Photo by: Barbara Nitke/HBO
HBO‘s historical drama series The Gilded Age returned with its second season on October 29th after premiering in January 2022. Set in the 1880s, the series showcases the many changes facing American society at the time including economic change and the introduction of more progressive attitudes and customs.
The ensemble cast includes Christine Baranski, Cynthia Nixon, Carrie Coon, Morgan Spector, Denée Benton, Louisa Jacobson, Taissa Farmiga, Blake Ritson, Simon Jones, Harry Richardson, Thomas Cocquerel, and Jack Gilpin. With gorgeous costume and set designs combined with lots of drama and historical detail, the series is a hit, If you’re looking for more period dramas like The Gilded Age, here are 14 series to check out next.
Belgravia (2020 miniseries)
Cast: Tamsin Greig, Philip Glenister, Alice Eve, Ella Purnell, Tom Wilkinson, Harriet Walter, Jack Bardoe, Jeremy Neumark Jones, Richard Goulding, Emily Reid, Adam James, Paul Ritter
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: MGM+, Spectrum
Blood Ties/Las Villamizar (2022 – )
Cast: Shany Nadan, María José Vargas, Estefanía Piñeres, Luis Mesa, Coraima Torres, Brian Moreno, Eloi Costa
Synopsis: “In early-1800s Colombia, three high-society sisters act as spies to help rebels fight against Spanish rule, and to seek justice for their mother’s death.”
Where to watch: Netflix
Bridgerton (2020 – )
Cast: Phoebe Dynevor, Regé-Jean Page, Jonathan Bailey, Jonathan Bailey, Claudia Jessie, Simone Ashley, Ruby Barker, Luke Newton, Luke Thompson, Adjoa Andoh, Ruth Gemmell, Julie Andrews, Charithra Chandran, Golda Rosheuvel
Synopsis: “The eight close-knit siblings of the Bridgerton family look for love and happiness in London high society. Inspired by Julia Quinn’s bestselling novels.”
Where to watch: Netflix
The Buccaneers (2023 – )
Cast: Kristine Frøseth, Alisha Boe, Josie Totah, Aubri Ibrag, Imogen Waterhouse, Mia Threapleton, Josh Dylan, Christina Hendricks, 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+
Downton Abbey (2010-2015)
Cast: Hugh Bonneville, Jessica Brown Findlay, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Maggie Smith, Brendan Coyle, Michelle Dockery, Siobhan Finneran, Joanne Froggatt, Phyllis Logan, Elizabeth McGovern, Sophie McShera, Lesley Nicol, Penelope Wilton
Synopsis: “A chronicle of the lives of the British aristocratic Crawley family and their servants in the early twentieth century.”
Where to watch: BritBox, Peacock, PBS, Prime Video
The Empress/Die Kaiserin (2022 – )
Cast: Devrim Lingnau, Philip Froissant, Melika Foroutan, Johannes Nussbaum, Almila Bagriacik, Elisa Schlott, Svenja Jung, Jördis Triebel, Vladimir Korneev, Wiebke Puls
Synopsis: “When rebellious Elisabeth falls for Emperor Franz and becomes his unlikely bride, she enters a world of tension and intrigue at the Viennese court.”
Where to watch: Netflix
Gentleman Jack (2019-2022)
Cast: Suranne Jones, Sophie Rundle, Gemma Whelan, Gemma Jones, Timothy West, Rosie Cavaliero, Rosie Cavaliero, Joe Armstrong, Amelia Bullmore, Shaun Dooley
Synopsis: “A dramatization of the life of lesbian trailblazer, voracious learner, and cryptic diarist Anne Lister.”
Where to watch: Max, Spectrum
Jamestown (2017-2019)
Cast: Sophie Rundle, Niamh Walsh, Naomi Battrick, Gwilym Lee, Stuart Martin, Matt Stokoe, Burn Gorman, Jason Flemyng, Patsy Ferran, Dean Lennox Kelly, Max Beesley, Claire Cox, Shaun Dooley
Synopsis: “In the 17th century, on the edge of the untamed Virginian wilderness, sits the English colony of Jamestown. The settlement barely survived its first decade but is on the brink of change with the arrival of a new governor and 90 so-called ‘maids to make brides,’ in a bid from the presiding Virginia Company to establish the town as a prosperous place for all.”
Where to watch: Freevee, PBS, PBS Masterpiece, Prime Video
Poldark (2015-2019)
Cast: Aidan Turner, Eleanor Tomlinson, Heida Reed, Ruby Bentall, Jack Farthing, Phil Davis, Beatie Edney, Luke Norris, Kyle Soller, Pip Torrens, Gabriella Wilde, John Nettles, Christian Brassington,
Synopsis: “Ross Poldark returns from the War to his beloved Cornwall to find his world in ruins: His father dead, his house wrecked and his sweetheart engaged.”
Where to watch: PBS, Prime Video
Sanditon (2019-2023)
Cast: Rose Williams, Theo James, Ben Lloyd-Hughes, Ruth Kearney, Sophie Winkleman, Leo Suter, Jack Fox, Liam Garrigan, Charlotte Spencer, Kris Marshall, Crystal Clarke, Anne Reid, Kate Ashfield
Synopsis: “About Charlotte Heywood, a spirited and impulsive woman, who moves from her rural home to Sanditon, a fishing village attempting to reinvent itself as a seaside resort.”
Where to watch: Apple TV, PBS Masterpiece
The Serpent Queen (2022 – )
Cast: Samantha Morton, Liv Hill, Amrita Acharia, Barry Atsma, Enzo Cilenti, Sennia Nanua, Kiruna Stamell, Nicholas Burns, Beth Goddard, Raza Jaffrey, Danny Kirrane, Ray Panthaki
Synopsis: “The Serpent Queen tells the story of Catherine de Medici (Samantha Morton) who, against all odds, became one of the most powerful and longest-serving rulers in French history. Catherine’s tale unfolds through flashbacks as she defends her actions and imparts the lessons she’s learned to her new servant girl, Rahima (Sennia Nanua).”
Where to watch: Prime Video, The Roku Channel, Starz
Versailles (2015-2018)
Cast: George Blagden, Alexander Vlahos, Tygh Runyan, Stuart Bowman, Amira Casar, Evan Williams, Noémie Schmidt, Anna Brewster, Suzanne Clément, Catherine Walker, Elisa Lasowski, Pip Torrens
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: Prime Video, Netflix
Victoria (2016-2019)
Cast: Jenna Coleman, Tom Hughes, Nell Hudson, Ferdinand Kingsley, Adrian Schiller, Tommy Knight, Louisa Bay, Anna Wilson-Jones, Jordan Waller, Lily Travers, Laurie Shepherd, Kate Fleetwood, Laurence Fox, John Sessions
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: PBS, PBS Masterpiece, Prime Video
The White Queen (2013 miniseries)
Cast: Rebecca Ferguson, Max Irons, Amanda Hale, Janet McTeer, James Frain, Tom McKay, Faye Marsay, Juliet Aubrey, Aneurin Barnard, Rupert Graves, Caroline Goodall, Ben Lamb
Synopsis: “Three different, yet equally relentless women vie for the throne in 15th-century England.”
Where to watch: Prime Video, The Roku Channel, Starz
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