Julian Fellowes’ historical drama on HBO Max, The Gilded Age, has captivated viewers since its debut in 2022. The period of its namesake was rife with the same conflicts between old-money families and the nouveau riche who were amassing their fortunes in the booming railroad industry. There could be no greater inspiration for another Fellowes project than a time of rapid industrialization, new money, power struggles, and culture clashes.
January 24, 2022
HBO Max
Morgan Spector
George Russell
Louisa Jacobson
Marian Brook
Denée Benton
Peggy Scott
With its insight into high society, The Gilded Age is a compelling, addictive watch. Fans can’t get enough of Bertha Russell’s (Carrie Coon) conquest of New York City, seeing her overthrow the queen bee of the upper echelon herself, Mrs. Astor (Donna Murphy). If you’re craving another period drama with romance arcs, exploration of class divides, scandals, breathtaking costumes, and scheming, this list has you covered.
The 10 shows curated below will captivate and fascinate you just as much as The Gilded Age.
The British series Cranford is adapted from three novellas published by Elizabeth Gaskell between 1849 and 1858. It’s set in the 1840s in the idyllic rural village of Cranford, where ladies run the town and outnumber the men. Following the daily lives of its residents, it depicts how some embrace change and others resist it as the railroad arrives in the small town and the new age encroaches on their world. The three major plots of the show are intricately interlaced around the characters.
Among its stellar cast are Judi Dench, Imelda Staunton, Eileen Atkins, Deborah Findlay, Julia McKenzie, and more. In 2009, the BBC costume drama returned for a Christmas special. If you enjoy the depiction of the arrival of industrialization and its impact on the social lives of the characters in The Gilded Age, you will enjoy Cranton. The characters grow on you, and soon enough make you feel like you’re an inhabitant of Cranton yourself.
2002 – 2002
ITV1
Andy Wilson
Gillian Kearney
Irene Forsyte
Gina McKee
Phillip Bosinney
The Forsyte Saga is an adaptation of John Galsworthy’s Nobel prize-winning series of the same name. Set over the course of 50 years, between the 1870s and 1920s, it chronicles the dramas, tragedies, and romantic lives of the Forsyte family. With such an expansive cast of characters, there are many storylines to follow. It all begins with Soames Forsyte (Damian Lewis), a successful solicitor, who becomes obsessed with and marries Irene (Gina McKee), who he views as property. The loveless, possessive marriage leads to a bitter feud that haunts the family for decades.
Like The Gilded Age, the epic British drama has schemes, gossip, family problems, and deceptions to spare. Similarly, many of its characters are consumed with gaining wealth and status. The show also depicts the end of an age and the beginning of another, portraying the decline of the Victorian era and the rise of the Progressive era.
This list wouldn’t be complete without Julian Fellowes’ greatest project, Downton Abbey. The smash-hit British drama is one of the most popular historical series of all time. Those who haven’t watched need to do themselves a favor and tune in immediately. Set in the early 20th century, the show focuses on the Yorkshire country estate of Downton Abbey, following the aristocratic Crawley family and their household staff as they navigate many pivotal pieces of history, like the sinking of the Titanic, World War I, the Spanish flu, the advent of the Jazz Age.
Many have dubbed Downton Abbey the best period drama ever made. With all its charm, it’s no surprise. The series has won countless awards, with 27 Emmys in its first two seasons alone, the most ever for any international show. As riveting and addictive as The Gilded Age, you’ll enjoy how it weaves real events in history with the scandalous lives of the characters, as well as its upstairs-downstairs juxtapositions.
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2016 – 2015
ITV1
Niall MacCormick
Stefanie Martini
Mary Thorne
Harry Richardson
Frank Gresham
Rebecca Front
Lady Arabella Gresham
The setting for Doctor Thorne is the fictional English village of Greshamsbury in the fictitious county of Barsetshire. The orphaned Mary (Stefani Martini) has been raised by her uncle, the kind-hearted Dr. Thorne (Tom Hollander), living next door to the aristocratic Gersham family. When she and the heir to the Gresham estate, Frank (Harry Richardson, who plays Larry Russell in The Gilded Age), fall in love, his parents, Sir Gresham (Richard McCabe) and Lady Arabella (Rebecca Front), are determined to separate them, seeing Mary as an “undesirable match.”
Doctor Thorne was also created and written by Julian Fellowes, and is another must-watch series for fans of The Gilded Age. The four-episode miniseries is adapted from the 1858 novel of the same name by Anthony Trollope, delving into similar themes of wealth and status. It’s just as juicy and full of drama. Spanning a little over three hours in total, it makes for the perfect binge on a night you want to get lost in a historical tale of high society, chaotic love, and dysfunctional families.
Scripted by Oscar-winning screenwriter Kenneth Lonergan (Gangs of New York and Manchester by Sea), the Starz and BBC miniseries Howards End is adapted from E.M. Forster’s 1910 novel. Set before World War I, it follows three intersecting families: the wealthy Wilcox capitalists, the intellectual Schlegels, and, at the opposite end of the social spectrum, the working-class Basts. Their lives intertwine through drama, romance, and tragedy. At the heart of the story is Margaret Schlegel, played by Hayley Atwell.
If you like The Gilded Age‘s exploration of class divisions in New York at the advent of industrialization, you’ll appreciate Howards End for its insight into the chasm between social classes in England during the Edwardian era. Like HBO Max’s hit historical drama, this four-episode miniseries has romance, humor, and stunning costume pieces. The 1992 Academy Award-winning film based on the same book is another good option.
Before House of the Dragon, the talented Olivia Cooke starred in the TV adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray’s 1848 novel Vanity Fair. Her character, Becky Sharp, is the daughter of an artist and opera singer. A master of manipulation, Becky aspires to boost her social standing and become one of the wealthy elites in London. Using her allure, intelligence, and skills of persuasion, she makes her way out of the dregs of society and starts climbing the social ladder.
As she tries to gain a more affluent lifestyle, she goes through a series of relationships and breakups, and even loses some fortunes along the way. The miniseries holds an 89% score on Rotten Tomatoes, and would not have been the success it was without Cooke’s powerful on-screen presence. Nobody was better suited for the role.
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Set in 1760s London, Harlots stars the great Samantha Morton as Margaret Wells, a former sex worker who runs a brothel to support her daughters, Charlotte (Jessica Brown Findlay), a courtesan herself, and the young Lucy (Eloise Smyth), who’s reluctant to enter the industry. Over the course of the series, Margaret faces off with a rival madam, comes into conflict with the moralistic religious leaders of the city, and tries to attract a higher class of clientele.
Hulu’s excellent period drama ran for three seasons. Despite being cut way too short, it featured one of the best endings a fandom could ever ask for. With its focus on sex work and sexual liberation, the show has steamy sex scenes not seen in The Gilded Age, but is just as concerned with power and ambition. Like Bertha Russell, Margaret is a character viewers will want to root for. The series also has impeccable attention to detail.
Sandition is a British series inspired by an unfinished manuscript by Jane Austen, written only months before her death in 1817. The outspoken, free-spirited, and independent Charlotte Heywood, played by Rose Williams, journeys to Sandition, an up-and-coming seaside resort town, to reinvent herself. Once there, she navigates the intricate social scene, coming across tensions between the upper and lower classes and discovering long-held grudges, all while handling her internal dramas.
Fans of The Gilded Age and Bridgerton alike will have much to appreciate about the show. The story is heavy on both romance and humor. It also features many breathtaking balls and social events, showcasing stunning costumes. Filled with the same societal ambitions as HBO Max’s period drama, Sandition will captivate you from beginning to end.
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2020 – 2019
ITV1
John Alexander
philip glenister
James Trenchard
Tamsin Greig
Anne Trenchard
Peregrine, Earl of Brockenhurst
Also adapted by Julian Fellowes, Belgravia is based on his own novel of the same name. Beginning in Brussels, during the real-life ball of the Duchess of Richmond in June 1815, on the eve of the Battle of Quatre Bras and two days before the Battle of Waterloo, the show introduces the new-money, socially ambitious Trenchards and the aristocratic Bellasis family, with their lives intertwining that night. Twenty-six years later, the Trenchards move to the grand and affluent London neighborhood of Belgravia, where they become neighbors with the Bellasises. A secret threatens to unravel their lives.
Just like The Gilded Age, Belgravia features real historical figures and events. The opulent series paints a lavish portrait of 19th-century London, featuring beautiful set designs and gorgeous costumes. With no shortage of scandals and lies, viewers will become quickly addicted to the episodes. With only six in the miniseries, it makes for a perfect binge.
November 8, 2023
Apple TV+
Katherine Jakeways
Kristine Froseth
Nan St. George
Alisha Boe
Conchita Closson
Matthew Broome
Guy Thwarte
Josh Dylan
Lord Richard Marable
Set in the 1870s, The Buccaneers follows a rambunctious group of friends: sisters Nan (Kristine Froseth) and Jinny St. George (Imogen Waterhouse), Conchita Closson (Alisha Boe), and sisters Lizzy (Aubri Ibrag) and Mabel Elmsworth (Josie Totah). Part of the American nouveau riche, they’ve struggled to fit into New York society among all the old money. After Conchita marries Lord Richard Marable (Josh Dylan), the girls journey to London to stay in English high society, where their mothers hope they can make a match for themselves.
AppleTV+ has many outstanding series that deserve a lot more attention than they get. The Buccaneers, based on an unfinished novel by Edith Wharton, is one of them. What sets this show apart from other period dramas is that it’s anachronistic, as well as the fact that it places as much, if not more, focus on the friendship aspect as it does the romance. If you’re looking for a historical fictional tale with a feminist bent, look no further.
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