The 5 Best Romantic Period Dramas To Binge Right Now
Romantic period dramas are so fun. You get all the heightened emotions and hunky, brooding men without having to live in an objectively terrible time period.
No tight corsets or draconian legal system for you! You don’t even have to worry about where to find clean, running water this week. You can just sit back, relax, and stare longingly at the candlelit ballrooms and scandalously unbuttoned petticoats. After all, these shows aren’t just entertainment—they’re portals into an alternate universe of dramatic declarations, torrid affairs, and slow-burn romances that may leave you panting. So, whether you’re looking for a history lesson (unlikely), extravagant fashion, and/or ten episodes of hot people pining for each other, we’ve got you. Grab a cup of tea, settle onto your fainting couch, and take copious notes on these five romantic period dramas that will have you swooning for weeks.
Downton Abbey (2010 – 2015, plus movies)
Looking back, it’s so weird to think that Downton Abbey was such a phenomenon back in the day. Sure, it gave us Maggie Smith as the Dowager Countess of Grantham, but it was also the TV version of your wealthy aunt who owns 500 brocade coats. I mean, 2010 was the year of “Bad Romance,” “California Gurls,” and Piranha 3D, and yet we all rallied around this prim and stately show about passive-aggressive class warfare in early 20th-century England. All I’m saying is that pop culture was weird that year.
But anyway, if you haven’t gotten into Downton Abbey already, then boy you’re in for a ride. This show has enough forbidden romances, thwarted ambitions, one-liners and cutting insights to dull all your brain cells for its entire run.
Outlander (2014 – present)
Unfortunately for Claire, the main character of this series, she literally does travel back in time into the setting of a period piece – namely, 18th-century Scotland. However, things eventually work out for her, as the smoldering Jamie Fraser snatches her up into his orbit. Before she knows it, she’s tying up her own corsets with the best of them. But who wouldn’t? Claire’s romance with Jame has enough betrayal and heartache to make you book a flight to Scotland ASAP. Oh, in case you’re wondering, if you visit Scotland and dance around a stone circle while chanting a wiccan spell, you will not travel back in time and meet Jamie Fraser. This happened in Outlander, but it cannot happen in real life. I know this because, uh, a friend told me.
My Lady Jane (2024)
Amazon callously canceled this show after one perfect season. But this show has such a passionate fanbase that they’re still clamoring for Prime Video, or someone else, to renew it. Of course, this furor speaks volumes to the show’s quality. A mix of period romance, fantasy, and satire, My Lady Jane has it all and more. Well, technically, this show rewrites history, since its protagonist, Lady Jane Grey, met an ignominious fate in real life; but in My Lady Jane, she escapes this. Still, the show’s events feel very much like they’re from a time gone by. My Lady Jane is historical fiction on Adderall.
Sanditon (2019 – 2023)
Love Jane Austen? How about three seasons of Jane Austen? Sanditon is based on an unfinished novel by Jane Austen and it certainly feels like it. In other words, it gives the children what they want, as long as the children want class struggles, yearning, forbidden passions, bad choices, and beautiful 19th-century costuming. As you watch Charlotte Heywood fall in love with Sidney Parker at the seaside resort of Sanditon, you’ll stare at your significant other (or pet) and begrudge them for not owning a waistcoat.
Poldark (2015 – 2019)
What’s better than an attractive man brooding in a waistcoat? An attractive man brooding in a waistcoat on a cliff. Set in Cornwall, England, at the end of the 18th century, this series boasts all the turbulent romance, historically accurate political drama, and mid-distance staring that your heart desires. Plus, the main character, Ross Poldark, does not seem to know how to button a shirt. Not that his love interest, Demelza, is complaining. This show, just like every other show on this list, is more addictive than it has any right to be. Get ready to not leave your room for a month!
And, well, if you watch the other shows on this list, too, then you might not emerge for air again until 2026. So, godspeed and see you on the other side. And don’t say we didn’t warn you!
