Summary
Historical drama is a genre that enjoys consistent popularity, although some eras, cultures, and countries are more popular than others. The new hit seriesShōgun, a brutally honest andrealistic portrayal of thelate medieval era in Japan, is a recent example.
Produced by Disneyand currently available on both streaming services the entertainment giant curates, Disney+ and Star+,Shōgunis about political intrigue and chilling action scenes as much as stunning costuming and brilliant set pieces. For viewers interested inother TV series made in the same spirit and with the same budget and high-profile names, here are a few suggestions.
6Barbarians (2020)
IMDb Rating: 7.2
The title in the original German isBarbaren, and the whole show is spoken in both German and Classical Latin with English subtitles. It takes some historical and creative license, but it’s based on a series of actual events that took place near the Rhine River in 9 AD.
The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest is the final episode of season one, in which a group of Germanic tribes destroyed several Roman legions after a few decades of occupation, coercion, and taxation. Each of the three main characters has their own personal ambitions inthis ancient historical event.
Arminius was a child of the Barbarians, but he was taken by the invaders as a child andreturned as a Romanofficer. Thusnelda, his old friend from the days before the occupation, is the oldest child of the chief of the Cherusci tribe but has a falling out with her father. Folkwin, their mutual friend, ends up caught between them.
5Vikings (2013)
IMDb Rating: 8.5
A series that was made in Canada and enjoyed a run of seven seasons,Vikingswas so popular it was part of the zeitgeist that made those notorious ancient marauders trendy for several years. The story isbased on a 12th-centuryScandinavian saga of Ragnar Lodbrok, among other sources, a chieftain who started as a farmer and rose to prominence as a successful raider and eventually a king.
Ragnar’s adventures took him to Ireland, England, and other nearby regions, and the story continues into the 13th century with the further travels of his children. His sons went as far as the eastern reaches of the Mediterranean and even the shores of North America.
4Marco Polo (2014)
IMDb Rating: 8.0
The journey of Marco Polo is already a famous one that many people know as common knowledge,and this Netflix seriesis based on that true story.Marco Polofocuses on his early years as a traveler to China and, eventually, his early life in the court of Kublai Khan, the ruler of the Mongol Empire. Other historical figures like Empress Chabi, Khan’s favorite wife, and his sons Kaidu and Jingim, also make appearances.
The time frame is the late 11th or 12th century, in the decades before the rise of the Yuan Dynasty, and trade items from China were a valuable commodity in Europe. This is partly why Niccolò Polo, the father of Marco and a Venetian merchant, was persuaded to leave his son behind in exchange for access to such rare and valuable goods.
3House Of Ninjas (2024)
Not strictly a historical drama, but one that uses the aesthetic of one even as it takes place in present-day Japan.House of Ninjastells the story of the Tawara family, who honor the ancient shinobi traditions as they have for centuries. When the eldest son is killed during a mission, they abandon their ninja lifestyle, at least for a while, until the underworld draws them back.
Soichi Tawara is the family patriarch, and he returns to running a brewery after losing his son. His wife, daughter, and younger son continue their covert missions using the traditional shinobi code. These secret tasks include thefts and espionage as much as assassinations and rescues, so it has a lot of suspense and mystery along with a stark contrast between ancient and modern life.
2Britannia (2018)
IMDb Rating: 6.9
Set in 43 AD, the same time the Romans invaded Britain for the second time,Britanniaisn’t just the story of the invaders but also the local tribal peopleand their Druid leaders. General Aulus Plautius was a real politician and general who served Rome in the first century, and the conquest of Britain almost a century after Julius Caesar’s initial failure became his responsibility.
Other characters featured in the series are fictional but could have existed given the historical context, such as Cait of the Cantii tribe and Divis the exiled Druid. The story ofBritanniaisn’t just about resisting the occupiers, but also about the local tribes and leaders vying for power among themselves.
1Faraway Downs (2023)
There was a movie released in 2008 with the same name, and both versions ofFaraway Downsarebased on the same story of an English aristocrat, Lady Sarah Ashley, who travels to Australia in 1939 to find her estranged husband. When he dies, she becomes the sole owner of a very valuable cattle ranch in the Outback, and she has to fight the harsh elements and corrupt local robber barons to keep it.
Sarah enlists the help of Drover, a worker on the ranch, and eventually, the two of them have a torrid romance while World War II and local political drama swirl around them. The whole story is told through the eyes of Nullah, a bi-racial child from an Indigenous background and a victim of the government’s “Stolen Generations” policy.
