Ladies and gents, boys and girls, and fans of royal drama, buckle up! We’re going on a magic carpet ride through the small screen’s veritable banquet of historical delights! You’ll witness noble intrigue, sweat-dripping battles, and weave through the complex labyrinth of political manipulations, all while sipping your martini – shaken, not stirred, of course!
Sure as a sultan loves his slippers, if you loved The White Queen, in all its beautiful, bodice-ripping glory, you’ll adore these five historical TV show suggestions.
First up, let’s Wimbledon our way across the pond for Downton Abbey! It is the crème de la crème of British aristocracy! So what if it’s a few centuries late than The White Queen? We’re talking a spicy mélange of high-stakes drama, hushed whispers of scandal, the upstairs-downstairs divisions, and incredibly stylish top hats. This six-season-long saga begins with the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 and uses real historical events as a backdrop to the fictional tale of a wealthy Crawley family. Come for the fantastic costumes and lush landscapes. Stay for the intricate character development and witty exchanges. The cherry on top? Maggie Smith’s acerbic Countess Violet Crawley: the queen of zingers and hatinatoras!
Lights, camera, costume drama! Next on the list, The Tudors! Oh, it’s beef tartare raw, and well-done in all the right places – just the way I like my conflict royale. Henry VIII: a bloke with more wives than a cat has lives! We’ve got the beheading of Anne Boleyn, the bruising dissolution of monasteries, and the birth of the Church of England! Jonathan Rhys Meyers’ portrayal of Henry VIII might be a more Brad-Pitt than the historically accurate plump-and-jovial king but hey, this smoldering look has earned him a few extra brownie points, I’m not complaining!
From Greenwich to Versailles, we teleport to a palace even Shinier and more Majestic than my lamp. In Versailles, we unravel the glory and the gore of Louis XIV’s extravagant reign. The story intricately threads through the king’s ambitious dream to build the greatest palace in the world and his manipulative measures to maintain his absolute power. It’s got all the ‘jazz-le-dazzle’ – think grand balls, ostentatious artistry, and a hefty dose of scandalous affairs. Tough luck if you’re an architect – it’s not all sketches and sundials, folks!
Bump up the drama and pour me a pint of Guinness – we’re crossing the Irish Sea to the gritty streets of Birmingham. Peaky Blinders follows the Shelby crime family’s rise to power in post-World War I Britain. Sure, it’s more gangsta than gala, but nothing screams riveting drama like good ol’ Molotov cocktails, shifty back-alley dealings, and a lot of hat tip punctuations. Our leading bloke, Tommy Shelby, is the devilishly dapper man with a plan. Oh, and he’s got razor blades stitched into his cap – talk about carrying a concealed weapon!
Windy City to the silver screen – take a deep dive into Boardwalk Empire. You’ve got the roaring 20s, the clank of glasses, quickie bootlegging operations, and Steve Buscemi as Enoch “Nucky” Thompson – a politically connected racketeer straddling high society and the criminal underworld. This one lets you peek into the dark underbelly of Prohibition-era Atlantic City, an epoch speckled with crime and corruption. ‘Nucky’ is fiddly-diddly-dee busy playing puppet master while dancing with the devil!
Each show on the roster packs a powerful punch of drama, intrigue, and a dash of history with a twist – just like The White Queen. But if I were to pick just one to slip under your pillow, I’d nominate Versailles. Your penchant for the royalty will sing a merry tune as you survey the glamorous and gluttonous world of 17th-century French aristocracy. Plus, play detective while piecing together the underlying metaphors and symbolic references that express Louis XIV’s obsession with sun imagery. Here, history comes wrapped in gorgeous silk gowns, powdered wigs, and cloaked in delicious conspiracy, painting a stunning tableau vivant. So, gather your popcorn, dim the lights, and get ready to binge! Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to, POOF, make like a genie and disappear!
