Historical TV-Dramas/Series
by YourSunshower | created - 12 Sep 2013 | updated - 11 Jan 2014 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. The Tudors (2007–2010)
TV-MA | 60 min | Drama, History, Romance
A dramatic series about the reign and marriages of King Henry VIII.
Stars: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Henry Cavill, Anthony Brophy, James Frain
Votes: 81,238
2. The Borgias (2011–2013)
TV-MA | 50 min | Crime, Drama, History
In the fifteenth century, Pope Alexander VI tries to control all power in Italy with the help of his several sons, through murder, intrigue, war, and marriage alliances.
Stars: Jeremy Irons, François Arnaud, Holliday Grainger, Peter Sullivan
Votes: 53,957
3. Downton Abbey (2010–2015)
TV-PG | 60 min | Drama, Romance
A chronicle of the lives of the British aristocratic Crawley family and their servants in the early twentieth century.
Stars: Hugh Bonneville, Phyllis Logan, Elizabeth McGovern, Brendan Coyle
Votes: 224,998
4. Rome (2005–2007)
TV-MA | 60 min | Action, Drama, Romance
A down-to-earth account of the lives of both illustrious and ordinary Romans set in the last days of the Roman Republic.
Stars: Kevin McKidd, Ray Stevenson, Polly Walker, Kerry Condon
Votes: 185,462
5. Spartacus (2010–2013)
TV-MA | 60 min | Action, Adventure, Biography
The life of Spartacus, the gladiator who lead a rebellion against the Romans. From his time as an ally of the Romans, to his betrayal and becoming a gladiator, to the rebellion he leads and its ultimate outcome.
Stars: Andy Whitfield, Lucy Lawless, Manu Bennett, Daniel Feuerriegel
Votes: 257,117
6. Spartacus: Gods of the Arena (2011)
TV-MA | 55 min | Action, Adventure, Biography
In the time before the arrival of Spartacus, the House of Batiatus faces many challenges from competitors, and within its own household.
Stars: John Hannah, Manu Bennett, Peter Mensah, Dustin Clare
Votes: 145,461
7. Vikings (2013–2020)
TV-MA | 45 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Vikings transports us to the brutal and mysterious world of Ragnar Lothbrok, a Viking warrior and farmer who yearns to explore--and raid--the distant shores across the ocean.
Stars: Katheryn Winnick, Gustaf Skarsgård, Alexander Ludwig, Georgia Hirst
Votes: 583,255
8. The White Queen (2013)
TV-MA | 60 min | Drama, History, Romance
Three different, yet equally relentless women vie for the throne in 15th-century England.
Stars: Aneurin Barnard, Rebecca Ferguson, Amanda Hale, Faye Marsay
Votes: 31,412
9. Lark Rise to Candleford (2008–2011)
TV-PG | 53 min | Drama, Romance
An adaptation of Flora Thompson's autobiographical novel "Lark Rise To Candleford", set in 19 century Oxfordshire, in which a young girl moves to the local market town to begin an apprenticeship as a postmistress.
Stars: Olivia Hallinan, Sarah Lancashire, Julia Sawalha, Fergus Drysdale
Votes: 8,412
10. Bomb Girls (2012–2014)
TV-14 | 60 min | Drama, War
A drama about World War II women at work in a munitions factory.
Stars: Meg Tilly, Jodi Balfour, Charlotte Hegele, Antonio Cupo
Votes: 4,580
11. Fanny Hill (2007)
60 min | Drama, Romance
Orphaned by smallpox, young Lancashire country lady Fanny Hill cheerfully accepts her friend Esther Davies's offer to join the London 'working girls' with Mrs. Brown, a madam who recruits ... See full summary »
Stars: Rebecca Night, Alison Steadman, Emma Stansfield, Hugo Speer
Votes: 1,149
12. City of Vice (2008)
50 min | Crime, Drama, History
In 18th-century London, novelists Henry and John Fielding fight crime on the perilous streets of Covent Garden, determined to clean up the city rife with prostitution, gambling, and villainy before modern policing.
Stars: Ian McDiarmid, Francis Magee, Steve Speirs, Alice O'Connell
Votes: 522
13. John Adams (2008)
TV-14 | 71 min | Biography, Drama, History
The life of one of the USA's Founding Fathers, its second President, and his role in the nation's first 50 years.
Stars: Paul Giamatti, Laura Linney, John Dossett, Stephen Dillane
Votes: 36,647
14. Mary Bryant (2005–2007)
R | 62 min | Adventure, Drama
A young woman is transported to the New South Wales penal colony in 1788.
Stars: Romola Garai, Jack Davenport, Alex O'Loughlin, Sam Neill
Votes: 2,579
15. The Scarlet Pimpernel (1999–2000)
TV-14 | 540 min | Adventure, Drama
During the turmoil of the French Revolution, English aristocrat Percy Blakeney, often aided by his League of friends, secretly undertakes various daring missions as the Scarlet Pimpernel.
Stars: Richard E. Grant, Ronan Vibert, Gerard Murphy, Ron Donachie
Votes: 1,257
16. Napoléon (2002– )
380 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
A masterful soldier, tactician, and statesmen, Napoleon Bonaparte, with courage and love for his country, rises from an unpaid general consumed with ambition to the most powerful man in Europe. But his life ends with a fall and exile.
Stars: Christian Clavier, Isabella Rossellini, Gérard Depardieu, John Malkovich
Votes: 5,025
17. Against the Wind (1978)
617 min | Drama, History, Western
Mary Mulvane, an 18 year old Irish girl, is transported to New South Wales for seven years for doing little else than protecting her own property. She must endure the horror of transport to... See full summary »
Stars: Mary Larkin, Kerry McGuire, Jon English, Warwick Sims
Votes: 946
18. Jack of All Trades (2000)
30 min | Adventure, Action, Comedy
Jack Stiles, American spy stationed on a South Pacific island in the early 19th century, teams up with no nonsense British agent Emilia Rothschild to stop Napoleon's colonizing efforts. Jack's alter ego is the Zorro-esque Daring Dragoon.
Stars: Bruce Campbell, Angela Marie Dotchin, Stuart Devenie, Stephen Papps
Votes: 3,110
19. Roar (1997)
60 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
In 5th century Ireland, a young Celtic chieftain and his allies fight against Roman encroachment, the manipulative pro-Roman puppet ruler of Ireland, Queen Diana, and her immortal adviser who seeks the biblical Spear of Longinus.
Stars: Heath Ledger, Lisa Zane, Sebastian Roché, Vera Farmiga
Votes: 1,313
20. Little Dorrit (2008)
TV-PG | 34 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
The Dorrits are a family whose life revolves around the Marshalsea, a debtor's prison. Amy Dorrit's kind nature brings the family into contact with a wide swath of English society, from the poorest to the richest, and back again.
Stars: Matthew Macfadyen, Claire Foy, Tom Courtenay, Judy Parfitt
Votes: 10,490
21. Mildred Pierce (2011)
TV-MA | 67 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Divorced single mom Mildred Pierce decides to open a restaurant business, which tears at the already-strained relationship with her ambitious elder daughter, Veda.
Stars: Kate Winslet, Guy Pearce, Evan Rachel Wood, Brían F. O'Byrne
Votes: 24,110
22. Little House on the Prairie (1974–1983)
TV-PG | 60 min | Drama, Family, Romance
The life and adventures of the Ingalls family in the nineteenth century American Midwest.
Stars: Melissa Gilbert, Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, Rachel Lindsay Greenbush
Votes: 26,908
23. Little House on the Prairie (2005)
TV-PG | 255 min | Drama, Family
Little House on the Prairie is a TV miniseries based on the books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
Stars: Cameron Bancroft, Erin Cottrell, Kyle Chavarria, Danielle C. Ryan
Votes: 660
24. Boardwalk Empire (2010–2014)
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama
An Atlantic City politician plays both sides of the law by conspiring with gangsters during the Prohibition era.
Stars: Steve Buscemi, Kelly Macdonald, Michael Shannon, Shea Whigham
Votes: 203,210
25. Deadwood (2004–2006)
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama, History
A show set in the late 1800s, revolving around the characters of Deadwood, South Dakota; a town of deep corruption and crime.
Stars: Timothy Olyphant, Ian McShane, Molly Parker, Brad Dourif
Votes: 117,700
26. Pan Am (2011–2012)
TV-PG | 583 min | Drama, History, Romance
Period drama about the pilots and flight attendants who once made Pan Am the most glamorous way to fly.
Stars: Christina Ricci, Margot Robbie, Michael Mosley, Karine Vanasse
Votes: 21,246
27. Birdsong (2012)
Not Rated | 83 min | Drama, Romance, War
As an English soldier fights in the horrific trenches of northern France, he is haunted by the memories of his forbidden love affair with a French woman.
Stars: Eddie Redmayne, Clémence Poésy, Matthew Goode, Thomas Turgoose
Votes: 6,006
28. Clarissa (1991)
156 min | Drama, History
A virtuous young woman is oppressed by her ambitious family and a rake who's becomes obsessed with her.
Stars: Sean Bean, Saskia Wickham, Jonny Phillips, Lynsey Baxter
Votes: 628
29. 1066: The Battle for Middle Earth (2009)
150 min | Action, History, War
Despite earlier promises to pass his crown to one of his Flemish, Viking, or Norman relatives, English King Edward the Confessor dies in 1066, leaving his crown to Anglo-Saxon Harold Godwinson, causing a bloody succession war.
Stars: Ian Holm, Mike Bailey, Francis Magee, Tim Plester
Votes: 873
30. Let Them Eat Cake (1999)
30 min | Comedy, History
It's 1782 and welcome to the fabulous Palace of Versailles, France. Outside the gates, the peasants are on the verge of revolting , whilst inside lives one of the most hated women in all of France -Columbine, the Comtesse De Vache.
Stars: Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Adrian Scarborough, Lucy Punch
Votes: 746
31. Mad Men (2007–2015)
TV-MA | 45 min | Drama
A drama about one of New York's most prestigious ad agencies at the beginning of the 1960s, focusing on one of the firm's most mysterious but extremely talented ad executives, Donald Draper.
Stars: Jon Hamm, Elisabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser, January Jones
Votes: 260,664
32. Reign (2013–2017)
TV-14 | 42 min | Drama
Mary, Queen of Scots, faces political and sexual intrigue in the treacherous world of the French court.
Stars: Adelaide Kane, Megan Follows, Celina Sinden, Torrance Coombs
Votes: 54,409
33. The Paradise (2012–2013)
TV-PG | 60 min | Drama
The story of a young woman who works in a department store and gets caught up in the charms of the modern world.
Stars: Joanna Vanderham, Emun Elliott, Stephen Wight, Sonya Cassidy
Votes: 12,604
34. Call the Midwife (2012– )
TV-PG | 60 min | Drama, History
Chronicles the lives of a group of midwives living in East London in the late 1950s to late 1960s.
Stars: Vanessa Redgrave, Laura Main, Jenny Agutter, Stephen McGann
Votes: 31,524
35. South Riding (2011)
Drama
In 1930s Yorkshire, a spirited new headmistress brings inspiration and modern ideas to an all girls' school and shakes up the more conservative-minded residents of South Riding.
Stars: Anna Maxwell Martin, David Morrissey, Penelope Wilton, Katherine McGolpin
Votes: 1,514
36. Dancing on the Edge (2013)
TV-MA | 75 min | Drama
Set in the 1930s, a black Jazz band rises in fame and popularity while becoming entangled in an intricate web of intrigue, mystery and suspense with the elite of London society.
Stars: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Matthew Goode, Joanna Vanderham, Wunmi Mosaku
Votes: 2,845
37. Great Expectations (2011–2012)
TV-PG | 60 min | Drama
The orphan Pip becomes a gentleman when his life is transformed by a mystery benefactor.
Stars: Douglas Booth, Jack Roth, Ray Winstone, David Suchet
Votes: 8,243
38. Upstairs Downstairs (2010–2012)
TV-PG | 60 min | Drama
A new family and their servants live at the London townhouse at 165 Eaton Place in 1936.
Stars: Keeley Hawes, Ed Stoppard, Adrian Scarborough, Neil Jackson
Votes: 6,820
39. The Hour (2011–2012)
TV-14 | 60 min | Drama
A behind-the-scenes drama and espionage thriller in Cold War-era England that centers on a journalist, a producer, and an anchorman for an investigative news programme.
Stars: Romola Garai, Ben Whishaw, Dominic West, Anna Chancellor
Votes: 11,050
40. The Hour (2011–2012)
TV-14 | 60 min | Drama
A behind-the-scenes drama and espionage thriller in Cold War-era England that centers on a journalist, a producer, and an anchorman for an investigative news programme.
Stars: Romola Garai, Ben Whishaw, Dominic West, Anna Chancellor
Votes: 11,050
41. Ripper Street (2012–2016)
TV-MA | 59 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The streets of Whitechapel are the haunt of Detective Inspector Edmund Reid and his team of officers, who aim to maintain law and order in a place once terrorized by Jack the Ripper.
Stars: Matthew Macfadyen, Adam Rothenberg, MyAnna Buring, Jerome Flynn
Votes: 22,514
42. Women in Love (2011)
180 min | Drama
Powerful adaptation of DH Lawrence's novel about the lives of two sisters, Ursula and Gudrun Brangwen, as they struggle with their own desires and passions.
Stars: Rory Kinnear, Rachael Stirling, Joseph Mawle, Olivia Grant
Votes: 609
43. Tess of the D'Urbervilles (2008)
TV-PG | 60 min | Drama, Romance
The story of Tess Durbeyfield, a low-born country girl whose family find they have noble connections.
Stars: Gemma Arterton, Eddie Redmayne, Ruth Jones, Hans Matheson
Votes: 6,621
44. Cranford (2007–2009)
TV-PG | 469 min | Drama
In the 1840s, Cranford is ruled by the ladies. They adore good gossip, and romance and change is in the air, as the unwelcome grasp of the Industrial Revolution rapidly approaches their beloved rural market-town.
Stars: Judi Dench, Imelda Staunton, Julia McKenzie, Deborah Findlay
Votes: 10,629
45. He Knew He Was Right (2004)
240 min | Drama
Louis Trevelyan's refusal to trust his wife Emily destroys their marriage.
Stars: Oliver Dimsdale, Christina Cole, Laura Fraser, Nathan Heath
Votes: 1,716
46. Bleak House (2005)
TV-PG | 30 min | Crime, Drama
A suspenseful tale about the injustices of the 19th Century English legal system.
Stars: Anna Maxwell Martin, Carey Mulligan, Denis Lawson, Gillian Anderson
Votes: 10,630
47. The Barchester Chronicles (1982)
385 min | Drama
When a crusade against the Church of England's practice of self-enrichment misfires, scandal taints the cozy community of Barchester when their local church becomes the object of a scathing, investigative report.
Stars: Donald Pleasence, Janet Maw, Nigel Hawthorne, Angela Pleasence
Votes: 1,220
48. The Impressionists (2006–2007)
Drama
"Three hour mini-series tells the intimate history of a most illustrious brotherhood of Impressionist artists - Monet, Degas, Renoir, Cézanne and Manet. Entirely based on documentary ... See full summary »
Stars: Richard Armitage, Julian Glover, Will Keen, Aden Gillett
Votes: 1,134
49. North & South (2004)
TV-PG | 60 min | Drama, Romance
North and South is a four-part adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's love story of Margaret Hale, a middle-class southerner who is forced to move to the northern town of Milton.
Stars: Daniela Denby-Ashe, Richard Armitage, Tim Pigott-Smith, Sinéad Cusack
Votes: 34,981
50. Pride and Prejudice (1995)
TV-PG | 55 min | Drama, Romance
While the arrival of wealthy gentlemen sends her marriage-minded mother into a frenzy, willful and opinionated Elizabeth Bennet matches wits with haughty Mr. Darcy.
Stars: Colin Firth, Jennifer Ehle, Susannah Harker, Julia Sawalha
Votes: 92,343
51. Sense & Sensibility (2008)
TV-14 | 58 min | Drama, Romance
The sisters Eleanor and Marianne Dashwood try to find love and security in the 1800's. These two sisters coudn't be more different. Where Eleanor is calm and always acts proper Marianne is passionate and usally forgets herself.
Stars: Dominic Cooper, Charity Wakefield, Hattie Morahan, Janet McTeer
Votes: 12,995
52. Jane Eyre (2006)
TV-PG | 58 min | Drama, Romance
A young governess falls in love with her brooding and complex master. However, his dark past may destroy their relationship forever.
Stars: Ruth Wilson, Toby Stephens, Lorraine Ashbourne, Aidan McArdle
Votes: 22,374
53. Berkeley Square (1998)
50 min | Drama, History, Romance
Three young women from very different backgrounds meet, become friends and share experiences when they all gain positions as nannies in the wealthy households of London's exclusive Berkeley Square.
Stars: Victoria Smurfit, Clare Wilkie, Tabitha Wady, Hermione Norris
Votes: 1,216
54. Mansfield Park (1983)
261 min | Drama, Romance
Impoverished Fanny Price is sent to live with her more affluent uncle and aunt. The arrival of new neighbors brings a chance for romance to Fanny and her cousins.
Stars: Anna Massey, Angela Pleasence, Sylvestra Le Touzel, Nicholas Farrell
Votes: 1,132
55. Vanity Fair (1998)
Not Rated | 50 min | Drama, Romance
An adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray's classic story of parvenue Becky Sharp's rise from obscure and humble origins to her subsequent ignominious fall from Society; set against the ... See full summary »
Stars: Natasha Little, Frances Grey, Philip Glenister, David Ross
Votes: 1,733
56. The Forsyte Saga (2002–2003)
TV-PG | 276 min | Drama, History, Romance
Chronicles the lives of three generations of the upper-middle-class British family, the Forsytes, from the 1870s to 1920.
Stars: Damian Lewis, Rupert Graves, Gina McKee, Amanda Root
Votes: 6,549
57. The Crimson Petal and the White (2011)
TV-MA | 69 min | Drama, Romance
Set in 1870s London, a young prostitute finds potential power and status after becoming the mistress of a powerful patriarch.
Stars: Romola Garai, Chris O'Dowd, Amanda Hale, Shirley Henderson
Votes: 3,611
58. The Way We Live Now (2001)
TV-14 | 75 min | Drama, Romance
Augustus Melmotte is a European-born city financier whose background is as mysterious as his business. Only weeks after his arrival in London, he announced a new venture and promises instant fortune.
Stars: David Suchet, Matthew Macfadyen, Cillian Murphy, Paloma Baeza
Votes: 3,321
59. Elizabeth I (2005)
TV-MA | 112 min | Biography, Drama, History
Mini-series about the the public and private lives of the later years of Queen Elizabeth I.
Stars: Helen Mirren, Toby Jones, Hugh Dancy, Patrick Malahide
Votes: 7,033
60. Upstairs, Downstairs (1971–1975)
TV-14 | 60 min | Drama
The lives and fortunes of the Bellamy family and their below-stairs servant staff at 165 Eaton Place play out against the social, political and historical backdrop of Edwardian London from 1903 to 1930.
Stars: Gordon Jackson, David Langton, Jean Marsh, Angela Baddeley
Votes: 3,568
61. Middlemarch (1994)
54 min | Drama, Romance
Middlemarch is a story of provincial life on the brink of momentous change and a deeply moving saga about a group of people striving to give meaning and value to their lives during the Industrial Revolution.
Stars: Douglas Hodge, Juliet Aubrey, Trevyn McDowell, Jonathan Firth
Votes: 2,757
62. Clarissa (1991)
156 min | Drama, History
A virtuous young woman is oppressed by her ambitious family and a rake who's becomes obsessed with her.
Stars: Sean Bean, Saskia Wickham, Jonny Phillips, Lynsey Baxter
Votes: 628
63. Land Girls (2009–2011)
TV-14 | 225 min | Drama
Follow the lives, loves and highs and lows of four members of the Women's Land Army who are working at the Hoxley Estate during World War II.
Stars: Becci Gemmell, Susan Cookson, Mark Benton, Mykola Allen
Votes: 3,577
64. The Pillars of the Earth (2010)
TV-MA | 59 min | Drama, Romance, Thriller
Set against a backdrop of war, religious strife and power struggles which tears lives and families apart.
Stars: Ian McShane, Matthew Macfadyen, Eddie Redmayne, Hayley Atwell
Votes: 33,124
65. World Without End (2012)
TV-MA | 47 min | Drama, Romance, Thriller
The English town of Kingsbridge works to survive as the King leads the nation into the Hundred Years' War with France while Europe deals with the outbreak of the Black Death.
Stars: Ben Chaplin, Charlotte Riley, Nora Waldstätten, Oliver Jackson-Cohen
Votes: 9,141
66. Daniel Deronda (2002)
53 min | Drama, Romance
Set in Victorian London, Gwendolen Harleth is drawn to Daniel Deronda, a selfless and intelligent gentleman of unknown parentage, but her own desperate need for financial security may destroy her chance at happiness.
Stars: Jodhi May, Edward Fox, Amanda Root, David Bamber
Votes: 5,204
67. Lady Chatterley (1993)
Unrated | 205 min | Drama, Romance
A young woman's husband returns wounded after the First World War. Facing a life with a husband now incapable of sexual activity she begins an affair with the groundskeeper.
Stars: Joely Richardson, Sean Bean, James Wilby, Shirley Anne Field
Votes: 1,877
68. Young James Herriot (2011)
180 min | Drama
The university days of the vet, James Herriot, set in 1933 Glasgow, Scotland.
Stars: Iain De Caestecker, Amy Manson, Ben Lloyd-Hughes, Gary Lewis
Votes: 430
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