30 Period Dramas to Fill the Bridgerton Void

The Buccaneers, a television drama series based on the unfinished novel by Edith Wharton, is a fascinating exploration of love. The show follows five nouveau riche American women in the 1870s—Nan St. George (Kristine Frøseth), Conchita Closson (Alisha Boe), Mabel Elmsworth (Josie Totah), Lizzy Elmsworth (Aubri Ibrag), and Jinny St. George (Imogen Waterhouse) who are invited to London to secure a husband during debutante season. As they navigate London’s elite society, they find themselves entangled in forbidden love triangles, and cultural clashes, all portrayed from a nuanced perspective by creator Katherine Jakeways.

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Based on Jane Austen’s unfinished novel, Sanditon follows Charlotte Heywood’s transformation journey. Seeking excitement in her life, Charlotte moves from her quiet home in the English countryside to the fast-paced town of Sanditon. Emmy Award-winning screenwriter Andrew Davis perfectly intertwines period details, exciting romance, and self-discovery. The series ran for three seasons on PBS before taking its final bow in 2023.

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Think of Mr. Malcolm’s List as John Tucker Must Die with a period-romance twist. After Julia Thistlewaite gets rejected by Mr. Jeremy Malcolm for not meeting his list of requirements for a wife, she has her friend Selina Dalton pose as a potential bride to Mr. Malcom and get her revenge. This juicy love story is a must-watch. And like Bridgerton, it features a diverse cast including Freida Pinto, Sope Dirisu, Ashley Park, Zawe Ashton, and Theo James.

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Here’s another Jane Austen adaptation with an impressive cast, including Dakota Johnson, Suki Waterhouse, Henry Golding, Richard E. Grant, and Cosmo Jarvis. Eight years after Anne Elliot (Johnson) was persuaded by her sisters and father to give up her soulmate, they are fated to meet again. Will she seize the opportunity to rekindle the flame with Captain Wentworth or try something new with William Elliot?

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If you’re looking to treat your Bridgerton withdrawal with a gorgeously shot love affair, you’ll find it in Céline Sciamma’s acclaimed 2019 film. Set on a remote island in 1760 France, artist Marianne is tasked with painting the wedding portrait of bride-to-be Héloïse for her future groom, but she must do her work in secret. With the painter and subject spending so much time together, they start to fall for each other.

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This is a really great place to start if you want to watch an entire episode built around the fact that something called a “snuff box” is missing. The show follows the aristocratic Crawley family, their servants, and the changing landscape of the social hierarchy in early 20th-Century England. Every single character in this series gets a plotline that is juicier than the last, so you’re never bored.

Heads up: there is also a Downton Abbey movie (2019), and a sequel in the works, if you’re also looking for another universe that never seems to end.

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This show comes from Downton’s creator, Julian Fellowes, so it’s a good place to go after you’ve finished with the Crawleys. This series is based on the 2016 novel of the same name that also happens to be authored by Fellowes. This is the story of the Trenchard family, who are part of the nouveau riche in London’s upper class. The family is invited to a ball on the eve of the Battle of Waterloo, but the resulting secrets and turmoil last long after the party has ended.

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The Gilded Age is yet another hit from Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes. The main plot, about a woman who moves in with her old money aunts, is just the beginning of what makes this show so addictive. The costumes and sets are so realistic, you’ll be transported right back to 1880s New York City and—good news if you become a big fan—a second season is expected in 2023.

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There’s no show that pulls back the layers of the royal family quite like The Crown. It begins with a young Princess Elizabeth readying to take the throne in the early 1950s, and later seasons follow her journey as she becomes more established in her role.

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Anne Lister (Suranne Jones) was an English landowner whose diaries famously reveal her relationships with other women during a time period when you couldn’t exactly scream about your crush on a girl. Season 1 of this show follows Lister as she tries to bring back to life Shibden Hall, her ancestral home. If you’re into a period drama that doesn’t revolve around a heterosexual love story, cue up this Sally Wainwright-created series.

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It’s the early 1700s and England is at war with France. Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) is on the throne, but she isn’t the one running the country. Her confidante, close friend, and sexual partner, Lady Sarah Churchill (Rachel Weisz), pretty much runs the show, until Sarah’s cousin Abigail (Emma Stone) arrives on the scene and aims to take over Sarah’s role as the eyes, ears, and…hands most trusted by the queen.

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Hailee Steinfeld stars as a young Emily Dickinson when she’s first starting to put pen to paper. The coming-of-age comedy is sweet, thoughtful, and filled with A-list names like Wiz Khalifa, Jane Krakowski, and John Mulaney.

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This film is a modern take on Charles Dickens’ novel and famous character, David Copperfield. Starring Dev Patel and directed by Armando Iannucci, this is a much cheerier version of the darker tale about an orphan.

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This four-part miniseries adapted from Elizabeth Gaskell’s 1854 novel is about Margaret Hale, a woman from Southern England who’s forced to move to the northern town of Milton. She’s initially repulsed by life in an industrial town, but soon develops a passion to help the deep problem with poverty in her community. In a complex twist, she’s romantically linked to mill owner John Thornton, whose treatment of his employees contrasts with Margaret’s views.

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If you like to mix your historical fiction with your sports, this show is a good bet for you. Another Julian Fellowes series, it’s the story of the game of football (meaning soccer) and how it reached across class divides to unite the world. That Julian Fellowes is really into a social-class drama.

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Vanity Fair is a classic tale of unexpected romance. The miniseries shows Becky Sharp (Olivia Cooke) making every attempt to become part of high society, and falling in love in the process.

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This adaptation of Emile Zola’s French novel is set in Northern England at the country’s first department store, The Paradise. Denise Lovett (Joanna Vanderham) begins working there and is charmed by her new life of freedom, but she’s also charmed the store’s owner, John Moray (Emun Elliott), who is courting Lady Katherine Glendenning (Elaine Cassidy), the daughter of a wealthy banker and the key to Moray’s financial success.

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The O.G. Downton Abbey, this 1970s series follows the Bellamy family and their servant staff, who live, well, downstairs at their massive townhouse in Belgravia in Central London. Like Downton, Upstairs, Downstairs starts off in the beginning of the 20th Century and follows the fall of the aristocracy during a three-decade period.

If you get through all of Downton and every other Julian Fellowes show, this 50-year-old series is waiting for you on Amazon Prime. The 2010-2012 BBC One reboot is also available on Hulu.

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When Princess Catherine takes the throne, it kicks off a drama-fueled reign that will leave your heart pounding every episode. It’s loosely based on the true story of the monarch and her husband, Henry VIII.

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This adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel might always reign as society’s preferred take on this beloved story. It aired in a six-episode miniseries from September 24 to October 29, 1995. Like the Bridgerton siblings, the Bennet sisters feel the pressure to marry into a financially stable household. After all, “it is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” Jennifer Ehle stars as Elizabeth Bennet while Colin Firth played her brooding love interest, Mr. Darcy.

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