Period dramas to watch now you’ve binged all of ‘Bridgerton’
IMAGE VIA @aubribrag/INSTAGRAM
WORDS BY JASMINE WALLIS
To fill the Bridgerton-shaped hole in your life.
After waiting for what feels like forever, the next season of Netflix’s spicy period drama Bridgerton has finally arrived and is already breaking audience records. What can I say? It’s evident we all have a real penchant for Regency-era couples.
And Bridgerton is a real bodice-ripper. There’s something about our current milieu and period dramas that just seems to fit. Perhaps it’s all the tension, frustration and suppression of women’s rights these films depict that resonate with us?
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Whatever it is, if you’ve already torn all the Bridgerton available (guilty as charged) and would like to continue indulging in a bit of corset-laden escapism, I’ve compiled my top period picks below.
The Buccaneers
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Spirited, vibrant and just plain fun, The Buccaneers should help fill some of the hole that Bridgerton has left in your heart. It follows five bubbly, rich and ambitious American women in London’s high society as they prepare for one of their own’s New York society wedding. Like Bridgerton and Thre Great before it, there’s no true honouring of historical situ but a loose participation in the genre, which really, is what most of us are here for. It’s relevant and ready for you to breeze through, which you can do right here.
Belle
Inspired by this artwork, Belle is the story of Britain’s first black aristocrat. Dido Elizabeth Belle was born the illegitimate daughter of an African woman and former slave named Maria Belle and a Royal Navy Captain, John Lindsay.
The young girl is raised in London by her great-uncle Lord Mansfield, a chief justice who worked in several slavery cases during the late 1700s. The film is an interesting mix of period-drama romance and the social consequences of slavery.
Considering costume dramas are historically very heavily dominated by white characters, to learn the true story of what Dido lived through as a mixed-race person of high stature and to see a different perspective is really fascinating. You can watch the 2014 film starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Harry Potter’s Tom Felton here.
Emma
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Released in early 2020, Emma is a highly-watchable Jane Austen adaptation for the silver screen. Following behind its Emma forebearers – the 1996 Gwenyth Paltrow version and one of the best adaptations of all time, Clueless – this latest Austen classic has everything you could want in a period drama.
From pastel fashions that contributed to a rise in Regency-core dressing to Emma’s famous satirical look at the social classes of England, it’s a top pick for getting lost in a world that’s long gone.
Poldark
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It may not be as bingeable as Bridgerton, but Poldark is well worth your time. Spread across five seasons, it follows war hero Ross Poldark as he returns from the American Revolutionary War to loved ones who thought he was dead. He finds his father has passed, his love is now engaged to his cousin and his family’s copper mine – the property he was set to inherit – has fallen to neglect. You’ll love Poldark for its warmth, cutting social commentary (much of which is relevant today) and deliciously dry humour.
Pride and Prejudice
While there are countless screen adaptations of this story, the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice was my gateway drug into period dramas. In my 9-year-old mind, Keira Knightley was the most beautiful woman to walk the moors of ye olde England and her relationship with the brooding Mr Darcy was peak romance.
One of the most classic love stories of all time, and produced by the same people as Bridget Jones’s Diary and Love Actually, this period drama is the perfect balance of comedy and romance and it’s perfect if you’re looking for some inspiration on keeping your distance from a forbidden love.
The Great
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An obvious but important recommendation for anyone who’s loved Bridgerton, though I’d be surprised if you haven’t already watched it. The Great is just as witty and spicy, albeit in a different way. Dripping in satire, it‘s an alternate historical retelling of Empress Catherine the Great and her rise to power, by a team who take a lot of liberties for the sake of good television. The cast is brilliant too, led by Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult who are delight (and hilarious) to watch together on screen. It’s funny, sharp, fast-moving, chaotic and highly watchable.
Pride and Prejudice, again
Another brilliant adaptation of the classic story and, arguably, the best is the BBC’s 1995 mini-series iteration. It features the most memorable Mr Darcy we’ve seen on-screen (played by Colin Firth, please Google ‘the lake scene’) and while the visuals may feel a little vintage now almost three decades on, the six-part series is timeless.
Farewell, My Queen
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Sofia Coppolla’s Marie Antoinette will always be a classic period pick. The clever blend of old and new and a soundtrack that includes The Strokes while the Queen of France sculls champagne? Brilliant. If you’re like me, however, and are looking for a fresh take on the story of Marie Antoinette, then I’d recommend Farewell, My Queen. Released in 2012, the French film is based on a novel of the same name.
It’s set in the waning days of Marie Antoinette’s rule over France and explores the relationship between the decadent Queen and one of her servants, a woman who reads to her. We obviously know how the story ends already but the French-language film is perfect if you want to indulge in the pomp and finery that was French royalty in 1789. You can find it here.
Impromptu
This one was a bit of ring-in but I just had to include it, if only for Hugh Grant’s faux-Polish accent. Impromptu is a period piece based on the true story of the affair between pianist Frédéric Chopin and the writer Amantine-Lucile-Aurore Dupin.
Previously a French Baroness, the novelist writes under the pseudonym George Sand (as many women who wanted to get published 200 years ago had to), and is famous for divorcing her husband, dressing androgynously and smoking cigars. When she falls in love with Chopin’s music and proceeds to meet him at a party, they begin an affair.
Made in 1991, the film features Australian actress Judy Davis as Sand, a young Emma Thompson as an aristocrat and a pre-Notting Hill (even pre-Four Weddings and a Funeral) Hugh Grant. Even if the film is a little bit corny and dated, anything that’s a period piece and features a young Hugh Grant will always have my seal of approval. You can rent this nearly 30-year-old classic here.
This article was originally published on April 16, 2022 and has been updated since.
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