🏷 Discover The Best Historical Drama Movies & TV Shows To Watch Today

88 titles with this tag

Unravel the Mysteries of the Past: Top Historical Drama Movies and TV Shows

Step into the world of historical drama, where the past comes alive in cinematic masterpieces that transport you to bygone eras. From epic battles to intimate moments, these movies and TV shows are a must-watch for anyone fascinated by the intricacies of history. Let's delve into the best of the best, exploring the most captivating historical dramas that have left an indelible mark on the world of entertainment.

The Romance Of Three Kingdoms (1994) TV Show

9.1 40 votes

Genre: Drama, War

Country: China

Seasons: 1

Episodes: 84

Audience: NR

Story: Adapted from the classical 14th century novel of the same title by Luo Guanzhong, Romance of the Three Kingdoms is part historical, part legend, and part mythical – romanticises and dramatises the lives of feudal lords and their retainers, who tried to replace the dwindling Han dynasty or restore it. The focus is mainly on the three power blocs that emerged from the remnants of the Han dynasty, and would eventually form the three states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu.

Plot: based on novel or book, beijing, china, historical drama, costume drama, nanjing, people's liberation army, war, ...

Cast

Bai Yu

Zhou Yutong

Zhu Yawen

Yu Haoming

Swords Into Plowshares (2026) TV Show

8.8 16 votes

Genre: Drama

Country: China

Seasons: 1

Episodes: 48

Story: During the tumultuous period of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, three determined youths—Qian Hongshu, Zhao Kuangyin, and Guo Rong—navigate the chaos of political upheaval and war as they strive to overcome the suffering caused by endless conflict.

Plot: historical fiction, historical drama, costume drama, five dynasties and ten kingdoms period

Time: 10th century

Cast

Sun Li

Ada Choi Siu-Fan

Jiang Xin

Lan Xi

Empresses in the Palace (2011) TV Show

8.6 71 votes

Genre: Drama

Country: China

Seasons: 1

Episodes: 76

Audience: TV-14

Story: Zhen Huan, a 17-year-old innocent introduced into the imperial court as the latest concubine of Emperor Yong Zheng. Her dreams of a new life of love and prosperity are swiftly dashed as she enters a dog-eat-dog world of treachery and corruption.

Plot: empress, historical, historical drama, forbidden city, qing dynasty, chinese history, court intrigue, cliché

Time: 18th century

Cast

Michael Cudlitz

Rick Gomez

Scott Grimes

Damian Lewis

Band of Brothers (2001) TV Show

8.6 4.2K votes

Genre: Drama, War

Country: United States of America

Seasons: 1

Episodes: 10

Audience: TV-MA

Story: Drawn from interviews with survivors of Easy Company, as well as their journals and letters, Band of Brothers chronicles the experiences of these men from paratrooper training in Georgia through the end of the war. As an elite rifle company parachuting into Normandy early on D-Day morning, participants in the Battle of the Bulge, and witness to the horrors of war, the men of Easy knew extraordinary bravery and extraordinary fear - and became the stuff of legend. Based on Stephen E. Ambrose's acclaimed book of the same name.

Plot: based on novel or book, us army, paratroops, miniseries, historical, combat, historical drama, tank battle, ...

Time: world war ii, 1940s

Cast

Cillian Murphy

Paul Anderson

Sophie Rundle

Natasha O'Keeffe

Peaky Blinders (2013) TV Show

8.5 11.2K votes

Genre: Crime, Drama

Country: United Kingdom

Seasons: 6

Episodes: 36

Audience: TV-MA

Story: A gangster family epic set in 1919 Birmingham, England and centered on a gang who sew razor blades in the peaks of their caps, and their fierce boss Tommy Shelby, who means to move up in the world.

Style: suspenseful

Plot: gypsy, corruption, gangster, outlaw, murder, drugs, criminal, period drama, ...

Time: 1920s, 1910s

Place: england

Cast

Lee Joon-gi

Kang Ha-neul

Hong Jong-hyun

Scarlet Heart: Ryeo (2016) TV Show

8.5 584 votes

Genre: Drama, Science Fiction, War

Country: South Korea

Seasons: 1

Episodes: 20

Story: A story of a 25-year-old Go Hajin who is transported back in time to the Goryeo Dynasty. She then wakes up in the body of Lady Hae Soo and finds herself amongst the ruling princes of the Wang Family.

Plot: love triangle, based on novel or book, obsession, forbidden love, palace, time travel, royal family, politics, ...

Time: medieval, 10th century

Cast

Anya Taylor-Joy

Chloe Pirrie

The Queen's Gambit (2020) TV Show

8.4 5.6K votes

Genre: Drama

Country: United States of America

Seasons: 1

Episodes: 7

Audience: TV-MA

Story: In a 1950s orphanage, a young girl reveals an astonishing talent for chess and begins an unlikely journey to stardom while grappling with addiction.

Style: intimate

Plot: chess, based on novel or book, kentucky, female friendship, addiction, orphanage, coming of age, miniseries, ...

Time: 1950s, 1960s, cold war era

Cast

Hiroyuki Sanada

Cosmo Jarvis

Anna Sawai

Tadanobu Asano

Shōgun (2024) TV Show

8.4 1.8K votes

Genre: Drama, War

Country: United States of America

Seasons: 1

Episodes: 10

Audience: TV-MA

Story: In Japan in the year 1600, at the dawn of a century-defining civil war, Lord Yoshii Toranaga is fighting for his life as his enemies on the Council of Regents unite against him, when a mysterious European ship is found marooned in a nearby fishing village.

Plot: civil war, based on novel or book, samurai, interpreter, miniseries, fish out of water, jidaigeki, historical drama, ...

Time: 17th century

Place: japan

My Dearest (2023) TV Show

8.3 53 votes

Genre: Drama, Mystery

Country: South Korea

Seasons: 1

Episodes: 21

Story: A love-story between a noblewoman and a mysterious man who shows up in her hometown set in the 1600s during the Qing invasion.

Plot: love triangle, love, romance, historical drama, forced marriage, joseon dynasty (1392–1910), chinese invasion of korea, ambitious girl, ...

Time: 17th century

Cast

Alexander Dreymon

Eliza Butterworth

Mark Rowley

Ruby Hartley

The Last Kingdom (2015) TV Show

8.3 2.0K votes

Genre: Action, Drama, War

Country: United Kingdom

Seasons: 5

Episodes: 46

Audience: TV-MA

Story: A show of heroic deeds and epic battles with a thematic depth that embraces politics, religion, warfare, courage, love, loyalty and our universal search for identity. Combining real historical figures and events with fictional characters, it is the story of how a people combined their strength under one of the most iconic kings of history in order to reclaim their land for themselves and build a place they call home.

Style: dark, gritty, violent

Plot: based on novel or book, vikings (norsemen), royalty, historical fiction, king, historical, historical drama, costume drama, ...

Time: 9th century, middle ages

Cast

Ju Ji-hoon

Ryu Seung-ryong

Bae Doona

Kim Sang-ho

Kingdom (2019) TV Show

8.2 1.2K votes

Genre: Drama, Mystery

Country: South Korea

Seasons: 2

Episodes: 12

Audience: TV-MA

Story: In this zombie thriller set in Korea's medieval Joseon dynasty which has been defeated by corruption and famine, a mysterious rumor of the king’s death spreads, as does a strange plague that renders the infected immune to death and hungry for flesh. The crown prince, fallen victim to a conspiracy, sets out on a journey to unveil the evil scheme and save his people.

Plot: prince, kingdom, royal family, based on comic, outbreak, zombie, palace intrigue, historical drama, ...

Time: 16th century

Cast

Imelda Staunton

Jonathan Pryce

Lesley Manville

Dominic West

The Crown (2016) TV Show

8.2 2.4K votes

Genre: Drama

Country: United Kingdom, United States of America

Seasons: 6

Episodes: 60

Audience: TV-MA

Story: The gripping, decades-spanning inside story of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the Prime Ministers who shaped Britain's post-war destiny.The Crown tells the inside story of two of the most famous addresses in the world – Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street – and the intrigues, love lives and machinations behind the great events that shaped the second half of the 20th century. Two houses, two courts, one Crown.

Style: intimate

Plot: queen, prince, dynasty, royal family, princess, based on true story, royalty, based on play or musical, ...

Place: england

Cast

Halit Ergenu00e7

Nur Fettahou011flu

Meryem Uzerli

Engin u00d6ztu00fcrk

The Magnificent Century (2011) TV Show

8.1 801 votes

Genre: Action, Drama

Country: Turkey

Seasons: 4

Episodes: 139

Story: At the age of 26, when his reign began, Sultan Süleyman sought to build an empire more powerful than Alexander the Great and to render the Ottomans invincible. Throughout his 46-year reign, his fame as the greatest warrior and ruler of his age spreads both to the East and West. With his companion Pargalı İbrahim, Süleyman achieves great victories, and makes his name known in the Muslim World. Süleyman called İbrahim his brother, friend and advisor. The television series shows Süleyman's consolidation of his power: Pargalı İbrahim being grand minister of state, reinforcing the rule of law throughout the empire, meeting foreign diplomats, and preparing for military campaigns, all set against the backdrop of the tension between Christian Europe and the Ottoman Empire.

Plot: palace, royal family, historical, palace intrigue, historical drama, ottoman empire, ottoman, court intrigue, ...

Time: 16th century

Cast

William Franklyn-Miller

Ben Kingsley

Mary-Louise Parker

Leo Hanna

Young Washington (2026)

8.1 26 votes

Genre: Drama, History, War

Country: United States of America, Ireland

Duration: 125 min.

Audience: PG-13

Story: Before he led a nation, George Washington was a young soldier thrown into a global conflict. With alliances crumbling and war closing in, he must choose who to trust and confront the leader he's becoming.

Plot: based on novel or book, biography, period drama, duringcreditsstinger, historical drama, inspirational, bold, cliché, ...

Time: 18th century

Cast

Alex Hu00f8gh Andersen

Jordan Patrick Smith

Marco Ilsu00f8

Peter Franzu00e9n

Vikings (2013) TV Show

8.1 7.7K votes

Genre: Action, Drama, War

Country: Canada, Ireland

Seasons: 6

Episodes: 89

Audience: TV-MA

Story: The adventures of Ragnar Lothbrok, the greatest hero of his age. The series tells the sagas of Ragnar's band of Viking brothers and his family, as he rises to become King of the Viking tribes. As well as being a fearless warrior, Ragnar embodies the Norse traditions of devotion to the gods. Legend has it that he was a direct descendant of Odin, the god of war and warriors.

Style: suspenseful, intense, violent

Plot: vikings (norsemen), royalty, historical fiction, king, battle, historical, middle ages (476-1453), norse mythology, ...

Time: dark ages, 8th century

Place: scandinavia

Cast

Tatsuya Nakadai

Akira Terao

Jinpachi Nezu

Daisuke Ryu016b

Ran (1985)

8.0 1.8K votes

Genre: Action, Drama, History

Country: Japan, France

Duration: 160 min.

Audience: R

Story: Shakespeare's King Lear is reimagined as a singular historical epic set in sixteenth-century Japan where an aging warlord divides his kingdom between his three sons.

Plot: assassination, kingdom, gun, greed, castle, siege, heir to the throne, revenge, ...

Cast

Adelaide Kane

Will Kemp

Dan Jeannotte

Megan Follows

Reign (2013) TV Show

8.0 882 votes

Genre: Drama

Country: United States of America

Seasons: 4

Episodes: 78

Audience: TV-14

Story: Mary, Queen of Scots, faces political and sexual intrigue in the treacherous world of the French court.

Plot: europe, queen, arranged marriage, castle, royal family, based on true story, female protagonist, historical fiction, ...

Time: 16th century

Place: france

Society of the Snow (2023)

8.0 3.5K votes

Genre: Drama, History

Country: Spain, United States of America

Duration: 143 min.

Audience: R

Story: On October 13, 1972, Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, chartered to take a rugby team to Chile, crashes into a glacier in the heart of the Andes.

Style: inspiring, dark

Plot: rescue, friendship, based on novel or book, prayer, brotherhood, based on true story, rugby, uruguay, ...

Time: 1970s

Cast

Pablo Cruz Guerrero

Paulina Du00e1vila

Bu00e1rbara Lu00f3pez

Arturo Barba

Chespirito: Not Really on Purpose (2025) TV Show

8.0 467 votes

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Country: Mexico

Seasons: 1

Episodes: 8

Audience: TV-MA

Story: Miniseries that follow the life and career of Mexican actor, comedian and producer Roberto Gómez Bolaños, known for being the creator of El Chavo del 8, El Chapulín Colorado and Chespirito.

Plot: biography, historical figure, historical drama, mexican history

Place: mexico

Cast

Bel Powley

Joe Cole

Liev Schreiber

Amira Casar

A Small Light (2023) TV Show

7.9 119 votes

Genre: Drama, War

Country: United States of America

Seasons: 1

Episodes: 8

Audience: TV-14

Story: Miep Gies didn't hesitate when her boss Otto Frank came to her and asked her to hide his family from the Nazis during World War II. For the next two years, Miep, her husband Jan, and the other helpers watched over the eight souls in hiding in the Secret Annex. And it was Miep who found Anne's Diary and kept it safe so Otto, the only one of the eight who survived, could later share it with the world as one of the most powerful accounts of the Holocaust.

Plot: holocaust (shoah), anne frank, miniseries, historical drama

Time: world war ii

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