23 series to watch next if you've binged Bridgerton season 3 part 1
May the Polin dream never end
Look, we get it. You stormed through the entirety of Bridgerton season 3 part 1 quicker than Penelope can say 'Lady Whistledown', and now you're at a loss while you're waiting for part 2 to drop on streaming services. 13th June 2024, you can't come soon enough!
Luckily for you (and us) we've compiled a list of the 21 best shows and series to fill the Bridgerton-shaped hole in your life, because we just can't get enough of the period dramas right now. From the incredible costumes and hair and makeup, to the steaming storylines and beautiful locations, there's something so binge-worthy about them, isn't there? This should see you through to at least next week.
The Empress (2022)
How many episodes: 6
Who's in the cast: Svenja Jung, Melika Foroutan, Philip Froissant, Devrim Lingnau, Johannes Nussbaum.
Where you can watch: Netflix
IMDb says: Two young people meet. A fateful encounter - the proverbial love at first sight. He is Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary, she is Elisabeth von Wittelsbach, Princess of Bavaria and the sister of the woman Franz is to marry.
We say: Tense, romantic and darker than most period dramas, The Empress is both a love story and a tale of rebellion and political unrest. *Adds to watch list immediately.*
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (2023)
How many episodes: 6
Who's in the cast: India Amarteifio, Adjoa Andoh, Michelle Fairley, Ruth Gemmell, Corey Mylchreest, Golda Rosheuvel, Arsema Thomas, Sam Clemmett
Where you can watch: Netflix
IMDb say: Betrothed against her will to King George, young Charlotte arrives in London on her wedding day and faces scrutiny from the monarch's cunning mother.
We say: The Bridgerton prequel we all needed, to tell the origin stories of the iconic Queen Charlotte.
Belgravia (2020)
How many episodes: 6 episodes
Who's in the cast: Philip Glenister, Tamsin Greig, Harriet Walter, Saskia Reeves
Where you can watch: Prime Video
IMDb says: Follows events when the emerging nouveau riche, including the Trenchard family, rub shoulders with London's established upper classes and when secrets from the past threaten to emerge.
We say: Obsessed!
Victoria (2016 - 2019)
How many seasons: 3
How many episodes: 25
Who's in the cast: Jenna Coleman, Adrian Schiller, Tommy Knight, Jordan Waller
Where you can watch: ITVX
IMDb says: The early life of Queen Victoria, from her ascension to the throne at the tender age of 18 to her courtship and marriage to Prince Albert.
We say: We got a tiny glimpse at the future Queen Victoria at the end of Queen Charlotte, and so this ITV series chronicling the life of Queen Charlotte's grand daughter, played by Jenna Coleman, is right up our street.
Sanditon (2019–2023)
How many series: 3
How many episodes: 20
Who's in the cast: Theo James, Rose Williams, Crystal Clarke, Kris Marshall, Anne Reid, Jack Fox, Charlotte Spencer, Leo Suter
Where you can watch: ITVX
IMDb says: About Charlotte Heywood, a spirited and impulsive woman who moves from her rural home to Sanditon, a fishing village attempting to reinvent itself as a seaside resort.
We say: It's based on Jane Austen's unfinished novel of the same name and comes with everything you could ever want from the genre; bonnets, families seeking their fortune and and men saying "enchanted" while kissing ladies' hands. Sold.
Harlots (2017 - 2019)
How many series: 3
How many episodes: 24
Who's in the cast: Lesley Manville, Kate Fleetwood, Holli Dempsey, Eloise Smyth
Where you can watch: Prime Video
IMDb says: Brothel owner Margaret Wells struggles to raise her daughters in London during the 18th century.
We say: Funny, sexy and full of bustles, corsets and the kind of huge bouffants Queen Charlotte would be proud of. This series also stars Downton Abbey's Jessica Brown Findlay, The Walking Dead's Samantha Morton, and the actual Liv Tyler.
Vanity Fair (2018)
How many episodes: 7
Who's in the cast: Michael Palin, Olivia Cooke, Tom Bateman, Johnny Flynn
Where you can watch: Prime VIdeo
IMDb says: This adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray's literary classic is set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars, and follows Becky Sharp (Olivia Cooke) as she attempts to claw her way out of poverty and scale the heights of English Society.
We say: ITV described this as a story of "villainy, crime, merriment, lovemaking, jilting, laughing, cheating, fighting, and dancing". And if you needed any more persuading, Claudia Jessie (our very own Eloise Bridgerton) stars.
North and South (1986)
How many episodes: 6
Who's in the cast: Daniela Denby-Ashe, Richard Armitage, Tim Pigott-Smith, Lesley Manville
Where you can watch: AppleTV+
IMDb says: 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.
We say: Just because you remember a dusty DVD of North and South sitting on the shelves of your childhood home doesn't detract from how good it was. At 8.6 it has a higher IMDb rating than Schitt's Creek, which is saying something.
Bleak House (2005)
How many episodes: 15
Who's in the cast: Denis Lawson, Anna Maxwell, Martin Patrick Kennedy, Carey Mulligan, Gillian Anderson, Charles Dance, Johnny Vegas
Where you can watch: BBC iPlayer
IMDb says: A suspenseful tale about the injustices of the 19th Century English legal system.
We say: Don't let this exceptionally hokey trailer put you off, not only is this adaptation of Dickens' famous novel a multi-award-winner it also stars some huge names including Gillian Anderson, Carey Mulligan and Charles Dance.
Tess of the D'Urbervilles (2008)
How many episodes: 4
Who's in the cast: Gemma Arterton , Eddie Redmayne, Ruth Jones, Hans Matheson
Where you can watch: Prime Video
IMDb says: The story of Tess Durbeyfield, a low-born country girl whose family find they have noble connections.
We say: It's a pretty bleak little story, so don't be surprised if you shed a tear. Then again, baby Redmayne will cheer you up.
Reign (2013 - 2017)
How many series: 4
How many episodes: 78
Who's in the cast: Adelaide Kane, Megan Follows, Torrance Coombs, Toby Regbo, Jenessa Grant, Celina Sinden, Caitlin Stasey, Anna Popplewell.
Where you can watch: Prime Video
IMDb says: Mary, Queen of Scots, faces political and sexual intrigue in the treacherous world of the French court.
We say: If you were looking for a Gossip Girl x Game of Thrones mash-up, you've struck pure gold.
War & Peace (2016)
How many episodes: 6
Who's in the cast: Paul Dano, Lily James, James Norton, Gillian Anderson, Jim Broadbent, Jessie Buckley
Where you can watch: BBC iPlayer
IMDb says: As the Russian conflict with Napoleon reaches its peak, five aristocratic families face the possibility of their lives being changed forever.
We say: The nation got hooked on this BBC adaptation of Tolstoy's classic when it aired back in 2016, and it didn't hurt that the cast includes the likes of James Norton, Lily James, Paul Dano and Jessie Buckley.
Medici (2016–2019)
How many series: 3
How many episodes: 24
Who's in the cast: Daniel Sharman, Bradley James, Sarah Parish, Alessandra Mastronardi, Matteo Martari, Aurora Ruffino, Matilda Lutz, Filippo Nigro.
Where you can watch: Netflix
IMDb says: A political family drama set in Florence in the early fifteenth century. Cosimo de Medici finds himself at the helm of his banking dynasty when his father, Giovanni, dies suddenly.
We say: Richard Madden and Dustin Hoffman is the combo we absolutely didn't know we needed.
Versailles (2015–2018)
How many series: 3
How many episodes: 30
Who's in the cast: George Blagden, Alexander Vlahos, Tygh Runyan, Stuart Bowman, Evan Williams.
Where you can watch: BBC iPlayer
IMDb says: In 1667, 28-year-old all-powerful king of France, Louis XIV, decides to build the greatest palace in the world - Versailles. But drained budget, affairs and political intrigues complicate things.
We say: Gossip, political scheming, scandal and sex scenes so steamy they even managed to wind up an MP.
Dickinson (2019 - 2021)
How many series: 3
How many episodes: 30
Who's in the cast: Hailee Steinfeld, Adrian Enscoe, Anna Baryshnikov, Jane Krakowski, Toby Huss
Where you can watch: AppleTV+
IMDb says: An inside look at the world of writer Emily Dickinson.
We say: We guarantee you'll tear through this smart and funny series at an impressive pace, and fall completely in love with Hailee Steinfeld in the process.
Gentleman Jack (2019 - 2022)
How many series: 2
How many episodes: 16
Who's in the cast: Suranne Jones, Sophie Rundle, Gemma Whelan, Ben Hunter, Gemma Jones.
Where you can watch: BBC iPlayer
IMDb says: A dramatization of the life of LGBTQ+ trailblazer, voracious learner and cryptic diarist Anne Lister, who returns to Halifax, West Yorkshire in 1832, determined to transform the fate of her faded ancestral home Shibden Hall.
We say: Anne Lister is a total tour de force and we love that her character breaks through the fourth wall to talk directly to camera. Very Fleabag.
The White Queen (2013)
How many episodes: 13
Who's in the cast: Aneurin Barnard, Rebecca Ferguson, Amanda Hale, Faye Marsay, Max Irons, Ben Lamb, Tom McKay, Juliet Aubrey.
Where you can watch: Prime Video
IMDb says: Three different, yet equally relentless women vie for the throne in 15th-century England.
We say: Based on the Philippa Gregory novel of the same name, this is a scandalous tale with a hint of Game of Thrones to it.
How old will the Bridgerton characters be in S5?
Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man ending explained
Meet the Peaky Blinders The Immortal Man cast
Here's your Peaky Blinders season 6 recap
