Best tv shows like The Book of Negroes
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Kidnapped in Africa and subsequently enslaved in South Carolina, Aminata must navigate a revolution in New York, isolation in Nova Scotia and treacherous jungles of Sierra Leone, in an attempt to secure her freedom in the 19th century.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Canada
Duration: 265 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, emotional, disturbing, epic, serious, captivating, realistic, historical drama, stylized, uplifting
Best tv shows and movies like The Book of Negroes (2015):
Similar in 76%
Captive Heart: The James Mink Story (1996)
Plot Summary:
James Mink is a black man in Canada who has built a very successful livery business, and enjoys a white wife and a beautiful daughter, Mary. An excellent match is arranged with an American businessman, but when he takes his new wife Mary across the border his true character emerges - he sells her into slavery. James and Elizabeth must go to Virginia to rescue their daughter.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 265
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: uplifting, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic, christian film
Similar in 81%
Underground (2016)
Plot Summary:
A group of slaves plan a daring 600-mile escape from a Georgia plantation. Along the way, they are aided by a secret abolitionist couple running a station on the Underground Railroad as they attempt to evade the people charged with bringing them back, dead or alive.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, History, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 43 min
Plot tags: historical drama, suspense, realistic, disturbing, stylized, intense, political, period drama, black cinema
Similar in 90%
Camp de Thiaroye (1988)
Plot Summary:
A historical drama based on the Thiaroye transit camp massacre, Camp de Thiaroye dismantles the myth of colonial assimilation to expose ingrained social and cultural mechanisms of racism, exploitation, and privilege. In 1944, the French army massacred several units of West African conscripts recently returned from the battlefields of Europe. What was essentially a demand by African veterans that they be paid the same wages as their French counterparts led to an attack on soldiers who had only recently been fighting the Nazis in Italy and Germany.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 626
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Senegal, Algeria, Tunisia
Duration: 157 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, bleak, serious, realistic, disturbing
Similar in 78%
The Underground Railroad (2021)
Plot Summary:
Follow young Cora’s journey as she makes a desperate bid for freedom in the antebellum South. After escaping her Georgia plantation for the rumored Underground Railroad, Cora discovers no mere metaphor, but an actual railroad full of engineers and conductors, and a secret network of tracks and tunnels beneath the Southern soil.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, History, War
Country: USA
Duration: 593 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, serious, suspense, disturbing, exciting, historical drama, atmospheric, period drama
Similar in 86%
Shaka Zulu (1986)
Plot Summary:
Framed around Queen Victoria's decision on England's political stance towards the Zulu Nation, this mini-series details King Shaka's rise and fall with mythic detail. Prophecy is mixed with recorded fact regarding Shaka's birth, exile, innovations in warfare, assumption of the throne, building of the Zulu Empire, first contact with Europe and the events that lead to his downfall.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: Italy, South Africa, West Germany, Australia, USA
Duration: 300 min
Plot tags: tension, epic, serious, captivating, realistic, vintage
Similar in 89%
Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All (1994)
Plot Summary:
Lucy married at the turn of the last century, when she was fifteen and her husband was fifty. If Colonel William Marsden was a veteran of the "War for Southern Independence", Lucy became a "veteran of the veteran" with a unique perspective on Southern history and Southern manhood. Her story encompasses everything from the tragic death of a Confederate boy soldier to the feisty narrator's daily battles in the Home--complete with visits from a mohawk-coiffed candy-striper.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 574
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: sentimental, uplifting, touching, epic, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic
Similar in 80%
Race to Freedom: The Underground Railroad (1994)
Plot Summary:
A number of slaves risk their lives to escape their masters with their only help coming from the famous secret slave escape network.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 185
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Canada
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: political, edutainment, sincere, atmospheric, serious, captivating, realistic
Similar in 86%
The Amazing Grace (2006)
Plot Summary:
John Newton is captain of a slave ship moored off the coast of Nigeria. He stands at a crossroads in his life, his morality and religion at odds with the brutality of his chosen profession. Stepping ashore, he starts on a journey of redemption that will end in tragedy but prove the catalyst for greater achievements. A local anthem sung in adversity by the slaves whom he captures punctuates the film. It will be the inspiration for Newton's redemption and for his writing of the hymn Amazing Grace.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 125
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Nigeria, UK
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, realistic, epic
Similar in 84%
Tula: The Revolt (2013)
Plot Summary:
'Tula, The Revolt' is an international English spoken feature length movie about the leader of the big slave uprising on the island of Curacao, a Dutch colony in 1795.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 422
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Netherlands Antilles, Netherlands
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: sentimental, serious, captivating, realistic
Similar in 75%
Les Misérables (2000)
Plot Summary:
The scene is set during the French Restoration at the beginning of the 19th century. Jean Valjean, a galley slave who was sent to prison for stealing food, is now released after serving nineteen years. At first he only encounter mistrust and closed doors; only the saintly Bishop Bienvenu treats him kindly and takes him in. The bishop's truly Christian compassion and humanity not only restores Jean Valjean's faith in the good, but also smoothes his way back to an orderly life. As Monsieur Madeleine, Valjean is soon a wealthy industrialist and popular citizen, even becoming the mayor of a small provincial town.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: France, Italy, Spain, Germany, USA
Duration: 400 min
Plot tags: suspense, emotional, melancholic, touching, serious, costume drama, period piece, fairy tale, artsy, historical drama
Similar in 88%
Catherine the Great (2019)
Plot Summary:
This four-part historical drama follows the end of Catherine the Great's reign and her affair with Russian military leader Grigory Potemkin that helped shape the future of Russian politics.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: UK
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: historical drama, realistic, captivating, disturbing, stylized, colorful, exciting, period piece, informative, romantic drama
Similar in 76%
1864 (2014)
Plot Summary:
When Austria and Prussia declare war on Denmark, two brothers are called to serve in the bloodiest battle in Denmark's history.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany
Duration: 460 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, captivating, stylized, noir, costume drama, epic
Similar in 90%
Backstairs at the White House (1979)
Plot Summary:
Behind the scenes at the White House during eight administrations, as told by the people who work there.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 472
Genere: Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 540 min
Plot tags: historical drama, uplifting, touching, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic, political drama
Similar in 83%
April Morning (1988)
Plot Summary:
A teenager grows up during the onset of the American revolution.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 759
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: sincere, uplifting, thought provoking, bleak, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic, disturbing, period drama
Similar in 88%
Roots (2016)
Plot Summary:
An adaptation of Alex Haley's "Roots", chronicling the history of an African slave sold to America and his descendants.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: historical drama, captivating, sincere, rough, suspense, inspirational, gothic, political, educational, black cinema
Similar in 77%
Home Fires (2015)
Plot Summary:
The story of a group of inspirational women in a rural Cheshire community with the shadow of World War II casting a dark cloud over their lives. As the conflict takes hold and separates the women from their husbands, fathers, sons and brothers, the characters find themselves under increasing and extraordinary pressures in a rapidly fragmenting world. By banding together as the Great Paxford Women’s Institute, they help maintain the nation’s fabric in its darkest hour, and discover inner resources that will change their lives forever.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: UK
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: captivating, realistic, serious, psychological, historical drama, touching, period piece, costume drama, period drama
Similar in 85%
Anzac Girls (2014)
Plot Summary:
The unique, and rarely told true stories of Australian and New Zealand nurses serving at Gallipoli and the Western Front during the First World War.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Drama, History, Romance, War
Country: Australia
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: captivating, emotional, realistic, serious, stylized, costume drama, medical drama, historical drama, gloomy, romantic drama
Similar in 77%
Roots: The Next Generations (1979)
Plot Summary:
The dramatization of Alex Haley's family line from post Civil War America to the writer's search for his roots.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: USA
Duration: 840 min
Plot tags: sentimental, uplifting, thought provoking, touching, epic, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic, family saga
Similar in 78%
King (1978)
Plot Summary:
A 1978 TV miniseries about the career of Martin Luther King Jr. from his days as a Baptist minister in Atlanta in the early '50s until his assassination in 1968.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 431
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 271 min
Plot tags: sincere, thought provoking, serious, captivating, realistic, disturbing
Similar in 86%
Aristocrats (1999)
Plot Summary:
Based on a true story, Aristocrats draws back the curtain on an 18th century English family near the summit of society, revealing a tapestry of romance, prejudice, infidelity, and revolution.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: UK, Ireland, USA
Duration: 300 min
Plot tags: period piece, captivating, serious, historical drama, realistic, stylized, costume drama, romantic drama, historical romance, period drama
Similar in 86%
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974)
Plot Summary:
In February, 1962, as the civil rights movement reaches Bayonne, Louisiana, a New York journalist arrives to interview Jane Pittman, who has just turned 110. She tells him her story dating back to her earliest memories before slavery ended. In between the chapters of her life, the present-day struggles of Blacks in Bayonne, urged on by Jimmy, are dramatized.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: political, epic, sincere, uplifting, thought provoking, touching, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic
Similar in 90%
Boycott (2001)
Plot Summary:
This made-for-TV movie dramatizes the historic boycott of public buses in the 1950s, led by civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, realistic, political, talky
Similar in 83%
TURN: Washington's Spies (2014)
Plot Summary:
The story of New York farmer, Abe Woodhull, who bands together with a group of childhood friends to form The Culper Ring, an unlikely group of spies who turn the tide in America’s fight for independence.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 23000
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: period piece, serious, captivating, suspenseful, realistic, historical drama, tension, tense, political, costume drama
Similar in 78%
Roots (1977)
Plot Summary:
African teen Kunta Kinte, brought to America to be enslaved, and the generations of his family.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: USA
Duration: 588 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, emotional, uplifting, suspense, historical drama, thought provoking, sincere, serious, epic
Similar in 87%
Queen (1993)
Plot Summary:
A plantation owner's son falls in love with a slave named Easter and together they have a Mixed race daughter named Queen. As Queen grows up, she faces the struggle of trying to fit into the troubled world around her. She tries passing for white, but it leads to sorrow in post-Civil War America. Everywhere she goes, she faces obstacles and hardships while searching for happiness and a place to belong.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Romance, War
Country: USA
Duration: 282 min
Plot tags: psychological, gothic, heartbreaking, costume drama, uplifting, thought provoking, touching, serious, captivating, emotional
Similar in 80%
Winnie Mandela (2011)
Plot Summary:
A drama that chronicles the life of Winnie Mandela from her childhood through her marriage and her husband's incarceration.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 880
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: South Africa, Canada
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, serious, captivating, realistic, political
Similar in 79%
Glory (1989)
Plot Summary:
Robert Gould Shaw leads the US Civil War's first all-black volunteer company, fighting prejudices of both his own Union army and the Confederates.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 142000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: USA
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: epic, inspirational, suspense, realistic, rough, factual, period piece, emotional, talky, serious
Similar in 88%
The Attic: The Hiding of Anne Frank (1988)
Plot Summary:
During the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam, Otto Frank decides to hide his family, who are Jewish, after his daughter Margot is called to appear for transport to a Nazi labour camp. Miep Gies, Otto Frank's office assistant hides them in the attic above the office. The film tells the true story of Gies' struggle to keep the family hidden and safe, as the Nazis turn Amsterdam upside-down. Based upon Gies' memoirs and Anne Frank's famous diary.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 483
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, bleak, serious, realistic, disturbing
Similar in 81%
Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker (2020)
Plot Summary:
This limited series chronicles the incredible true story of Madam C.J. Walker, who was the first African American self-made millionaire.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 191 min
Plot tags: inspirational, thought provoking, feel good, captivating, period piece, emotional, queer cinema
Similar in 85%
12 Years a Slave (2013)
Plot Summary:
In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery. Facing cruelty as well as unexpected kindnesses Solomon struggles not only to stay alive, but to retain his dignity. In the twelfth year of his unforgettable odyssey, Solomon’s chance meeting with a Canadian abolitionist will forever alter his life.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 731000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 134 min
Plot tags: motivational, heartbreaking, disturbing, harsh, bleak, atmospheric, emotional, factual, brutal, rough