Mar 22

Mar 22 The Best Historical TV to Get Us Through Lockdown

Escape the Here and Now and travel to There and Then with this round-up.

I’ve always been one for historical drama - it doesn’t really matter the era, I just like to be ‘back then.’ With this in mind I decided to pull together all the various TV shows that can transport us out of quarantine and isolation and tiny flats and into a whole other reality.

What better time to re-watch or discover some amazing drama? Now is the time! Now is then! When will then be now? Soon! So here it is - my library of historical TV, each with its own little description to help you along your way.

Please share with fellow history lovers and comment below with any shows I have missed and I will happily add them in so that this is a handy reference point for anyone looking for some TV inspiration! And yes - movies will follow shortly….watch this space!

Kings & Queens

This brilliant re-telling of Shakespeare’s tales of three kings - Richard II, Henry IV and Henry V - will have you actually believing you can speak Shakespeare. Tom Hiddleston as Henry V? Yup.

Claire Foy and Matt Smith lead a star-studded cast in this beautiful rendering of one of the most famous families in the world. Compelling, fascinating, occasionally scandalous. Life as a British Royal, ey?

Watch a sheltered 18-year-old become Queen of an Empire and then try and find a husband who won’t rule over her in this lush series. Also try not to be freaked out by Jenna Coleman’s blue contact lenses.

Cromwell enjoys a little rebrand in this brilliant adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s Booker-Prize-winning novel. All the intrigue and drama of Henry VIII’s court, delivered by a Who’s-Who of British acting.

Lovers of writer Philippa Gregory will be on board for this adaptation, and with Jodie Comer in the leading corset (before Killing Eve catapulted her to fame) you’re in for a real - and racy - treat.

Robert Dudley (a young Tom Hardy) is doing his damndest to wed Elizabeth I in this 2005 mini-series, making it even more astonishing as to how Bess ever managed to remain the titular Virgin Queen.

Oliver Cromwell is on the rise in this imaginative romp through the English Civil War. Heroine Angelica Fanshawe navigates the 17th-century upheaval with varying degrees of success. Fassbender fans will be in their element

Literary Adaptations

E.M. Forster’s novel is beautifully interpreted in this 2017 mini-series, with gorgeous photography and houses I would kill to occupy. Superb storytelling, with Hayley Atwell lighting up the screen.

A story that paralyses you with will-they-won’t-they anxiety, even though you’ve read the book 367 times. All about making the wrong choice, and wondering if you’ve missed your chance. Agonising. (Glorious.)

Arguably the most yowza adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s novel, this dark and dramatic mini-series smoulders through the screen. A heroine for all ages, delivered by the wonderful Ruth Wilson.

I mean it had to be in there didn’t it, the period drama that took the world by storm all those years ago. Sure it started out incredibly strong and got a bit pudgy in the middle, but don’t we all? It’s still a ruddy good yarn.

What more can possibly be said of this iconic BBC adaptation of Jane Austen’s P&P? Words fail us. No other Lizzie Bennett, no other Mr. Darcy will ever capture our hearts quite so fully. Perfection.

Felicity Jones is the endearing drama queen in this take on Austen’s gothic romance. An over-active imagination, a dashing JJ Feild (of Austenland genius), dark towers, family secrets…go.

Billie Piper being generally fabulous in her rendition of Fanny Price, patiently waiting for a slow-witted Edmund to look her way.

Eddie Redmayne before he became a hollywood darling, tramping about the English countryside and falling in love with a woman with a secret.

Eddie again, this time in Mediaeval England, where he can be found building cathedrals and getting into scrapes with corrupt cardinals and whatnot.

An absolute stonker of a literary adaption, Bleak House is a star-studded thing full of tales within tales within intrigues within moral tales, and all the Victorian grimness you could ever wish for. Watch it. Annually.

Thomas Hardy’s second novel, published before he got ever so (wonderfully) bleak. Fancy Day arrives in town to teach and look after her ailing Pa, but of course all anyone cares about is who she’ll marry.

If surly smouldering heroes are your thing, this take on Gaskell’s novel won’t disappoint. North and South collide when Mr. Thornton meets Miss Hale. Can they meet in the middle? Say, Birmingham?

Time for another Elizabeth Gaskell TV adaptation here, and if you can get past Roger’s somewhat alarmingly defined eyebrows you might just fall in love with him.

Look, it’s Lord Grantham’s evil twin! But to his left, the dashing Daniel Deronda is struggling to find out the truth of his birth, while attracting the attention of a beautiful gambler-ess.

Aptly named, the Forstye Saga (emphasis on saga) is epic in scale. Chief amongst the players is Irene, the long-suffering wife of Soames Forsyte (gross). Buckle up, you’re in for the long haul.

London in the 1870s, where Sugar - an entrepreneurial Lady of the Night - strikes gold when she becomes the mistress of a man of power.

A tale of hate, war, love, and loss, this gorgeous adaptation follows Christopher Tietjens as he struggles with the aftermath of World War I.

If you’re going to attempt a sequel to the most famous novel of all time, you’d better do a good job of it. We’ll say this. It’s a very enjoyable attempt.

Detective Series

For those of you who just love a bit of old-school detective work, George Gently offers season upon season of British crime drama, set across the sixties and seventies.

A detective who can level a room by raising an eyebrow, Foyle (the magnificent Michael Kitchen) is the hero of this meticulously crafted police drama set during World War II.

Inspector Morse (before he was John Thaw), finding his feet (and occasionally losing them) on his way to becoming one of the most famous detectives in crime-novel history.

Ancient Civilisations

Lots of blood, lots of gore, lots of people in need of a bath, Vikings is for anyone who likes their ancient history with a good dose of artistic license and lots of adventure. Who doesn’t?

All the intrigue of Rome presented for your delectation by a starry cast and - one can only assume - lots and lots of money. Funny, sad, terrifying, blood-dripping: the works.

If you’re a fan of curious accents The Last Kingdom will not disappoint. Then there are the Saxons, the Vikings, the battles, the friendships, the divided loyalties - draw your swords!

Wartime Drama

An absolute tour de force of television, Band of Brothers is pretty unmatched when it comes to devastatingly good storytelling. Harrowing, magnificent, and a who’s who of acting.

A much (much, much) lighter take on a Second World War theme, in which a group of ex-Bletchley codebreakers try to solve a string of murders after returning to civilian life.

Oh look, it’s Eddie again. Sebastian Faulk’s beautiful novel gets the full works in this 2012 adaptation, in which love conquers all except when it doesn’t and there’s a war on.

It only got one season and nobody knows why, but The Crimson Field is absolutely worth the watch despite what the silly TV people decided. World War I, marvellous characters, a fairly irresistible Scottish accent and lots of clever nurses being all-round amazing.

A Time and a Place

This cult-classic of modern television is a joy to dive into. Post World War I Birmingham, with appearances by every star known to British TV. Get involved.

If you need to know more than ‘this has Steve Buscemi in it’ then just think 1920s Prohibition in Atlantic City and all the marvellous potential that that suggests.

What a revelation this show was. Ian McShane steals the show as the de facto boss of Deadwood, a one-horse town in South Dakota. Brilliant writing, great characters.

One of those TV shows that turns up every now and again and seems to change everything. Now we’ve all got time to go back there and find out why all over again.

If you feel like getting out of isolation and into India during the Empire (and feeling very uncomfortable about it if you’re British), then this will do the trick.

Let’s all go back to the 18th century and hang out with some kick-ass women in corsets! Brothel owner Margaret Wells is doing her best to survive (and thrive).

All the murk and a bit of madness in this dark and twisted Victorian drama conceived by (and starring) the mighty Tom Hardy.

For a binge watch you can’t get better than 80 episodes of London’s East End form the fifties onwards, based on the memoirs of midwife Jennifer Worth.