By Bryanne Salazar
3:00pm PDT, Apr 24, 2024
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Enjoy being swept away by a fantastic television show set in the past? These days, some of the greatest series take place in history (even if it's a fictional history). Lucky for us, there are plenty of options to dive into. We've assembled a list of shows that make us wish we could travel back in time…
"Bridgerton" — the Shondaland series based on author Julia Quinn's novels — follows the exploits of the wealthy, large and aristocratic Bridgerton family as they navigate love, gossip and scandal on the marriage market in Regency-era London. Within a month of its initial release in late 2020, it had become the streaming service's biggest show ever: Netflix revealed that it had been watched by 82 million people — 41% of its global audience of 200 million — in its first 28 days online.
Season 3 of the hit period drama debuts in May 2023 and will focus on the friends-to-lovers story of "Polin," the portmanteau for Penelope Featherington (played by Nicola Coughlan) and Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton, pictured). Keep reading to see photos from the first two seasons…
Then keep reading for more of our favorite period dramas of all time…
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The first season of "Bridgerton," which debuted in 2020, centered around eligible eldest daughter Daphne Bridgerton (played by Phoebe Dynevor) and committed bachelor Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings (played by Rege-Jean Page), as they entered the marriage market and hatched a scheme to benefit them both, then ended up falling for one another — all while a new gossip sheet written by the anonymous Lady Whistledown intrigued the ton.
MORE: Official first look at season 3 of "Bridgerton": The best photos
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Set in the early 1900s, "Downton Abbey" tells the story of England's aristocratic Crawley family and the servants who work on their sprawling estate. Starring Elizabeth McGovern, Michelle Dockery, Dan Stevens, Maggie Smith, Joanne Froggatt, Laura Carmichael (pictured) and more, the drama (which originally wrapped up its TV tenure in 2016) became the most popular series ever to air on PBS, and with good reason — the overflowing elegance was tempered with tawdry romance, betrayals, blackmail and even murder.
The show was rebooted for the big screen in September 2019 with a "Downton Abbey" film — it opened at No. 1! — that chronicled the king and queen's visit to the family's estate. A well-received second movie, "Downton Abbey: A New Era," hit theaters in 2022.
Now even more is in store: A surprise seventh season of the TV series quietly started filming in the U.K., DailyMail.com reported in February 2024.
"Filming has been going on for a few weeks now, it is all very, very secret. There are people working on it who have never seen secrecy like it," a source told the outlet, adding that its expected to be released at the end of 2024. "Those working on the set have been made to sign non-disclosure agreements so that they don't give the game away but there is a lot of excitement at the return of 'Downton.' It was such a huge success before and there are so many more stories to be told, it seemed such a shame not to be able to make more of it but they've made it happen."
More good news came in March 2024 when Imelda Staunton — who plays Queen Mary's lady-in-waiting in the first two movies — confirmed to BBC Radio 2 that a third movie is also in the works.
MORE: The most iconic dresses in movie history
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"Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story" was released on Netflix in 2023 as a companion series to "Bridgerton." The six-episode prequel spinoff tells the backstory of Queen Charlotte (played by India Amarteifio) and King George III (played by Corey Mylchreest), revealing how they came to be married and how they navigated heartbreaking challenges as young royals.
The gorgeous costume drama was a hit with critics and viewers alike and scored multiple Emmy nominations (winning for makeup and hairstyle design). It was so popular, it debuted at No. 1 on the streamer in 91 countries including the United States.
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Another offering from "Downton Abbey" creator Julian Fellowes is "Belgravia." The drama, which debuted in the States on EPIX in 2020, is based on his 2016 novel of the same name. The six-episode series focuses on the scandal-plagued Trenchards, a family newly ascended to the aristocracy, as they navigate 19th century London high society in the wealthy neighborhood of Belgravia.
A second season titled "Belgravia: The Next Chapter" — which takes place 25 years later and follows the scandals of the descendants of characters from the first season — debuted on MGM+ in 2024.
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The nine-episode miniseries "Masters of the Air" — a companion to 2001's "Band of Brothers" and 2010's "The Pacific" — debuted on Apple TV+ in January 2024 to excellent reviews.
The World War II drama — which, like its predecessors, was produced by Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Matt Goetzman — follows a group of airmen who risk their lives with the 100th Bomb Group of the United States Air Forces. It's based on the 2007 book "Masters of the Air: America's Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany" by Donald L. Miller.
Academy Award-nominated "Elvis" actor Austin Butler — who plays Major Gale "Buck" Cleven, a pilot, officer and leader among the men — stars alongside a who's who of rising young actors including Callum Turner, Barry Keoghan and Anthony Boyle.
MORE: The best movies about pilots
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The 10-part 2001 miniseries "Band of Brothers" — which centers around the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division during WWII — featured an incredible cast including Damian Lewis and David Schwimmer (pictured), Michael Fassbender, Ron Livingston, Donnie Wahlberg and Neal McDonough.
The HBO project, which was produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg and served as the first a trio of war projects (that also include 2010's "The Pacific" and 2024's "Masters of the Air") won six Emmys including outstanding miniseries and scored another 13 nominations.
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Nearly a decade after winning Emmy gold with "Band of Brothers" and 14 years before third installment "Masters of the Air" debuted, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg executive produced another war miniseries, 2010's "The Pacific," which centers around a group of Marines in the Pacific Theater during World War II. James Badge Dale headlined the lauded 10-part HBO project, which won eight Emmys (including best miniseries) and scored another 16 Emmy nominations.
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The HBO period drama "The Gilded Age" — which comes from the mind of "Downton Abbey" creator Julian Fellowes — debuted in 2022 featuring an incredible cast led by Carrie Coons, Morgan Spector, Christine Baranski, Cynthia Nixon, Louisa Jacobson (who's actress Meryl Streep's youngest child), Nathan Lane and more — then returned for a second season that ended in December 2023. A third season is in the works.
The drama kicks off in 1882 as penniless but pedigreed Marian Brook, having lost her father, moves from Pennsylvania to New York City to live with her old-money aunts, Agnes van Rhijn and Ada Brook. Marian forges a friendship with Peggy Scott, a young Black writer seeking a fresh start after a tragedy, and soon enters society where she witnesses a social war between its established rulers — including her formidable aunt — and her wildly wealthy new-money neighbors, railroad tycoon George Russell and his ambitious wife, Bertha (pictured). Meanwhile, the servants and staff endure dramas, highs and lows of their own.
MORE: See the best period costumes of all time
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In the quirky, playful and absolutely stunning 2024 Apple TV+ period comedy-drama series "Palm Royale," Kristen Wiig plays Maxine Simmons, a former pageant queen who's obsessed with breaking into high society after moving to Palm Beach, Florida, with her handsome husband Douglas, an airline pilot with a history in the boozy, gossip-soaked town. The 1969-set series is chock-full of stunning costumes and sets as well as A-list talent — from Carol Burnett, Allison Janney and Leslie Bibb as society snobs to Ricky Martin as a connected country club server to Laura Dern as a smart, savvy feminist. The show is very loosely based on the 2018 novel "Mr. & Mrs. American Pie" by Juliet McDaniel.
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The period drama "The New Look" — which is named after Christian Dior's famed late-1940s design aesthetic — tells the story of Dior and fellow fashion designer Coco Chanel set against the backdrop of World War II as they navigate the horrors of Nazi occupation of France and launch modern fashion.
The 10-episode Apple TV+ series, which was filmed in Paris, is inspired by true events and also features storylines involving some of their contemporaries, friends and rivals including Pierre Balmain, Cristóbal Balenciaga, Lucien Lelong and more. Ben Mendelsohn plays Dior; John Malkovich is his boss, French couturier Lelong (pictured with Mendelsohn); Juliette Binoche takes on Chanel; Maisie Williams is Dior's sister, a fighter in the French resistance who ends up in a Nazi work camp; and Glenn Close is Carmel Snow, the legendary editor-in-chief of iconic fashion magazine Harper's Bazaar.
Keep reading to see Binoche as Chanel…
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Juliette Binoche plays fashion designer Coco Chanel — who was accused of working with the Nazis during France's World War II occupation — in the 2024 Apple TV+ series "The New Look." (She's seen here opposite Claes Bang as Hans Von Dincklage, aka Spatz, a German spy and Nazi propagandist.
"What I feel responsible for is to give a human side of Chanel — not to excuse her or save her, because it is not my role — but for people to understand her, where she came from," the actress told Harper's Bazaar. "As I was reading books and understanding where she was coming from, I could feel that there were big traumas behind [her decisions], because this need of conquering, this need of survival comes from a [personal] place."
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"The Buccaneers" centers around a group of American débutantes — played by Alisha Boe, Josie Totah, Kristine Frøseth, Aubri Ibrag and Imogen Waterhouse — looking for love in London, where their modern sensibilities are at odds with the traditions of English high society in the 1870s. The first season of the Apple TV+ drama — which is based on Edith Wharton's unfinished novel of the same name, published posthumously in 1938 — debuted in late 2023. A second season is currently in the works. (Season 1 earned decent reviews from critics but was a HUGE hit with fans, scoring a 94% fresh rating from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes.)
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The PBS Masterpiece series "Miss Scarlet & the Duke" debuted in 2021. Kate Phillips — you know her from other killer period shows like "Peaky Blinders" and "The Crown" — stars as Eliza Scarlet, the brilliant, plucky daughter of a renowned London private detective who turns up dead. With the reluctant and occasional help of family friend and Scotland Yard detective William Wellington (aka the Duke, played by Stuart Martin), with whom she shares a crackling romantic chemistry — Eliza takes over the family sleuthing business and takes on the challenges of being the only female investigator in Victorian London.
After season 4 aired in the States in 2024, PBS announced that the series had been picked up for a fifth season — but that the Duke won't be returning. The series is also being renamed "Miss Scarlet."
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The PBS "Masterpiece" series "All Creatures Great and Small" debuted in America in 2021. The seven-episode first season stars TV newcomer Nicholas Ralph as veterinarian James Herriot and is, like the original British series of the same name that aired in the 1970s, based on real-life veterinary surgeon James Alfred Wight's books written under his James Herriot pen name. It beautifully chronicles James's adventures as an animal doctor on the farms and in the homes of England's Yorkshire residents in the 1930s. Season 3 debuted on PBS in 2023 and a fourth season — which will be set during WWII — premieres in 2024.
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"Outlander" — the STARZ series based on Diana Gabaldon's bestselling book series — kicks off as English military nurse-turned-surgeon Claire Randall (played by Caitriona Balfe) mysteriously disappears from her life and husband in post-World War II 1946 upon touching ancient standing stones, only to reappear in Scotland in 1743. While there, Claire is forced to marry warrior Jamie Fraser (played by Sam Heughan) for protection, but ends up falling in love with him as they go on to endure unspeakable tragedies along with inspiring triumphs. So far, this action-packed romantic fantasy-historical drama, which is now set in pre-Revolutionary War America following a few more time-traveling adventures, has left us with our knickers in a serious twist. Season 7 debuted in 2023 — and an eighth and final season is in the works.
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Alexander Dreymon stars as Uhtred of Bebbanburg on the BBC America and Netflix historical drama "The Last Kingdom." Uhtred was born into Saxon nobility but raised by the Danish invaders who conquered his homeland. Although brave and just, Uhtred struggles with his allegiances and with his desire to reclaim the kingdom that was once his. A fifth and final season debuted in 2022 and a movie wrapping things up dropped in 2023.
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Claire Foy starred as Britain's Queen Elizabeth II on the Netflix original series "The Crown" when the award-winning historical drama kicked off set in 1947. The series chronicles the fascinating journey of the longest reigning monarch in British history through her marriage to Prince Philip (initially played by Matt Smith), her early years on the throne and the choices — and sacrifices — she makes to become one of the most legendary queens the world has ever known.
Seasons 3 and 4 showcased a new cast including Olivia Colman as the monarch and "Outlander" star Tobias Menzies as Philip in their middle-age years (both won Emmys for their work in 2021).
A fifth season with a new cast yet again — including Imelda Staunton as Elizabeth, Jonathan Pryce as Philip, Lesley Manville as Princess Margaret, Dominic West as Prince Charles, Elizabeth Debicki as Princess Diana and more — debuted in 2022 and a sixth and final season premiered at the end of 2023.
MORE: How much actors on "The Crown" resemble the royals they're playing
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The Shelbys are one of our favorite crime families from across the pond, and in 2022, they returned for the sixth and final season of "Peaky Blinders." Cillian Murphy stars as Tommy Shelby, the calculating WWI veteran-turned-gang boss and, later, cunning politician who calls the shots in Birmingham, England, in the early 20th century. The brilliant and tortured soul is as determined to expand his family's criminal enterprises as he is to expand his political power. A "Peaky Blinders" movie will follow the series — creator Steven Knight revealed it will shoot in 2023.
MORE: Best movies about the mafia
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Considered one of the sexiest dramas to date, "Mad Men" starring Jon Hamm as ad executive Don Draper was a martini-drenched look at the world of advertising in New York during the 1960s. The Emmy-winning show ended in 2015 after seven delicious seasons.
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The historical drama "Poldark" begins just after the American Revolutionary War and follows British Army captain Ross Poldark (played by Aidan Turner) as he returns home to his land and mines in Cornwall, England, to find his fiancée engaged to another man. As he builds a new life, he also finds a new love and, unfortunately, new battles to fight and fresh heartbreak to endure. The fifth and final season aired on PBS in 2019.
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Sometimes the hype is well-deserved and that's absolutely the case with the Netflix original series "Stranger Things," which stars a fresh-faced cast of child actors including (from left) Gaten Matarazzo, Finn Wolfhard and Caleb McLaughlin. The premise of this dramatic thriller is complicated, but it involves a terrifying land called The Upside Down, the 1980s, children who've disappeared and a telekinetic little girl named Eleven (played by the brilliant Millie Bobby Brown). Word of warning — don't watch this show alone. Or with the lights out. The show's fourth season dropped in 2022 and a fifth and final season is on the way.
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Pedro Pascal (left) and Boyd Holbrook (right) starred on the Netflix original series "Narcos" as two drug enforcement agents sent to Colombia to take down notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar. The first three seasons of the biographical crime drama are available on Netflix, as is the first season of "Narcos: Mexico" — a companion series that charts the rise of the Guadalajara drug cartel in the 1980s and stars Diego Luna, among others. The third season of companion series "Narcos: Mexico" was released in 2021.
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Based on the real-life political figure Enoch L. Johnson, "Boardwalk Empire" was a lush, award-winning HBO original series about how "Nucky" (played by Steve Buscemi, right) came to rule over Atlantic City, New Jersey, in the 1920s and 1930s by covertly working with other gangsters. The Prohibition-era series ran from 2010 to 2014.
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Set in the 1700s, Netflix's "Frontier" tells the story of Declan Harp (played by Jason Momoa), an outlaw with big plans to break into the Canadian fur trade business, even if that means crossing the company that has exclusive control. Its third and final season debuted in 2018.
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Jonathan Rhys Meyers starred as King Henry VIII on the Showtime original series "The Tudors," which aired from 2007 to 2010. The show highlighted the wars and many women (including Natalie Dormer as Anne Boleyn) in the life of this notorious British monarch. Based on real-life events, the historical drama featured more scandal than a modern-day soap opera. (Just ask Henry Cavill, who played the king's duke bestie, Charles Brandon.)
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Celebrated author Jane Austen died in 1817 before she could finish her final novel, which was set in a seaside town in England. "Pride and Prejudice" and "Les Miserables" screenwriter Andrew Davies took what she had and ran with it in the 2020 PBS series "Sanditon" — which concluded with season 3 in 2023. The beautifully costumed and acted love story follows Charlotte Heywood (Rose Williams, center), the daughter of a rural landowner who finds herself drawn into the drama and excitement surrounding the aristocratic inhabitants of an on-the-rise beach holiday town where she falls in love and suffers losses before finally getting her happy ending.
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Welcome to Madrid in the late 1920s, the setting for Netflix's soapy, stylish and oh-so-binge-worthy Spanish period drama "Cable Girls," which debuted on the streamer in 2017. The five-season series follows four young women working as switchboard operators at Spain's first phone company at a time when women were pushing for more equality. As friendships between the women deepen, so does the drama around them, leaving the "cable girls" — played by Blanca Suárez, Ana Fernández, Nadia de Santiago and Maggie Civantos — to navigate a litany of loves, lies and abuses while leaning on each other for support. The fashion alone is worth a peek.
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"Beecham House" is a gorgeous six-part drama from Gurinder Chadha (who wrote and directed "Bend It Like Beckham" and "Bride and Prejudice") that debuted on PBS's "Masterpiece" in 2020. Set in the late 1700s, the lush series follows a principled and secretive British former soldier (the dashing Tom Bateman, who's known to some for his acting in "Murder on the Orient Express" and "Vanity Fair" and to others as actress Daisy Ridley's real-life husband) desperate to keep his family safe after moving into a stunning mansion in Delhi, India. The drama — which has been favorably compared to "Downton Abbey" (and coincidentally co-stars Lesley Nicol, who played cook Mrs. Patmore on the older PBS show) — follows his life as it intersects with all the gossip and intrigue swirling amongst the servants caring for his home and at the nearby palace.
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In 2019, HBO released the third and final season of "The Deuce." Starring Maggie Gyllenhaal as baby-faced prostitute and single mom Candy, the series, which also stars James Franco as twins Vincent and Frankie Martino, dives deep into the world of sex trafficking and pornography in New York during the 1970s and '80s.
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One of the hottest shows on Hulu was "Harlots." Starring Samantha Morton as brothel madam Margaret Wells and Danny Sapani as her lover and business partner William North (both pictured), the show kicked off with the antics of rival brothel owners Margaret and Lydia Quigley (played by Lesley Manville) in 18th century England as they battled for customers and turf. Along the way, there's murder, deceit and (of course) a whole lot of sex. Actors including "Downton Abbey" alum Jessica Brown Findlay, Liv Tyler and Alfie Allen have also starred on the series, which concluded after three seasons in 2019.
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The coolest thing about NBC's "Timeless" was that it was sort of a period piece, but also a modern drama. The premise? A rogue bad guy has stolen one of two secret government time traveling machines and is intent on destroying every major moment in American history. To stop him, a ragtag team played by actors including Matt Lanter (left), Malcolm Barrett (center) and Abigail Spencer (right) must follow the madman and try to catch him before he permanently changes the past. The series was canceled after its first season but fans rallied together and got the show picked back up by the network for a second run. However, it was then over for good after a two-part finale aired in late 2018.
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The 2016 miniseries reboot of "Roots" was a powerful look at the legacy of slavery from the moment of capture through the generations of family members that followed. Michael Kirby starred as Kunta Kinte on this History channel semi-biographical journey that was as uplifting as it was heart-wrenching.
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"11.22.63" is the small-screen adaption of the Stephen King sci-fi historical thriller about one man's journey back in time to stop the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The 2016 Hulu show starred James Franco as Jake Epping, a modern-day high school English teacher who is suddenly charged with the task of changing history by walking through a secret time portal into the past.
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Norse mythology comes to life on the History channel's 2013 drama "Vikings," which starred Travis Fimmel as Ragnar Lothbrok — one of the greatest Viking warriors of the ninth century. A 20-episode sixth (and final) season debuted in 2019.
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On the 2022 Apple TV+ series "The Essex Serpent," Tom Hiddleston starred as a Victorian vicar drawn into a charged relationship with Claire Danes's amateur scientist who's investigating reports of a mythical serpent haunting the marshes of Essex, England. The limited series, which is based on Sarah Perry's book of the same name, ran for six episodes.
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In 2017, the fourth and final season of "Turn: Washington's Spies" aired on AMC. It starred Jamie Bell as Abraham Woodhull (aka Samuel Culper), the leader of a band of spies called the Culper Ring. This historical war drama, which was based on real-life events, started in 1776 and followed Abe and his friends as they worked together to spy for General George Washington, helping his fight for American independence.
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One of the wickedest shows set in late-17th century Massachusetts was "Salem" starring Lucy Lawless (left) as the magical Countess Marburg and Janet Montgomery (right) as Mary Sibley, a woman of means and political power who also happens to be the head witch in her coven. Interestingly, the show, which premiered on WGN, was loosely based on real historical figures from the infamous Salem witch trials, although the writers took liberties with the characters (and endowed many with supernatural powers). It was canceled in 2017 but all three seasons are available on Netflix.
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"The Get Down," which debuted in 2016, barely made it past its first season on Netflix, but we think the series, which starred Jaden Smith as Marcus "Dizzee" Kipling, deserves a nod. Set in the Bronx in the 1970s during the birth of hip hop, the show (which was Oscar nominee Baz Luhrmann's first TV show — and reportedly Netflix's most expensive-to-produce project ever thanks to a $120 budget for 12 episodes) didn't just feature powerful performances but some amazing music too. Netflix wrapped things up with a five-episode second part in 2017.
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Another drama loosely based on actual historical figures is the CW series "Reign," which told the story of young King Francis II of France (Toby Regbo, right) and his young bride, Queen Mary Stuart (Adelaide Kane, center) in the mid-16th century. Filled with all the intrigue, drama and deceit of a royal court, the show managed to hold its own for four strong seasons before being canceled in 2017.
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Leave it to Netflix to remind us that "Marco Polo" isn't just a fun game to play in the pool in the summer, but the name of a real explorer. The show ran for two seasons starting in 2014 and focused on the time Marco (played by Lorenzo Richelmy) spent in Mongolia in the court of the great warrior Kublai Khan in the late 13th century.
