11 Shows Like 'The Gilded Age' You Should Watch Next[html]
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Though HBO's The Gilded Age often chided for its low-stakes approach—as if we have nothing better to concern ourselves with than the trials and travails of the show's mostly ultra-rich cast of characters—there's an addictive quality to its particular blend of drama, period-specific sass, and opulent detail.
In that spirit, here are 11 more shows that shine a light on the past, and do so in grand style. Most stand as fine companion pieces to The Gilded Age, while others might be better thought of as alternatives, using their period drama trappings to very different effect.
Downton Abbey (2010 – 2015)
The Gilded Age creator Julian Fellowes is also behind this PBS favorite, and you won't convince me that Downton Abbey, which begins with the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 and ends in 1926 (with the film series taking things further still into the "future"), isn't set in the universe. Fellowes followed up his Academy Award-winning screenplay for Gosford Park with this family saga set in the upstairs and downstairs of a great English estate. As the show begins, the castle's heir has died unexpectedly, and a cousin no one has ever met (Dan Stevens) set to inherit everything. That event kicks off a series-long effort to secure the family's future in the face of war, depleted finances, and the invention of swivel chairs. There's no way that Maggie Smith's sassy, snooty Dowager Countess isn't somehow related to Christine Baranski's indefatigable Agnes van Rhijn. You can stream Downton Abbey on Peacock, Prime Video, and Britbox.
Bridgerton (2020 – , three seasons)
Shonda Rhimes' candy-colored, ultra-stylized period piece has been a legitimate sensation for Netflix, adapting the Julia Quinn novel series which itself owes plenty to Jane Austen (as does just about any Regency romance). With a large, rotating ensemble—led, perhaps, by Nicola Coughlan's Penelope Bridgerton, who is ably assisted by Adjoa Andoh, Jonathan Bailey, Ruth Gemmell, Polly Walker, and Julie Andrews as the voice of the mysterious Lady Whistledown)—the show revels in the tropes of the literature of the era while turning up the dial on sex, scandal, and drama. When you finish this one, there's a spinoff Queen Charlotte, also on Netflix. You can stream Bridgerton here.
The Buccaneers (2023 – , two seasons)
Not quite going full Bridgerton in terms of hyper-stylization, this 1870s-set adaptation of an unfinished Edith Wharton novel isn't afraid to take some liberties in terms of costuming and music. The buccaneers of the title are among the so-called dollar princesses of the era: Nan St. George (Kristine Froseth) and her friends are young women from upperclass American families on the make among the British aristocracy—the Americans get titles, and the English lords get to keep their frequently cash-poor estates running. What starts as soapy mery mission for the strong and spirited young women becomes a hunt for true love. You can stream The Buccaneers on Apple TV+.
Howard's End (2017, miniseries)
Merchant Ivory's Oscar-winning 1992 adaptation of the E. M. Forster novel is justifiably more familiar, but this four-part miniseries gives the story a bit of room to breathe while boasting an impressive lead performance from Hayley Atwell. She plays Helen Schlegel, a clever young woman from a family of middle-class intellectuals who becomes engaged to the heir to the wealthy Wilcox family, whose industrial fortune has given rise to a deep conservatism and a suspicion of this intellectual girl trying to marry their son. They both become entangled with the working-class Bast family, complicating their lives and allowing for exploration of class and culture in Edwardian England. You can stream Howard's End on Starz, The Roku Channel, and Prime Video.
Sanditon (2019 – 2023)
Much as The Buccaneers is adapted from an unfinished Edith Wharton novel, Sanditon is based on Jane Austen's final, incomplete work, which allows for plenty of creative leeway. The wildly independent Charlotte Heywood (Rose Williams) sets out to reinvent herself while moving to the title's growing seaside resort town (based, probably, on the real-life Worthing). She discovers that commercial prospects have drawn schemers and chancers to the area, creating a unique and vibrant social scene, with all of the balls and fancy costumes you'd expect. Naturally, romantic complications ensue when Charlotte gets judgy about the entrepreneurial Parker family and finds herself at odds with, and then getting close to, the wild youngest son, Sidney (Theo James). You can stream Sanditon on PBS Passport or buy episodes from Prime Video.
Washington Black (2025)
The Gilded Age is frequently chided for its high-drama/low-stakes approach—the second season finale somehow made us care about which opera house ultra-rich people were going to attend. In one respect, though, the show earns a reputation as more than just a frothy diversion: It consideration of the Black middle and upper classes in Gilded Age New York (thanks, in large part, to the creative input of executive producers Sonja Warfield and Salli Richardson Whitfield), acknowledging that there's more to 19th century Black history than slavery and Reconstruction. There's really nothing else like it in TV historical drama, but Washington Black does allow for a sense of adventure in its story of a young ex-slave (Ernest Kingsley Jr.) with as inventive a mind and spirit as any Jules Verne character, coming under the mentorship of Sterling K. Brown's Medwin Harris. In the absence of more complex narratives about real historical figures, this fiction at least centers the notion that Black North American history included innovation, progress, and even joy. You can stream Washington Black on Hulu.
Gentleman Jack (2019 – 2022, two seasons)
Though her love dared not speak its name, the real-life Anne Lister certainly had no problem putting words to it—something like five million of them across her many diaries. So many, in fact, that the production of this show necessitated new transcriptions of works that hadn't been fully examined, despite having been written in the 1830s. Suranne Jones stars Anne Lister, landowner and budding industrialist who returns to her inherited family estate only to discover that the neighbors are snatching coal from her land—and also that Ann Walker (Sophie Rundle), a wealthy estate owner, is looking pretty fine. It's a clever, funny series, and its use of Lister's prolific diaries gives it a real sense of verisimilitude in its depiction of a queer trailblazer. You can stream Gentleman Jack on HBO Max or buy episodes from Prime Video.
Little Women (2017, miniseries)
Though overshadowed by the Greta Gerwig film version's arrival just two years later,this BBC adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's beloved novel is a bit more faithful to the text without ever feeling stuffy. The book takes place over a period of years, and the miniseries format does a better job of capturing the passage of time, which is so critical to the story. Emily Watson plays the stolid Marmee with an appropriate twinkle, and Angela Lansbury (in her final TV role) is perfect as the snide, snippy Aunt March. There are very few rich people here, but it's another essential piece of 19th century American history. You can stream Little Women on PBS and Prime Video.
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