Interest in majoring in history may have declined over the course of the 21st century, but the field remains a powerful engine for streaming television content. Audiences are still flocking to true stories as well as fictional narratives set in an authentic past. Even in a landscape full of painstakingly rendered period dramas, these eight superb series stand out from the historical crowd.
‘Roots’ (1977)
“Roots” is the story of Kunta Kinte (LeVar Burton), seized from what is now The Gambia by slave trader Captain Davies (Edward Asner) in 1767 and then sold to the family of John Reynolds (Lorne Greene) in colonial Maryland. The story spans generations, with the narrative following Kunta’s daughter, Kizzy (Leslie Uggams), and grandson, Chicken George (Ben Vereen), who finally tastes freedom after the Civil War.
Unsparing in its depiction of slavery’s bottomless brutality and shocking cruelty, the series, which debuted just six months after the U.S. bicentennial celebrations, became a ratings sensation. A series whose “very existence seems remarkable” given the “overall whiteness of popular culture at that time,” it is the “most important scripted program in broadcast network history,” said Matt Zoller Seitz at Vulture. (Prime Video)
‘Pride and Prejudice’ (1995)
One of the most frequently adapted works of literature, Jane Austen’s 1813 novel, “Pride and Prejudice,” shines as never before or since in director Simon Langton’s celebrated, six-part limited series, which made Colin Firth a star. Firth plays Mr. Darcy, a wealthy aristocrat who first repels and then falls for Elizabeth Bennet (Jennifer Ehle), one of the struggling Mrs. Bennet’s five daughters and a razor-sharp wit.
Ehle and Firth have spectacular chemistry, and the runway of a limited series allows the creators space to fully explore the depth of Austen’s narrative. The BBC’s masterpiece is a “rare instance in which the screen adaptation of a novel serves as an equally worthy companion piece to the written source material,” said Tanya Pai at Vox. (Peacock)
‘Downton Abbey’ (2010-2015)
While it lends itself to easy parody, creator Julian Fellowes’ “Downton Abbey” is an ongoing global sensation, including three feature-length movies — all for good reason. Set on a crumbling English estate, the narrative begins before the First World War, as a family of aristocrats headed by Robert (Hugh Bonneville) and Cora Crawley (Elizabeth McGovern) and their three daughters navigate the social, political and economic changes sweeping the country.
The truest stroke of genius, though, was dividing the narrative between these often-clueless elites and the cooks, servants and other employees of the estate, whose dramas are rendered with convincing detail and given voice by a superb ensemble over the course of six seasons. The series succeeds with “addictively gossipy tales of relationships and rivalries” as well as “longer arcs of social change and historical unravelling,” said Adam Sweeting at The Arts Desk. (Peacock)
‘The Last Kingdom’ (2015-2022)
Despite the inevitable comparisons to the fictional universe in “Game of Thrones,” the action in “The Last Kingdom” is grounded in history. The fictional character of Uhtred (Alexander Dreymon), a wealthy nobleman raised as a boy by invading Vikings, works with the real historical figure of King Alfred (David Dawson) to unify the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and fend off the Great Heathen Army sent by Danish invaders.
Adapted from Bernard Cornwell’s popular “Saxon Stories” series of novels about the birth of England, the BBC Two production, which later moved to Netflix, outclasses a number of similar projects. The dedication to character development “turns every single small, seemingly innocuous moment on this show into a moment of insight and significance,” adding “richness and depth” to its “captivating” storytelling, said Kyle Fowle at The A.V. Club. (Netflix)
‘The Crown’ (2016-2023)
One of the more ambitious and successful productions undertaken in the streaming era, “The Crown” follows the life of Queen Elizabeth II from when she was a young woman thrust unexpectedly into power until the death of Princess Diana and her son Charles’ remarriage to Camilla Bowles. The principal characters, including Queen Elizabeth, are played by three different sets of actors for two seasons each.
The lavish production, which totaled $648 million, landed A-list actors like Dominic West as middle-aged Prince Charles and Olivia Colman as the Queen circa the 1970s, and humanized the royal family without whitewashing their selfishness and privilege. It is a triumph not just because of its “fair-minded characterizations of the Royal Family and the visual extravagances of one of the most expensive shows ever made but also in the deft incorporation of events that shaped U.K. politics, culture and national identity,” said Inkoo Kang at The New Yorker. (Netflix)
‘Alias Grace’ (2017)
“Alias Grace,” one of those shows that likely suffered from the Netflix model of dumping all of its episodes at once, stars Sarah Gadon (“Wayward”) as Grace Marks, a maid convicted of murdering her wealthy employer, Thomas Kinnear (Paul Gross) and his housekeeper, Nancy (Anna Paquin). Based on Margaret Atwood’s 1996 novel, itself a fictionalized account of a true story, the six-part limited series proceeds along two timelines, with Grace narrating the events of the past to a psychiatrist, Dr. Simon Jordan (Edward Holcroft), who becomes infatuated with her. The show, which meticulously recreates the milieu of 19th century Canada, is “nothing short of a triumph,” said Rebecca Lea at Den of Geek, bolstered by a “fascinating, intelligent performance” from Cadon as the mysterious, unreliable narrator. (Netflix)
‘It’s a Sin’ (2021)
In 1981 London, three flatmates, Ritchie (Olly Alexander), Colin (Callum Scott Howells) and Roscoe (Omari Douglas) arrive in the big city to chase their dreams. They do so amidst the burgeoning HIV/AIDS crisis that begins as a seemingly distant rumor but eventually consumes many of the characters.
A uniformly excellent ensemble succeeds in depicting this historical tragedy over the ensuing decade by giving its characters authentic, convincing inner lives and never allowing them to lose their sense of joy and purpose amid the suffering that surrounds them. It is a “propulsive, galvanizing, even joyous” series that also serves as a “stirring requiem for the dead, shot through with defiant life,” said James Poniewozik at The New York Times. (HBO Max)
‘Pachinko’ (2022-2024)
Apple TV+ can frustrate with its disinterest in marketing some of its most lush productions, none more so than the gorgeous “Pachinko,” a multilingual historical epic set in Korea and Japan. It is a two-timeline series, following Sunja (Kim Min-ha) in early 20th century Korea and her emigration to Osaka, Japan in 1931 after marrying a Christian minister named Baek Isak (Noh Sang-hyun), and moves back and forth to the 1980s, where an elderly Sunja sees her grandson, Solomon Baek (Jin Ha), trying to succeed in business while navigating lingering discrimination against Koreans.
The series offers viewers insight into a setting — interwar Asia — and themes that should be novel to all but the most ardent historians. The show “ranks among the finest original series Apple has produced,” one whose plot mechanics “illustrate the cyclical nature of generational trauma,” said Alison Herman at Variety. (Apple TV+)