9 period dramas to lust after, now that you've devoured Bridgerton
Drunken literary history at its best
A distant cousin studying German in Germany, close friends on WhatsApp and my Netflix homepage: all they wanted for Christmas and the days to follow was for me to stream Bridgerton overnight. And be as smitten, inebriated and mesmerised as they clearly were.
Created by Shonda Rhimes, the mother of all dramas with a side of McDreamys and McSteamys, the horny regency drama appeared just when we ran out of sexy movies to stream. On the surface, it’s the lovechild of Gossip Girl and Downton Abbey. Mysterious Lady Whistledown (the voice of Julie Andrews) spills salacious dope on everybody in her widely-read gossip pamphlet.
“If we can’t get some, we might as well watch some,” said one of the Whatsapp proselytizers.
But is there more to this trending show than ‘boom, boom, I want you in my room’?
Protagonist Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor), the eldest daughter of the eponymous family, makes her debut in London’s cut-throat shaadi market. Something most Indians of a certain vintage can relate to. Her overbearing brother isn’t helping her cause.
She has set her eyes on a certain stiff Duke Simon Basset (Regé-Jean Page), and there are other suitors who have her locked in sight. Much drama and wistful glancing ensue.
The Bridgerton bubble
As much as we want to wash away the cancelled year, we can’t heal the dent it has left on our hearts and minds. With all the chaos around us, we crave escapist content. And after a brief dalliance with a Tiger King and dinners with Fabulous Bollywood Wives, our once-snobbish standards have become malleable.
Bridgerton is like that dog-eared Mills & Boon novel you would read in college but never admit to your book club friends. Except here you can stalk the characters on Instagram mid-show.
Unlike problems in real life, Daphne’s dilemmas are resolved with some punchy repartee and a few stolen kisses. As somebody else noted, “It’s a screwed-up version of Hum Saath Saath Hai“.
The romance is candy floss, and the sex, soft porn, at best. But because watching porn is still illegal and doesn’t make the cut for dinner-table conversations, Bridgerton provides a safer option. As one of my colleagues pointed out, “How are they even having sex with so much costume on?” Well, deprived times call for desperate measures.
If the final episode of Bridgerton has left a bee in your bonnet, we’ve excavated more period romances with a lot of action that won’t waste your time and brain space.
From historical dramas to modern versions of Austen’s classics and an Indian dissection of the shaadi market, cue up this watchlist.
9 period dramas that are steamier and racier than Bridgerton
Photo credit: IMDB
The Spanish Princess, 2019
This lush period drama set in the 16th century is based on The Constant Princess and The King’s Curse, two novels by Philippa Gregory.
We are transported to England, where teenaged princess Catherine of Aragon (Charlotte Hope) marries two English princes — Henry VIII (Ruairi O’Connor) and Arthur, Prince of Wales (Angus Imrie), in a bid to capture the throne she was promised when she was a child. And she won’t stop anywhere. Lies, treachery and scheming, she’ll do anything to fulfil her political aspirations. Some things never really change, do they?
The show promises you top-notch soap opera drama, and begs you not to look for historical accuracy.
Watch on Sony Liv
Photo credit: IMDB
The Tudors, 2007
After watching the woman’s perspective in The Spanish Princess, watch The Tudors to know exactly what prompted Henry VIII (a really hot Jonathan Rhys Meyers who strips every 20 minutes) to leave his wife, Catherine of Aragon (Maria Doyle Kennedy) to bed his mistress, Anne Boleyn (Natalie Dormer).
The costume-heavy historical drama set in the 16th century England is mostly shot in the king’s boudoir, and is sexier than every one of the Fifty Shades combined.
Watch on Sony Liv
Photo credit: IMDB
Gentleman Jack, 2019
Welcome to the swinging Regency of Halifax in the 1830s.
Using the diary of Anne Lister (dubbed as the first modern lesbian), director Sally Wainwright has turned her life into an irreverent and humorous comedy of manners and how to break them.
The show explores alternate sexuality and female desire set in a period of conservatism, and puts the spotlight on Lister (Suranne Jones) who manages to restore Shibden Hall’s former glory, comes to terms with her sexuality, and vehemently refuses to marry only for social acceptance.
Lister’s diary certainly is a page out of queer history and makes for playful drama.
Watch on Disney + Hotstar
Photo credit: YouTube
The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, 2004
For the ones hard-pressed for time, here’s bite-sized portions of Jane Austen’s Pride And Prejudice served hot on vlogs, with a contemporary spin.
We are talking about the Emmy-winning 2012 YouTube show, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, where we watch University of Southern California grad student Lizzie Bennet’s (Ashley Clements) online vlogs; it’s part of her student thesis.
Her BFF, Charlotte Lu, helps with the production process, while her sisters Jane (Laura Spencer) and Lydia (Mary Kate Wiles) make guest appearances too.
The arrival of wealthy web-video magnate William Darcy (Daniel Vincent Gordh) stirs up relationship drama in her already complex life. We meet other members of the Bennet family too via their social media posts and cameos, and some episodes also feature Q&A sessions with live fans.
This one’s one-of-a-kind: lacks the costume and the opulence of any period drama, but the ethos is intact.
Watch on YouTube
Photo credit: Apple TV
Dickinson, 2019
A beautiful mess we can’t stop watching or recommending.
This whacky semi-biopic of Emily Dickinson (played by Hailee Steinfield), the American poet, gives us a sneak peek into her teenage years of defiance.
Set in the 1850s, Dickinson struggles to follow her literary ambitions of becoming the greatest poet on Earth; female writers were looked down upon.
She navigates her life as a private, reclusive writer in a lush neighbourhood in New England, trying to convince publishers to take her seriously and defying her mother’s (Jane Krakowski) household chore tutorials.
A contemporary canon of feminism, the show breaks free from the shackles of period authenticity, thanks to its hip-hop soundtrack. And Emily’s BFF is Death, played by Wiz Khalifa. Yes, you read that right.
This is drunk literary history at its best, and you won’t regret it.
Watch it on Apple TV
Photo credit: Netflix
The Age of Innocence, 1993
I’ve been desperately trying to plug this masterpiece for sometime now, and there’s no better list than this to give a massive shoutout to this Martin Scorsese drama.
Set in 1870s’ New York, in this opulent, two-hour-long tea party, errr… period drama, there are suitors, flowers, debutantes and disrupters. And the control centre is a heart-wrenching love story that breaks your heart into million pieces.
Newland Archer, an aristocratic lawyer (masterfully played as usual by Daniel Day-Lewis) is engaged to demure May Welland (Winona Ryder), who is a manipulative schemer disguised as an ingenue.
Things are calm, until Welland’s free-spirited and eccentric cousin, Countess Ellen Olenska (a stunning Michelle Pfeiffer), storms out of her marriage in Europe and enters this setup.
Archer is smitten, but can he break his existing relationship to complete his love story?
Based on Edith Wharton’s Pulitzer-winning novel by the same name, this Oscar-winning adaptation is one for multiple viewing; we can’t spill any more tea about this.
Watch on Netflix
Photo credit: Netflix
A Suitable Boy, 2019
Sure, it doesn’t align with the rest of our American and British choices, but hear us out. Mira Nair’s BBC adaptation of Vikram Seth’s magnum opus, A Suitable Boy is a homegrown period drama with a lot of relationship and political wisdom, worth streaming.
Women aren’t dressed to the nines in flowing gowns and corsets. Protagonist Lata (Tanya Maniktala), her mother Rupa Mehra and the rest are all flaunting nine yards of cotton and silk. But the core idea of a mom desperately trying to find a match for her daughter is unchanged.
Mrs Mehra is determined to find the suitable boy for her daughter, who is confused between three suitors – Kabir (college sweetheart; Danesh Razvi), Amit (the Bengali poet; Mikhail Sen) and Haresh (a self-made shoemaker; Namit Das).
A parallel storyline involves Lata’s brother-in-law, Maan (Ishaan Khattar) and his transformation after he falls for courtesan Saeeda Bai (Tabu).
Romance, comedy of manners, political drama, A Suitable Boy fits the bill in every genre, and will make you want to pick up the ginormous book at long last.
PS: Don’t miss the colonial hangover.
Watch on Netflix
Photo credit: IMDB
Versailles, 2015
It’s a larger-than-life feast for your eyes.
The period drama set in 1667 takes place at the overblown fabled palace outside Paris where we peel layers off Louis XIV of France’s (George Blagden) life.
The king in concern here is a fascinating being. At four, he was coronated and he ruled for the next 72 years. He was a deeply religious man as well as a compulsive womaniser.
The show opens with the king at 28, waiting for his wife Maria-Theresa (Elisa Lasowski) to deliver his child. In his dream, he imagines what Versailles could be, and wakes up to transform the hunting lodge into his seat of power. If only making dreams come true was this simple IRL.
The contemporary soundtrack is an additional plus.
Watch on Netflix
Photo credit: IMDB
Pride And Prejudice, 2005
Director Joe Wright’s adaptation of Jane Austen’s most notable work, Pride And Prejudice, will make you fall in love all with the source material over again.
The plot is a familiar hug of sorts: Hartfordshire resident and matriarch Mrs Bennet (Brenda Blethyn) has only one wish: to get all her five daughters — Jane (Rosamund Pike), Elizabeth (Keira Knightley), Mary (Talulah Riley), Kitty (Carey Mulligan) and Lydia (Jena Malone) — married off soon.
The Bennets lead an uneventful life until the arrival of businessman Mr Bingley (Simon Woods), who brings with him his handsome friend, Mr Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen).
There are hasty judgments passed, love at first sight, and a hell of a lot of gossip-mongering and scandal before Elizabeth and Mr Darcy land on the same page.
This Austen classic never grows old, and we sincerely hope will never go out of vogue.
Watch on Netflix
Photo credit: IMDB
Outlander, 2014
We can’t believe we forgot to mention this epic time-travel saga. Thank you readers for reminding us about the genius of John Dahl’s Outlander.
Scottish nurse Claire Randall (Caitriona Balfe) reunites with her husband, Frank, at the end of WWII. While they are on their second honeymoon, Frank (Tobias Menzies) is busy digging up information on his big-bad ancestor called Jonathan Randall (also Menzies).
Claire passes out, slips through time, wakes up in 1743 and meets *surprise surprise* Jonathan himself.
With beautiful locations, star-crossed romance and peeling off layers of a period really slowly, you simply can’t miss Outlander.