Top 10 Period Drama Series on Netflix
Carolina
Argentinian Carolina has an extensive movie background in the cinematic universe. She is our resident TV analyst and a seasoned expert in global streaming platforms. She showcases her comprehensive knowledge through her love for Netflix 'Originals', Frozen, The Good Place, and The Dragon Prince.
Fancy binging some period dramas this evening?
You’ve found the right guide! Inside we’ll be rounding up the very best you can stream right now!
Period dramas are a great source of entertainment and also of learning. With period dramas you can travel to another age where the world was simpler, but more complex at the same time.
And while you let your imagination go wild, you can discover historical facts and characters as stories based on famous pieces of literature as well.
Netflix has a great selection of period drama series. So, let me take you through the top 10 we have selected for you.
How to watch all of these
Not the all series in this top 10 are available in all Netflix regions, which means in some countries they won’t all be available.
Thankfully, there’s a solution for this: a VPN app.
VPN apps are intended for online privacy but they also let you change your location, enabling you to access other Netflix regions with your regular account.
That’s more movies and TV shows to you and me.
Due to not all VPNs being able to unblock all Netflix regions, we have tested each series with different VPN services and regions to offer you all the information you need.
My recommendation is you sign up for ExpressVPN because they offer the best combination of features coupled with ease of use. They also have a neat 30-day money back guarantee letting you try it.
Other choices include Surfshark and NordVPN, so you’re free to choose.
30-day money back guarantee
1. Poldark (2015)
5 seasons – 43 episodes – Drama, History, Romance
Available: Belgium, France, Switzerland, and the UK.
Recommended VPN: Belgium (Surfshark), France (Surfshark), the UK (Surfshark, ExpressVPN)
Based on the novel saga of the same name by Winston Graham, Poldark tells the story of Ross Poldark, a captain returning from the American War of Independence to his home of Nampara in Cornwall, England after three years in the army.
At his return, he finds out his father has died, his state is in ruins and covered in debts, and that his childhood sweetheart Elizabeth has found love in another man and now she’s married.
2. Pride and Prejudice (1995)
6 episodes – Drama, Romance
Available: UK
Recommended VPN: ExpressVPN
Although this series is highly fictionalized, it follows the early exploits of Mary, Queen of Scots.
The show was created by Stephanie SenGupta and Laurie McCarthy and aired at The CW. The showrunners admitted taking liberties regarding the historical accuracy and aiming the show to a younger audience.
The story begins with Mary leaving the convent, where she had grown up to go back to the castle and prepare for her marriage to Prince Francis. From then on, the series follows the early years of Mary as Queen of Scotland and all the intrigues and complots she had to face.
4. The English Game (2020)
1 season – 6 episodes – Drama, History, Sport
Available: Available globally
This Netflix original mini-series developed by Julian Fellowes (Downton Abbey) tells the origins of modern football in England.
In 1870, football in Great Britain was a sport for rich people until the working class began to play it, turning it into the world’s most popular game going beyond social classes.
5. Alias Grace (2017)
1 season – 6 episodes – Biographical, Drama, Crime
Available: Available globally
Based on the historical fiction novel of the same name by the acclaimed Canadian writer Margaret Atwood (The Handmaid’s Tale), Alias Grace depicts, with a quote of fiction, the story of Grace Marks, who was convicted for murder.
She can’t remember what happened the day of the crimes for which she was convicted, and she shows symptoms of hysteria. Dr. Simon Jodan, a psychiatrist, is hired to interview her and find out if she’s truly a murder or just insane.
6. Oktoberfest: Beer & Blood (2020)
1 season – 6 episodes – Drama, History, Thriller
Available: Selected countries
Recommended VPN: India (NordVPN), Spain (NordVPN, Surfshark), and the UK (ExpressVPN, NordVPN, Surfshark)
A German Netflix original series set at the beginning of the 20th century about the war between two families to get control of one the most famous beer festival in the world.
Curt Prank is an ambitious brewer whose goal is kind of impossible: to set a tent to seat 6,000 people in the Munich Oktoberfest in 1900. He’s the type of man who doesn’t accept a no as an answer and nothing will stop him from reaching his objectives.
7. The Luminaries (2020)
1 season – 6 episodes – Adventure, Drama, Mystery
Available: India
Recommended VPN: NordVPN
Based on Eleanor Catton’s 2013 novel of the same name, this British-New Zealand miniseries follows the story of Anna Wetherell, a young adventurer travelling from the United Kingdom to South Island’s West Coast, New Zealand, in 1860, during the West Coast Gold Rush.
Catton also adapted the script, and according to her, the series is very different from the book.
8. Freud (2020)
1 season – 8 episodes – Biography, Crime, History
Available: Globally
If you’re looking for a biopic about the father of the psychoanalysis, well, this is not the series you’re looking for. But, if you love crime and mysteries stories, probably, you’ll love it.
With a young Freud as the protagonist, the series takes distance from therapy and dive into the detective genre.
A series of murders take place in Vienna, and Freud with the help of a detective and a medium will pick the clues to solve them.
9. The Tudors (2007)
4 seasons – 38 episodes – Drama, History, Romance
Available: US
Recommended VPN: ExpressVPN, NordVPN, Surfshark
Produced by the American premium cable network Showtime, The Tudors is a joint British-American-Canadian production.
Set in the 16th century in England, the series focused on the reign of King Henry VIII who is interpreted by Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Velvet Goldmine, Bend It Like Beckham).
The cast is completed by Maria Doyle Kennedy (Downton Abbey, Orphan Black), Natalie Dormer (Game of Thrones, Hunger Games) and Henry Cavill (Man of Steel, The Witcher).
10. Beecham House (2019)
1 season – 6 episodes – Drama
Available: India
Recommended VPN: NordVPN
Set in 1795, British historical drama, Beecham House was created by Gurinder Chadha, the same woman behind Bend It Like Beckham and Viceroy’s House.
The series follows the Beecham family who recently moved to Delhi, India before the British rule, to the house they bought. The family’s head is John Beecham, a former soldier of the East India Company.
Conclusion
The period drama is a trendy genre both in movies and series. You can find a lot of period series on Netflix, but sadly it’s hard to find them all globally.
For that, you can use a VPN such as ExpressVPN to unblock other regions and access to their Netflix catalogues.
In this list, we recommend you 10 of the best period drama available on the streaming platform, and we also give you tips about what regions and VPN services are the best in each case.
So, get ready to travel back in history with this Top 10 of period drama series!
What’s your favorite period drama? Did it make this list or is it something else? Let me know in the comments section below as I would love to hear.
