16 April 2024
Love Downton Abbey? These series should be on your watchlist
What is it about historical dramas that makes them so compelling? Perhaps it’s nostalgia for what seemed like a simpler time. Or the pure escapism of the gorgeous costumes, sets and olde-worlde language. Whatever it is, the good news is that there are so many excellent period dramas around these days. Here’s our pick of the series we think Downton Abbey fans will enjoy. All six seasons of the quintessential British period drama are streaming on Showmax, as well as the 2019 Downton Abbey movie.
Ten Pound Poms
A British period drama filled with broken promises. After post-war Britain, a group leave for Australia. The Roberts family tries to make the best of their situation, but life at the shelter tests them.
1883
Taylor Sheridan (Sicario) creates this gripping and powerful prequel to his award-winning series Yellowstone. Follow the Dutton family on a journey west through the Great Plains toward the last bastion of untamed America. Watch now »
1923
Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren drive Taylor Sheridan’s powerful prequel of Yellowstone. Set in the early 20th century, The Duttons face new challenges, from the Western expansion to the Great Depression. Watch now »
World on Fire S2
Four years after its acclaimed first season, the World War II series World on Fire is back. The ensemble series is set between 1940-1941, taking us from the war-torn streets of Britain and the start of the Blitz in Manchester deep into Nazi Germany, the resistance within occupied France, and the brutal sands of the North African desert, including the Siege of Tobruk and Operation Compass.
Gentleman Jack S1-2
Yorkshire, England, 1832. Landowner Anne Lister will do whatever it takes to save her ancestral home, and that includes marrying well – but not to a man. Based on the story of the real-life Anne and her search for a wife. This may be an unusual love story for the time, but it features all the same social politics, romance and scandal you’d expect from a period drama. It also features a grand old manor house in the English countryside.
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Love Downton Abbey? These series should be on your watchlist
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