If this week’s latest social fight on The Gilded Age has got you obsessed with corsets, rivalries, and gilded ballrooms, don’t worry, you’re not alone. Period dramas are a huge money maker these days, serving up everything from biting class commentary to swooning romance—and more than a few on-the-spear costumes in the process. Whether you’re tuning in for the scandal, the secret trysts, or fashion that makes you want to have been born wealthy, these dramas will quench that thirst. Below are 10 of the best period dramas to get lost in if The Gilded Age has had you howling for more—counting down to the absolute must-see.
10. The Knick (2014–2015)
Take the glamour of Grey’s Anatomy, add Clive Owen, and drop it into early 1900s New York—hello, The Knick. Owen stars as Dr. John Thackery, a brilliant surgeon struggling with addiction as medicine itself is revolutionized. Gritty, unapologetic, and stunningly shot, the series delves into questions of race, class, and advancement during an era in which society itself was on the operating table.
9. The Alienist (2018–2020)
For those who love their period drama with a touch of mystery, The Alienist is the way to go. Based in 1890s New York, a psychologist (Daniel Brühl), an illustrator (Luke Evans), and a forward-thinking police secretary (Dakota Fanning) team up to pursue a brutal killer. Half style, half grotesque, the show nails both the glitter and grime of Gilded Age New York.
8. Gentleman Jack (2019–2022)
Meet Anne Lister: businesswoman, landowner, and rule-flouting rebel. Based on her real diaries, Gentleman Jack follows her adventures in Yorkshire in the 1830s as she breaks the rules and makes her history in love. Suranne Jones brings the screen to life as Lister with quick wit and unapologetic magnetism, not to be missed by viewers who love fearless women rewriting history.
7. Belgravia (2020)
From the creators of The Gilded Age, Julian Fellowes, Belgravia is a six-part limited drama packed with scandal, ambition, and intrigue. It begins on the eve of Waterloo and then jumps to London high life several years later, and it’s about a newly wealthy family attempting to become part of the aristocracy. Due to its brevity at just six episodes, it’s a greedy, indulgent binge.
6. Sanditon (2019–2023)
Loosely adapted from Jane Austen’s unfinished novel, Sanditon is full of love and refinement you’d expect, served up with sea air added zing. Daring new arrival Charlotte Heywood tacks her way through a landscape of scheming families, businessfolk, and a dozen romantic prospects. If The Gilded Age enticed you with ambition and romance, this series will be your home.
5. The Forsyte Saga (2002–2003)
This sweeping saga traces a prosperous Victorian family through the decades in a tale of love, betrayal, and social change. Dedicated to inheritance, power, and heartache, The Forsyte Saga is a slow burn with stunning rewards. If multi-generational drama and fortune-altering are your tea of preference, it’s the perfect cup.
4. The Buccaneers (2023– )
Picture the Gilded Age in a transatlantic setting. An upscale set of young American ladies makes the journey to England in search of title, love, and status, astounding the starched British upper classes. Full of friendship, glamour, and romance, The Buccaneers is champagne on TV—sparkly, vivacious, and always in good cheer.
3. Cranford (2007–2009)
For something local but equally compelling, Cranford is in a small English town in the 1840s, where a close-knit group of women struggle with the arrival of modernity in the form of the railroad; it’s cozy, funny, and subversive in its way—and demonstrates small towns can be big soap too.
2. Bridgerton (2020– )
The Regency giant that reinvented period drama, Bridgerton, is all gossip, romance, and spectacle. From scandal newsletters by Lady Whistledown to the parade of beaus, it’s a sunny, modern interpretation of high society scandal. If you require the glamour and jaw-dropping spectacle of The Gilded Age, your guilty pleasure fix is Bridgerton.
1. Downton Abbey (2010–2015)
The top gem of contemporary period dramas, Downton Abbey, is an absolute must-watch for Gilded Age enthusiasts. With the upscale Crawleys and their downstairs minions on their successes and failures and sweeping historical tectonic plate movement, it’s intelligent, emotional, and addictive. From hushed scandal to weeping farewells, Downton is the show that sets the bar”.
Whether you’re tuning in for the romance, the rivalry, or the completely over-the-top style, these Gilded Age dramas will have you up until the next Gilded Age shindig.