Before, when we say period drama, it’s easy to see stuffy ballgowns and boring shows. This 2024 period drama is back! If you crave more historical dramas, you’ve come to the right place, as the streaming environment has made it easier to find good media to consume. Netflix, Hulu, and Prime Video are up, and many of them can hold up well, even if they may get pitted against classic historical series like The Tudors and Downton Abbey.
We’ve compiled the top historical series you can watch, binge, and enjoy in 2024!
Bridgerton
Who honestly has yet to hear about Bridgerton? The streamer hit first appeared during the Christmas of 2020, during the pandemic era, when games like Jili kept people on their toes. During the show’s first season in 2020.
It broke records and has since continued to win over more viewers and fans worldwide. The series is about the love lives of the Bridgerton family during the Regency era and the time’s ruthless marriage market, with takes on popular romance tropes.
She follows Daphne and the fake dating trope in the show’s first season. In the second season, she is focused on the trauma and love life of Anthony, the firstborn Bridgerton. In contrast, the third season’s first and second halfs explored Penelope Featheringto.
The Wallflower of society, and her relationship with Colin Bridgerton. There have been rumors that the fourth season follows Benedict’s love story. The series offerings include:
- Spicy and saucy sex scenes.
- Women’s expectations
- An alternate reality where people of color are nobility due to Queen Charlotte’s and Charlotte’s marriage.
The Pursuit of Love
The Pursuit of Love is penned by Emily Mortimer and follows the Radlett family, particularly best friends and cousins Linda and Fanny. Their relationship may easily remind one of the relationships in Little Women. Many familiar names are in the cast, like Andrew Scott, Lily James, and Dominic West.
A routine follows The Pursuit of Love— it’s a coming-of-age story about the two women who navigate adulthood. The routine is that Linda falls for a man, leaves her best friend behind, and then has a revelation about the love. Linda repeatedly throws herself into one relationship after the other, with every love interest immersing her in different worlds.
The King’s Affection
The King’s Affection is a South Korean drama series. The king in the story has a secret that is hard to bear: the king is his twin sister, Damyi (Park Eun Bin), who was persuaded to take his place as the king. The sacrifices she made include her relationships. However, when she becomes fond of a man within her inner circle, how hard can it be to control them? It is the crown prince’s tutor, Jung Ji-un, played by Rowoon.
The series moves from political intrigue to romantic comedy, with lush visuals and excellent colour grading and editing. However, the show writing is strongest during the opening episodes.
Mary and George
By Benjamin Woolley, Mary & George is adapted from The King’s Assassin: Villiers and James I. Impoverished nobles Marry Villiers (Julianne Moore) and some courtiers from England lot to have her handsome son George (Nicholas Galitzine) seduce the king of England and thus gain more influence and power over the court. Sexual drama inhabits the series, despite the captain hats and ruffle collars, with a lot of queer touches.
Interview With The Vampire
Get ready for a horror and elevated adaptation with Interview with the Vampire! The series is back for its second season and is adapted from the same book that inspired the 1994 movie starring Tom Cruise. The adaptation may be bound to start conversations and comparisons about the old adaptation with this one. A journalist interviews brooding Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson, who played Grey Worm from Game of Thrones).
Decades of chaos pass, with Lestat de Lioncourt, played by Sam Reid, who makes the character his own. The series has easily gained critical acclaim.
The Sympathizer
HBO and A24 produced this series with an exciting treatment. Park Chan Wook, of Oldboy and The Handmaiden fame, is the director, while A24 produces the series. Robert Downey Jr. plays the antagonist. Espionage, identity, and love dominate the themes of the series narrative.
The Captain struggles between ideology and loyalty to people and his beliefs. The series is a spy drama, romance, thriller, and, ultimately, a collaboration between artists.
The Sympathizer is a twisting narrative of espionage, identity, and love set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War and its aftermath. Journey with The Captain, a half-French, half-Vietnamese army captain who falls on both sides of an ideological divide as he navigates tumultuous times of betrayal and shifting alliances.
Wrapping Up
The historical dramas and better ways of telling stories. Whether biographical, fiction, or fantasy, there are many stories worthy of watching in the historical genre. We hope these choices keep you glued to your seat and excited!
