870s, kicking off an Anglo-American culture clash as the land of the stiff upper lip is infiltrated by a refreshing disregard for centuries of tradition. Sent to secure husbands and titles, the buccaneers’ hearts are set on much more than that, and saying “I do” is just the beginning…”
Where to watch: Apple TV+
Ekaterina (2014-2023)
Cast: Marina Aleksandrova, Michael Gor, Vladimir Yaglych, Pavel Tabakov, Sergey Koltakov, Isabel Schosnig, Nadezhda Lumpova,
Synopsis: “The life of Russian Empress Ekaterina II (Catherine the Great), a German-born princess who came to Russia as the wife of Peter III, chosen by her aunt Elizabeth, and who, once in power, transformed the Russian empire.”
Where to watch: Prime Video
Poldark (2015-2019)
Cast: Aidan Turner, Eleanor Tomlinson, Jack Farthing, Beatie Edney, Tristan Sturrock, Luke Norris, Heida Reed, Gabriella Wilde, Harry Richardson, Pip Torrens, Caroline Blakiston
Synopsis: “Ross Poldark returns home after the American Revolutionary War and rebuilds his life with a new business venture, making new enemies and finding a new love where he least expects it.”
Where to watch: Apple TV, PBS Masterpiece
Sisi (2021 – )
Cast: Dominique Devenport, Jannik Schümann, Désirée Nosbusch, David Korbmann, Julia Stemberger, Tanja Schleiff, Marcus Grüsser
Synopsis: “Sisi follows the extraordinary life of empress Elisabeth of Austria. Modern, honest, and authentic. Told from the perspective of her closest confidants, the series takes a new look at the empress’ life and reveals a multi-layered woman.”
Where to watch: PBS Masterpiece
The Spanish Princess (2019-2020)
Cast: Laura Carmichael, Aaron Cobham, Charlotte Hope, Stephanie Levi-John, Philip Cumbus, Ruairi O’Connor, Harriet Walter, Richard Pepper, Jordan Renzo, Georgie Henley, Olly Rix
Synopsis: “Spanish princess Catherine of Aragon navigates the royal lineage of England with an eye on the throne.”
Where to watch: Apple TV, Starz
Vanity Fair (2018 miniseries)
Cast: Olivia Cooke, Tom Bateman, Michael Palin, Johnny Flynn, Claudia Jessie, Robert Pugh, Ellie Kendrick, Simon Russell Beale, Charlie Rowe, Clunes
Synopsis: “Based on the novel of the same name,”Vanity Fair” follows poverty-stricken Becky Sharp as she attempts to claw her way out of the dregs of society and to scale the heights of English society in the years following the defeat of Napoleon.”
Where to watch: Prime Video
Versailles (2015-2018)
Cast: George Blagden, Alexander Vlahos, Elisa Lasowski, Anna Brewster, Tygh Runyan, Stuart Bowman, Evan Williams, Steve Cumyn, Maddison Jaizani, Geoffrey Bateman, Jessica Clark
Synopsis: “In 1667, 28-year-old all-powerful king of France, Louis XIV, decides to build the greatest palace in the world – Versailles. But drained budget, affairs and political intrigues complicate things.”
Where to watch: Apple TV, Prime Video
Victoria (2016-2019)
Cast: Jenna Coleman, Tom Hughes, Adrian Schiller, Tommy Knight, Peter Bowles, Nell Hudson, Ferdinand Kingsley, Anna Wilson-Jones, Catherine Flemming, Daniela Holtz, Nigel Lindsay
Synopsis: “The early life of Queen Victoria, from her ascension to the throne at the tender age of 18 to her courtship and marriage to Prince Albert.”
Where to watch: Apple TV, PBS Masterpiece
The White Princess (2017 miniseries)
Cast: Jodie Comer, Jacob Collins-Levy, Richard Dillane, Rebecca Benson, Michelle Fairley, Kenneth Cranham, Nicholas Audsley, Essie Davis, Suki Waterhouse, Patrick Gibson, Susie Trayling, Joanne Whalley
Synopsis: “Based on the Philippa Gregory book of the same name, the story of Elizabeth of York, the White Queen’s daughter, and her marriage to the Lancaster victor, Henry VII.”
Where to watch: Prime Video, Starz
The White Queen (2013 miniseries)
Cast: Rebecca Ferguson, Aneurin Barnard, Amanda Hale, Faye Marsay, Max Irons, Ben Lamb, Janet McTeer, Tom McKay, Juliet Aubrey, Eleanor Tomlinson, David Oakes, Caroline Goodall
Synopsis:
Where to watch: Prime Video, Starz
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12 Shows Like The Empress to Watch While You Wait for Season 3
12 Shows Like The Empress to Watch While You Wait for Season 3