Last updated March 2024
Looking for acclaimed Best costume drama Tv Shows worth adding to your watch list? Check out our selection of 30 stellar, must-see Best costume drama Tv Shows available for your immediate viewing pleasure. Universally beloved by IMDB critics and our knowledgeable community of users, these top-tier Best costume drama Tv Shows earn high praise across the board. Help other viewers discover hidden gems by voting for the titles you consider keepers. We value your contributions toward spotlighting the cream of the crop!
I, Claudius (1976)
Plot Summary:
Tracing the lives of several Roman emperors, this is an epic of ruthless ambition, shocking debauchery and murderous intrigue set in one of history's most fascinating eras. Bearing witness to the saga is Claudius, whose stutter and limp have marked him a fool - yet whom prophecies have foretold will one day rule Rome
Duration: 669 min
IMDB Rating: 8.8/10
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: UK
Plot tags: ancient, roman empire, ancient rome, political intrigue, ancient history, intrigue, ancient world, antiquity, politics, emperor, royal family, medieval, roman soldier, power struggle, roman emperor, incest, shakespeare, historical event, ambition, dictatorship, head of state, historical character, female nudity, peplum, lawyer
Pride and Prejudice (1995)
Plot Summary:
Jane Austen's classic novel about the prejudice that occurred between the 19th century classes and the pride which would keep lovers apart
Duration: 327 min
IMDB Rating: 8.8/10
IMDB Votes: 91000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Plot tags: prejudice, love and romance, love story, wooing, fall in love, aristocracy, initially antagonists, social differences, looking for love, unlikely couple, opposites attract, couple relations, countryside, british, pride and honor, rich and poor, love hate relationship, eligible bachelor, sisters, pride, couples, estate, gentleman, family relations, heroine
Downton Abbey (2010)
Plot Summary:
A chronicle of the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants in the post-Edwardian era—with great events in history having an effect on their lives and on the British social hierarchy
Duration: 3110 min
IMDB Rating: 8.7/10
IMDB Votes: 220000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Plot tags: aristocracy, estate, traditional versus modern, relatives, manners, countryside, high society, butler, servant, family life, country estate, aristocrat, master and servant, family relations, couple relations, love and romance, upscale, social differences, staff, heir, domestic servant, parents and children, untimely death, class differences, social climbing
Rome (2005)
Plot Summary:
A down-to-earth account of the lives of both illustrious and ordinary Romans set in the last days of the Roman Republic
Duration: 1193 min
IMDB Rating: 8.7/10
IMDB Votes: 182000
Genere: Action, Drama, Romance, War
Country: UK, USA
Plot tags: roman empire, ancient history, ancient rome, historical character, power struggle, emperor, antiquity, warrior, intrigue, roman soldier, female nudity, betrayal, political unrest, italian history, political conspiracy, julius caesar, incest, treason, rivalry, seduction, ruler, sex, ancient egypt, peplum, ambition
1883 (2021)
Plot Summary:
Follow the Dutton family as they embark on a journey west through the Great Plains toward the last bastion of untamed America. A stark retelling of Western expansion, and an intense study of one family fleeing poverty to seek a better future in America’s promised land — Montana
Duration: 60 min
IMDB Rating: 8.7/10
IMDB Votes: 107000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Plot tags: journey, wild west, cowboy, husband wife relationship, travel, old west, wildlife, family relations, life is a bitch, road trip, ancient, quarantine, intrigue, disease, coming of age, cop, law, scenery, convoy, american history, family drama, indian attack, horse, life, house
The Crown (2016)
Plot Summary:
The gripping, decades-spanning inside story of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the Prime Ministers who shaped Britain's post-war destiny. The Crown tells the inside story of two of the most famous addresses in the world – Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street – and the intrigues, love lives and machinations behind the great events that shaped the second half of the 20th century. Two houses, two courts, one Crown
Duration: 58 min
IMDB Rating: 8.6/10
IMDB Votes: 242000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: UK
Plot tags: royal family, british royal family, queen, monarchy, monarch, royalty, politics, winston churchill, british history, queen elizabeth ii, british monarchy, prime minister, british politics, power, woman, women, british government, strong female lead, female protagonist, medieval, post war, feminist, storytelling, women power, palace intrigue
Boardwalk Empire (2010)
Plot Summary:
Boardwalk Empire is a period drama focusing on Enoch "Nucky" Thompson (based on the historical Enoch L. Johnson), a political figure who rose to prominence and controlled Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Prohibition period of the 1920s and 1930s. Nucky interacts with several historical figures in both his personal and political life, including mobsters, politicians, government agents, and the common folk who look up to him. The federal government also takes an interest in the bootlegging and other illegal activities in the area, sending agents to investigate possible mob connections but also looking at Nucky's lifestyle—expensive and lavish for a county political figure. Primetime Emmy Award-winning screenwriter and producer Terence Winter adapted the show from Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City, a book by Nelson Johnson about historical criminal kingpin Enoch L. Johnson
Duration: 55 min
IMDB Rating: 8.6/10
IMDB Votes: 200000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Plot tags: mafia, gangster, mob boss, organized crime, prohibition, criminal heroes, corruption, politician, female nudity, american history, smuggling, businessman, crime boss, ambitious, elimination, strong sexual content, mobster, federal agent, politics, election, rivalry, society, ambition, power struggle, mayor
Black-Adder II (1986)
Plot Summary:
Sixty years after the demise of Prince Edmund Plantagenet, Queen Elizabeth I, who's as insane as her ancestors, is England's current leader. Seductive, easy-to-impress, spoiled, and always seeking a husband, "Queenie" has a leading courtier: Lord Edmund Blackaddder, great-grandson of the original. Now, however, he is dryly cynical and intelligent, but still trying to become king; this time by marrying the queen. However, her right-hand-man, Lord Melchett, will always serve as fair competition for her hand. Blackadder is again assisted by the clueless but fashionable Lord Percy Percy and dung-eating, "cunning" peasant Baldrick
Duration: 176 min
IMDB Rating: 8.6/10
IMDB Votes: 49000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Plot tags: satire, medieval, parents, humour, peplum, sketch, sketch show, queen, royalty, dark humor, king, prince, politics, intelligence, insanity, heir, society, royal court, dimwit, assistant, enemy, head of state, historical character, rivals, stupidity
Black Adder the Third (1987)
Plot Summary:
During the Regency period, the insane King George III's stark raving mad son, George, is the Prince Regent of Wales. Vulgar and staggeringly slow-and-dim-witted, George exhausts the country's money and would surely be dead by know were it not for his dry, angry, bitter, arrogant and cynical butler, Edmund Blackadder, Esq. Blackadder is an ex-aristocrat who has lost his family fortune and been reduced to servant-hood, and full of loathing knowing he should have a better position then serving a lunatic. Sod-Off Baldrick is his dirty, smelly peasant servant, and Mrs. Miggins is an annoying cheerful coffee-shoppe owner who is too stupid to understand most of Mr. Blackadder's insults
Duration: 180 min
IMDB Rating: 8.6/10
IMDB Votes: 46000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Plot tags: satire, royal family, humour, dandy, robbery, stupidity, dark humor, aristocracy, intelligence, intrigue, insanity, butler, rivalry, social differences, society, dimwit, assistant, disorder, dishonesty, owner, state affairs, power relations, sex, murder, servant
North & South (2004)
Plot Summary:
North & South is a British television drama serial, produced by the BBC and originally broadcast in four episodes on BBC One in November and December 2004. It follows the story of Margaret Hale, a young woman from southern England who has to move to the North after her father decides to leave the clergy. The family struggles to adjust itself to the industrial town's customs, especially after meeting the Thorntons, a proud family of cotton mill owners who seem to despise their social inferiors. The story explores the issues of class and gender, as Margaret's sympathy for the town mill workers conflicts with her growing attraction to John Thornton. The serial is based on the 1855 Victorian novel North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. It was adapted for television by Sandy Welch and directed by Brian Percival
Duration: 235 min
IMDB Rating: 8.6/10
IMDB Votes: 34000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Plot tags: prejudice, initially antagonists, social differences, love and romance, pride and honor, society, rich and poor, young woman, fall in love, love affair, couple relations, owner, unlikely couple, parents and children, gentleman, poverty, fish out of water, factory, couples, master and servant, youth, brother sister relationship, love, happy ending, love story
Endeavour (2012)
Plot Summary:
The early days of a young Endeavour Morse, whose experiences as a detective constable with the Oxford City Police will ultimately shape his future
Duration: 89 min
IMDB Rating: 8.6/10
IMDB Votes: 32000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: UK
Plot tags: police, police detective, investigator, murderer, talented, police investigation, coworker, british, oxford, murder, intelligence, bodies, police procedural, law enforcement, investigation, whodunit, police protagonist, justice, murder mystery, who done it, uncover truth, mafia, pride and honor, boss, victim
Call the Midwife (2012)
Plot Summary:
Drama following the lives of a group of midwives working in the poverty-stricken East End of London during the 1950s, based on the best-selling memoirs of Jennifer Worth
Duration: 60 min
IMDB Rating: 8.6/10
IMDB Votes: 30000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: UK
Plot tags: midwife, childbirth, pregnancy, convent, nurse, doctor, nursing, friends, medical, family life, hospital, friendship, family relations, nun, women, medicine, home birth, unrequited love, death, strong female lead, woman, lgbtq, pregnant woman, monk, leader
Anne with an E (2017)
Plot Summary:
A coming-of-age story about an outsider who, against all odds and numerous challenges, fights for love and acceptance and for her place in the world. The series centers on a young orphaned girl in the late 1890’s, who, after an abusive childhood spent in orphanages and the homes of strangers, is mistakenly sent to live with an elderly woman and her aging brother. Over time, 13-year-old Anne will transform their lives and eventually the small town in which they live with her unique spirit, fierce intellect and brilliant imagination
Duration: 60 min
IMDB Rating: 8.6/10
IMDB Votes: 63000
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: Canada
Plot tags: orphan, friendship, coming of age, child's point of view, small town, teenage life, school, imaginary, family relations, children's home, teenager, feminism, society, parents and children, mischievous children, unrequited love, redhead girl, feminist, women, adoption, woman, lgbt, pandemic, prodigy, child prodigy
John Adams (2008)
Plot Summary:
The life of one of the USA's Founding Fathers, its second President, and his role in the nation's first 50 years
Duration: 71 min
IMDB Rating: 8.5/10
IMDB Votes: 36000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: USA
Plot tags: american history, president, american revolution, politics, lawyer, freedom, u.s. president, politician, colonial america, leadership, historical character, true love, marriage, father son relationship, first lady, human spirit, head of state, state affairs, army, family relations, ambition, determination, supportive spouse, idealism, revolution
Jesus of Nazareth (1977)
Plot Summary:
Passion, beauty, and brilliant storytelling are all on display in this six-hour-plus epic from Italian director Franco Zeffirelli. Robert Powell is superb in the title role, and with the overwhelming success of this TV movie throughout the world, has perhaps become what Jesus looks like in many people's minds. The story begins with the arrangements of the wedding between Joseph and Mary, and chronicles the nativity, the encounter with John the Baptist (a ferocious Michael York) and everything up to the crucifixion and resurrection
Duration: 382 min
IMDB Rating: 8.5/10
IMDB Votes: 24000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: UK, Italy
Plot tags: jesus, christianity, jesus christ, faith, religion, self sacrifice, roman empire, new testament, prophet, apostle, bible, god or devil, christian, crucifixion of jesus, resurrection, religious, idealism, ancient history, catholic, ancient, antiquity, back from the dead, last supper, betrayal, rabbi
The Knick (2014)
Plot Summary:
Set in downtown New York in 1900, 'The Knick' is centered on the Knickerbocker Hospital and the groundbreaking surgeons, nurses and staff who work there, pushing the bounds of medicine in a time of astonishingly high mortality rates and zero antibiotics. John Thackery is a brilliant surgeon pioneering new methods in the field, despite his secret addiction to cocaine. He leads a team of doctors including his protégé Dr. Everett Gallinger; the young Dr. Bertie Chickering Jr. and Dr. Algernon Edwards, a promising surgeon who's been recently thrust upon him. The lively cast of characters at the hospital also includes Cornelia Robertson, the daughter of its benefactor, Captain August Robertson; surly ambulance driver Tom Cleary; Lucy Elkins; a fresh-faced nurse from the country; the crooked hospital administrator Herman Barrow; and Sister Harriet, a nun who isn't afraid to speak her mind
Duration: 58 min
IMDB Rating: 8.5/10
IMDB Votes: 52000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: USA
Plot tags: medicine, life is a bitch, addiction, hospital, doctor, workplace situations, surgeon, doctors and patients, nun, medical, realism, society, drug, power relations, surgery, gory, violent, nurse, escapades, gilded age, world war one, supernatural, ancient, villain, darkness
Vikings (2013)
Plot Summary:
Vikings follows the adventures of Ragnar Lothbrok, the greatest hero of his age. The series tells the sagas of Ragnar's band of Viking brothers and his family, as he rises to become King of the Viking tribes. As well as being a fearless warrior, Ragnar embodies the Norse traditions of devotion to the gods. Legend has it that he was a direct descendant of Odin, the god of war and warriors
Duration: 44 min
IMDB Rating: 8.5/10
IMDB Votes: 568000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, History, Romance, War
Country: Ireland, Canada
Plot tags: viking, battles, king, warrior, medieval, sword fight, legends and myths, sword and shield, norse mythology, historical character, war, adventurer, myth, mythology, conflict, heroes, danger, tough heroes, swords and armor, female nudity, leader, intrigue, execution, merciless, rise to the top
The Last Kingdom (2015)
Plot Summary:
A show of heroic deeds and epic battles with a thematic depth that embraces politics, religion, warfare, courage, love, loyalty and our universal search for identity. Combining real historical figures and events with fictional characters, it is the story of how a people combined their strength under one of the most iconic kings of history in order to reclaim their land for themselves and build a place they call home
Duration: 60 min
IMDB Rating: 8.5/10
IMDB Votes: 161000
Genere: Action, Drama, History
Country: UK
Plot tags: viking, king, battles, danger, medieval, escapades, kingdom, castle, war, heroes, kidnapping, rivalry, political unrest, sword, vengeance, british, orphan, female nudity, warrior, royalty, ancient rome, monarch, revenge, fight, murder
Babylon Berlin (2017)
Plot Summary:
Colognian commissioner Gereon Rath moves to Berlin, the epicenter of political and social changes in the Golden Twenties
Duration: 45 min
IMDB Rating: 8.4/10
IMDB Votes: 29000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Germany
Plot tags: social problems, political intrigue, espionage, german history, interwar period, conspiracy, european history, police investigation, police, national socialism, world war two, political scandal, police detective, investigation, murder investigation, crime investigation, fighting crime, adaptation, communism, society, unsolved crime, social relations, homicide detective, social realism, crime solving
Outlander (2014)
Plot Summary:
The story of Claire Randall, a married combat nurse from 1945 who is mysteriously swept back in time to 1743, where she is immediately thrown into an unknown world where her life is threatened. When she is forced to marry Jamie, a chivalrous and romantic young Scottish warrior, a passionate affair is ignited that tears Claire's heart between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives
Duration: 60 min
IMDB Rating: 8.4/10
IMDB Votes: 175000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Country: USA
Plot tags: time travel, fall in love, couples, love affair, true love, danger, life turned upside down, love and romance, battles, fish out of water, escapades, rivalry, friendship, couple relations, love triangle, nurse, scotsman, imaginary, soldier, time traveler, sex scene, magic, uninhibited rivalry, medieval, back in time
Carnivàle (2003)
Plot Summary:
Carnivàle is an American television series set in the United States during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl. In tracing the lives of two disparate groups of people, its overarching story depicts the battle between good and evil and the struggle between free will and destiny; the storyline mixes Christian theology with gnosticism and Masonic lore, particularly that of the Knights Templar
Duration: 55 min
IMDB Rating: 8.4/10
IMDB Votes: 46000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: prophecy, circus, healing power, god or devil, psychic, surrealism, evil, supernatural, self discovery, clergy, good versus evil, carnival, freak, supernatural ability, psychic power, dark secret, secret, dwarf, healing, talented, religions or cults, chosen one, creature, priest, great depression
Feud: Bette and Joan (2017)
Plot Summary:
Anthology series of famous feuds with the first season based on the legendary rivalry between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford which began early on their careers, climaxed on the set of "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" and evolved into an Oscar vendetta
Duration: 406 min
IMDB Rating: 8.4/10
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Plot tags: hollywood, filmmaking, feud, movie star, actress, jealousy, glory, aging, woman, family problems, workplace problem, loneliness, frustration, women, strong female lead, alzheimer's disease, drinking problem, designer, actor, feminist, film industry, backstage, resistance, human rights, girl power
Taboo (2017)
Plot Summary:
Adventurer James Keziah Delaney returns to London from Africa in 1814 along with fourteen stolen diamonds to seek vengeance after the death of his father
Duration: 59 min
IMDB Rating: 8.3/10
IMDB Votes: 147000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK
Plot tags: british empire, murder, family business, dark secret, incest overtones, brother sister incest, witchcraft, greed, investigation, conspiracy, homecoming, obsession, supernatural power, medieval, betrayal, inheritance, adventurer, corporation, sex, supernatural, apocalypse, hunting, macabre, politics, ancient
Bleak House (2005)
Plot Summary:
A suspenseful tale about the injustices of the 19th Century English legal system
Duration: 510 min
IMDB Rating: 8.3/10
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: UK, USA
Plot tags: estate, aristocracy, charles dickens, intrigue, orphan, secret, investigation, uncover truth, social differences, injustice, society, haunted by the past, lawyer, legal, christmas, abbey, inheritance, relationships, high society, male female relationship, social problems, fight for justice, social injustice, social relations, social issues
Jane Eyre (2006)
Plot Summary:
In this version of Charlotte Brontë's novel, Jane Eyre (Georgie Henley), a poor relation in the household of her aunt, Mrs. Reed (Tara FitzGerald) is despatched into the care of the callous Mr Brocklehurst at his school at Lowood. As a young woman (Ruth Wilson), Jane is hired by the housekeeper of Thornfield Hall, Mrs. Fairfax, to be a governess for young Adele (Cosima Littlewood), ward of the mysteriously absent Mr. Rochester (Toby Stephens). His arrival triggers one of the most famous love stories in the English Language
Duration: 230 min
IMDB Rating: 8.3/10
IMDB Votes: 22000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK, USA
Plot tags: love affair, love story, couple relations, rich and poor, fall in love, unlikely couple, estate, social differences, love and romance, relationships, governess, looking for love, destiny, adaptation, complex characters, family secret, passion, mentor, literary, couples, secret past, dark secret, love, feminist, strong female presence
Cranford (2007)
Plot Summary:
In the 1840s, Cranford is ruled by the ladies. They adore good gossip; and romance and change is in the air, as the unwelcome grasp of the Industrial Revolution rapidly approaches their beloved rural market-town
Duration: 469 min
IMDB Rating: 8.3/10
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, USA
Plot tags: small town life, social differences, family relations, aristocracy, high society, class differences, small town, love and romance, family life, social relations, maid, proposal, society, eligible bachelor, marriage, abbey, world war one, mathematics, lady, resistance, aging, realism, british history, bankruptcy, stranger
Poldark (2015)
Plot Summary:
Britain is in the grip of a chilling recession... falling wages, rising prices, civil unrest - only the bankers are smiling. It's 1783 and Ross Poldark returns from the American War of Independence to his beloved Cornwall to find his world in ruins: his father dead, the family mine long since closed, his house wrecked and his sweetheart pledged to marry his cousin. But Ross finds that hope and love can be found when you are least expecting it in the wild but beautiful Cornish landscape
Duration: 60 min
IMDB Rating: 8.3/10
IMDB Votes: 35000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Plot tags: countryside, love affair, poverty, estate, society, rich and poor, love and romance, social differences, master and servant, couple relations, family relations, english countryside, village life, gentleman, love triangle, mine, british, mining, wedding planning, village, ship, ancient rome, world war one, rich man, ancient
Little Dorrit (2008)
Plot Summary:
The series tells the story of Amy Dorrit, who spends her days earning money for the family and looking after her proud father, who is a long term inmate of Marshalsea debtors' prison in London. Amy and her family's world is transformed when her boss's son, Arthur Clennam, returns from overseas to solve his family's mysterious legacy and discovers that their lives are interlinked
Duration: 420 min
IMDB Rating: 8.2/10
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Romance
Country: UK, USA
Plot tags: poverty, young woman, life is a bitch, uncover truth, society, secret, rich and poor, dysfunctional family, social problems, family problems, financial problem, co worker co worker relationship, employer employee relationship, money problems, love and romance, world war one, passion, lady, happy ending, makeover, realism, love story, debt, murderer, family relations
Genius (2017)
Plot Summary:
Anthology series about famous geniuses with the first season charting how Albert Einstein unlocked the mysteries of the atom and the universe, and the second exploring the passionate nature and relentless creative drive of Pablo Picasso
Duration: 43 min
IMDB Rating: 8.2/10
IMDB Votes: 20000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: USA
Plot tags: genius, physicist, painting, painter, adolescence vs adulthood, biopic, life, scientist, intelligence, mind, discovery, scientific discovery, real life, life & death, inventions and discoveries, outer space, world war two, world war one, art, science, physics, girl, couples, knowledge, art history
Gentleman Jack (2019)
Plot Summary:
Halifax, West Yorkshire, England, 1832. Anne Lister attempts to revitalize her inherited home, Shibden Hall. Most notably for the time period, a part of her plan is to help the fate of her own family - by taking a wife
Duration: 60 min
IMDB Rating: 8.2/10
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, Romance
Country: UK, USA
Plot tags: lgbt, lesbian, lgbtq, strongman, lesbian love, discrimination, society, social relations, private vs public, rivalry, female protagonist, love and romance, lesbian relationship, british history, lesbian sex, lesbian seduction, sapphic, gay, feminist, lgbtqi, lgbt history, heroes, strong female lead, relationships, family relations