11 TV Shows Like the Gilded Age That Are Worth Watching
While HBO’s The Gilded Age has often been criticized for its lowbrow approach—as if we have nothing better to do than follow the trials and tribulations of the show’s mostly super-rich cast of characters—there’s something compelling about its distinctive blend of period drama, sass, and lavish detail.
In that spirit, here are 11 more shows that shed light on the past, and do so in a big way. Most of them serve as excellent companions to The Gilded Age , while others are perhaps better viewed as alternatives, using the trappings of period drama to entirely different effect.
Downton Abbey (2010–2015)
Gilded Age creator Julian Fellowes is also behind this beloved PBS series, 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 even further into the “future”), isn’t set in that universe. Fellowes followed up his Academy Award-winning screenplay for Gosford Park with this family saga set in the upstairs and downstairs of a sprawling English estate. As the show opens, the heir to the castle dies unexpectedly, leaving a cousin no one has ever met (Dan Stevens) to inherit everything. The event sets in motion the show’s long struggle to secure the family’s future in the face of war, dwindling finances, and the invention of swivel chairs. It’s impossible for Maggie Smith’s brash and arrogant Dowager Countess not to be relatable to Christine Baranski’s indefatigable Agnes van Rijn. Downton Abbey is available on Peacock , Prime Video and Britbox.
Bridgertons (2020 – , three seasons)
Shonda Rhimes’s flamboyant, ultra-stylized period piece has become a Netflix sensation, adapting Julia Quinn’s series of novels, which itself owes a debt to Jane Austen (as does virtually every Regency novel). With a large, ever-changing cast – arguably led by Nicola Coughlan’s Penelope Bridgerton, 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 period literature while cranking up the sex, scandal, and drama. After that, catch the spin-off Queen Charlotte , also on Netflix. You can stream Bridgertonshere .
Pirates (2023–, two seasons)
While not quite as hyper-stylized as Bridgerton , this 1870s adaptation of Edith Wharton’s unfinished novel isn’t afraid to take liberties with costumes and music. The pirates of the title refer to the so-called dollar princesses of the era: Nan St. George (Kristine Froseth) and her friends are young women from upper-class American families who aspire to become part of the British aristocracy. The Americans are given titles, and the English lords are given the means to support their often meager estates. What begins as a soapy melodrama for strong, plucky young women turns into a search for true love. You can watch Pirates on Apple TV+ .
Howards End (2017, mini-series)
Merchant Ivory’s Oscar-winning 1992 adaptation of E.M. Forster’s novel is rightfully more familiar to audiences, but this four-part miniseries gives the story some breathing room, featuring a powerful performance from Hayley Atwell. She plays Helen Schlegel, a smart young woman from a middle-class intellectual family who becomes engaged to the heir of the wealthy Wilcox family, whose industrial fortune has bred deep conservatism and suspicion toward the intellectual girl trying to marry their son. The two become embroiled in the working-class Bast family, which complicates their lives and allows them to explore the class and culture of Edwardian England. Howards End is available on Starz, The Roku Channel, and Prime Video .
Sanditon (2019 – 2023)
Much like Pirates is based on Edith Wharton’s unfinished novel, Sanditon is based on Jane Austen’s final, unfinished work, giving her plenty of scope for creativity. Fiercely independent Charlotte Heywood (Rose Williams) decides to reinvent herself by moving to the burgeoning seaside resort town of the series’ namesake (likely based on the real-life Worthing). She discovers that commercial prospects have attracted schemers and adventurers to the area, creating a unique and vibrant social scene with all the expected balls and fancy suits. Naturally, romantic complications arise when Charlotte begins to disapprove of the adventurous Parker family and finds herself at odds with, then growing closer to, the wild youngest son, Sidney (Theo James). You can stream Sanditon on PBS Passport or buy episodes on Prime Video .
Washington Black (2025)
“The Gilded Age” is often criticized for its high-drama, low-stakes approach—the season two finale somehow left us worrying about which opera house the super-rich would attend. But in one respect, the show earns a reputation as more than just empty entertainment: It looks at black middle- and upper-class people in New York’s “Gilded Age” (thanks in large part to the creative input of executive producers Sonia Warfield and Salli Richardson Whitfield), acknowledging that there’s more to black history in the 19th century than slavery and Reconstruction. There’s really nothing quite like it in TV period drama, but “Washington Black” does allow for a sense of adventure in its story of a young former slave (Ernest Kingsley Jr.) with as inventive a mind and spirit as any Jules Verne character, who comes under the mentorship of Sterling K. Brown’s Medwin Harris. In the absence of more complex narratives about real historical figures, this feature film at least focuses on the idea that the history of black North Americans has included innovation, progress, and even joy. Washington Black is available to stream on Hulu .
Gentleman Jack (2019–2022, two seasons)
While her love didn’t dare speak her name, the real Anne Lister certainly had no problem putting it into words — some five million of them in her prolific diaries. So many, in fact, that the production of this show required new transcriptions of works that hadn’t been fully researched, despite being written in the 1830s. Suranne Jones plays Anne Lister, a landowner and aspiring industrialist who returns to her inherited family estate to find that her neighbors are stealing coal from her land — and that Ann Walker (Sophie Rundle), the estate’s wealthy owner, is looking pretty good. It’s a smart, funny series, and its use of Lister’s prolific diaries gives it a real sense of verisimilitude in its depiction of a queer pioneer. You can stream Gentleman Jack on HBO Max or buy episodes on Prime Video .
Little Women (2017, mini-series)
While Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s beloved novel was overshadowed by its release just two years later, this BBC adaptation stays somewhat true to the text without feeling dull. The book takes place over several years, and the miniseries format better captures the passage of time that’s so important to the plot. Emily Watson plays the stolid Marmee with appropriate brilliance, and Angela Lansbury (in her final TV role) is perfect as the sardonic, caustic Aunt March. There are very few rich people here, but it’s another important piece of 19th-century American history. You can watch Little Women on PBS and Prime Video .
Deadwood (2004 – 2006, 2019)
In terms of atmosphere, this series is a bit over the top, but I don’t think it’s an entirely unusual pairing in the vein of The Gilded Age . Set just a decade before the later HBO series, it takes place in the thick of what we would later call the Wild West, where many fortunes were made and then shipped back east, as in the case of the Russell family and their real-life counterparts, the Vanderbilts. Former sheriff Seth Bullock (Timothy Olyphant) arrives in the tiny but rapidly growing Black Hills town hoping for a new life, but quickly runs into the (to put it mildly) difficulties of a nascent American community and the machinations of its real leader, local saloon owner Al Swearengen (Ian McShane). Instead of opulent interiors and fancy suits, it features dark gambling halls and more subdued, practical clothing, but the period details are just as carefully considered as in The Gilded Age , and both series focus on Americans struggling to find their place in a changing society. Deadwood is available to stream on HBO Max or buy on Prime Video .
Call the Midwife (2012–, 14 seasons)
There’s another big step up here, but given how hooked I am on both of those shows, I’m offering Call the Midwife as the more substantial piece of counter-programming to The Gilded Age . Starting in 1957, the show follows middle-class nurse Jenny Lee as she arrives in Poplar, then one of London’s poorest boroughs. In the early days of the National Health Service, Lee and other secular nurse-midwives are assigned to work for an order of nuns who had previously been the only source of healthcare for many of Poplar’s residents. The show revels in the trappings of its era, but more importantly, it’s surprisingly frank and open about the era’s women’s healthcare issues that still resonate today. If The Gilded Age was largely a show about rich people trying to improve their lives, Call the Midwife is largely about poor people trying to help each other. You can watch Call the Midwife onNetflix and PBS, or buy episodes on Prime Video .
Upstairs, Downstairs (1971 – 1975)
An international phenomenon in the early ’70s , Upstairs, Downstairs was practically the prototype for smart, glossy, and sometimes outrageous period dramas on TV. The series follows the wealthy Bellamy family of London’s fashionable Belgravia and their staff, including maid Rose Buck, played by co-writer and screenwriter Jean Marsh. The drama spawned a slew of high-profile prestige series (including many on this list) and a two-season sequel in 2010. Upstairs, Downstairs is available on Tubi, Britbox, and Roku.