Top Historical Drama Movies & TV Shows

Cast

Kerry Washington

Sam Waterston

Susan Sarandon

Dean Norris

The Six Triple Eight (2024)

7.6 697 votes

Genre: Drama, History, War

Country: United States of America

Duration: 130 min.

Audience: PG-13

Story: During World War II, the US Army's only all-Black, all-women battalion takes on an impossible mission: sorting through a three-year backlog of 17 million pieces of mail that hadn't been delivered to American soldiers and finish within six months.

Plot: racial segregation, based on true story, moral courage, based on magazine, newspaper or article, african american history, human dignity, heartfelt, ...

Time: world war ii, 1940s

Cast

Kamila Urzu0119dowska

Robert Gulaczyk

Mirosu0142aw Baka

Sonia Mietielica

The Peasants (2023)

7.5 165 votes

Genre: Animation, Drama, History

Country: Poland, Lithuania

Duration: 115 min.

Audience: R

Story: Peasant girl Jagna is forced to marry the much older, wealthy farmer Boryna, despite her love for his son Antek. With time, Jagna becomes the object of envy and disdain with the villagers and she must fight to preserve her independence.

Plot: adultery, based on novel or book, peasant, sexual violence, marriage for money, adult animation, historical drama, peasant girl, ...

Time: 19th century

Place: poland

Cast

Andrew Scott

Brendan Fraser

Kerry Condon

Chris Messina

Pressure (2026)

7.5 139 votes

Genre: History, Thriller, War

Country: United Kingdom, France

Duration: 101 min.

Audience: PG-13

Story: In the tense 72 hours before D-Day, and the fate of the free world hanging in the balance, General Dwight D. Eisenhower and Captain James Stagg face an impossible choice—launch the largest and most dangerous seaborne invasion in history or risk losing the war altogether.

Plot: weather forecast, metereologist, d-day, historical drama, extreme weather, matter of fact, unexpected problems, high‑stakes mission

Time: world war ii, 1940s

Cast

Charlotte Hope

Ruairu00ed O'Connor

Laura Carmichael

Philip Cumbus

The Spanish Princess (2019) TV Show

7.5 462 votes

Genre: Drama

Country: United Kingdom, United States of America

Seasons: 2

Episodes: 16

Audience: TV-MA

Story: The beautiful Spanish princess, Catherine of Aragon, navigates the royal lineage of England with an eye on the throne.

Plot: queen, royal family, princess, tudor, king, historical drama, aragon

Time: 16th century

Place: england, spain

Cast

Aaron Pierre

Kelvin Harrison Jr.

Jayme Lawson

Weruche Opia

Genius (2017) TV Show

7.5 306 votes

Genre: Drama

Country: United States of America

Seasons: 4

Episodes: 36

Audience: TV-14

Story: The life stories of history's greatest minds. From their days as young adults to their final years we see their discoveries, loves, relationships, causes, flaws and genius.

Plot: biography, genius, anthology, historical drama, math genius, ecentric genius, history and legacy

Cast

Matt Damon

Adam Driver

Jodie Comer

Ben Affleck

The Last Duel (2021)

7.4 3.9K votes

Genre: Drama, History, Thriller

Country: United States of America

Duration: 153 min.

Audience: R

Story: King Charles VI declares that Knight Jean de Carrouges settle his dispute with his squire, Jacques Le Gris, by challenging him to a duel.

Plot: based on novel or book, castle, male friendship, normandy, france, based on true story, trial, battlefield, ...

Time: 14th century

Cast

Cheng Yi

Joseph Zeng

Xiao Shunyao

Chen Duling

Mysterious Lotus Casebook (2023) TV Show

7.4 42 votes

Genre: Drama, Mystery

Seasons: 1

Episodes: 40

Story: Li Lian Hua is a countryside doctor who travels dragging around a lotus tower. He accidentally becomes "famous" and gets pulled into the pugilistic world that he no longer wants to have any connections with.

Plot: martial arts, investigation, conspiracy, bromance, wuxia, hidden identity, historical drama, costume drama, ...

Cast

Lorenzo Richelmy

Benedict Wong

Joan Chen

Remy Hii

Marco Polo (2014) TV Show

7.4 622 votes

Genre: Action, Drama

Country: United States of America

Seasons: 2

Episodes: 20

Audience: TV-MA

Story: Set in a world of greed, betrayal, sexual intrigue and rivalry, this lavish drama series follows explorer Marco Polo's adventures in the 13th century.

Plot: historical, explorer, marco polo, historical drama, kublai khan, ancient asia, mongol empire, sword & shield, ...

Time: medieval, 13th century

Victoria (2016) TV Show

7.4 286 votes

Genre: Drama

Country: United Kingdom, United States of America

Seasons: 3

Episodes: 24

Audience: TV-PG

Story: The story of Queen Victoria, who came to the throne at a time of great economic turbulence and resurgent republicanism – and died 64 years later the head of the largest empire the world had ever seen, having revitalised the throne’s public image and become “grandmother of Europe”.

Plot: london, england, monarchy, royal family, romance, royalty, period drama, british history, ...

Time: 19th century

Place: britain

The Butler (2013)

7.3 3.1K votes

Genre: Drama

Country: United States of America

Duration: 132 min.

Audience: PG-13

Story: Cecil Gaines was a sharecropper's son who grew up in the 1920s as a domestic servant for the white family who casually destroyed his. Eventually striking out on his own, Cecil becomes a hotel valet of such efficiency and discreteness in the 1950s that he becomes a butler in the White House itself. There, Cecil would serve numerous US Presidents over the decades as a passive witness of history with the American Civil Rights Movement gaining momentum even as his family has troubles of its own. As his wife, Gloria, struggles with alcoholism and his defiant eldest son, Louis, strives for a just world, Cecil must decide whether he should take action in his own way.

Plot: usa president, the white house, butler, slavery, john f. kennedy, black panther party, racial segregation, martin luther king, ...

Time: 1970s, 1980s, 1950s, ...

Cast

Ellie Kendrick

Kate Ashfield

Iain Glen

Tamsin Greig

The Diary of Anne Frank (2009) TV Show

7.3 372 votes

Genre: Drama, War

Country: United Kingdom

Seasons: 1

Episodes: 5

Story: Five-part adaptation of Anne Frank's famous wartime diaries in which a young teenager and her family go into hiding from the Nazis in wartime Amsterdam.

Plot: based on novel or book, holocaust (shoah), nazi, diary, anne frank, miniseries, nazi occupation, historical drama, ...

Time: world war ii, 1940s

Cast

Hugh Jackman

Russell Crowe

Amanda Seyfried

Anne Hathaway

Les Misérables (2012)

7.3 5.6K votes

Genre: Drama, History

Country: United Kingdom, United States of America

Duration: 158 min.

Audience: PG-13

Story: An adaptation of the successful stage musical based on Victor Hugo's classic novel set in 19th-century France. Jean Valjean, a man imprisoned for stealing bread, must flee a relentless policeman named Javert. The pursuit consumes both men's lives, and soon Valjean finds himself in the midst of the student revolutions in France.

Plot: rebellion, army, robbery, based on novel or book, love triangle, love at first sight, brothel, mayor, ...

Time: 19th century

Place: france

Cast

u00c1lvaro Morte

Rodrigo Santoro

Sergio Peris-Mencheta

Carlos Cuevas

Boundless (2022) TV Show

7.3 122 votes

Genre: Action, Drama

Country: Spain, United States of America

Seasons: 1

Episodes: 6

Audience: TV-MA

Story: The First Circumvallation Around the World, tracking the 1519–22 voyage initiated by Ferdinand Magellan and culminated by Juan Sebastián Elcano.

Plot: journey around the world, historical drama, spanish history, age of discovery

Time: 16th century

Cast

Rebecca Ferguson

Max Irons

Amanda Hale

Janet McTeer

The White Queen (2013) TV Show

7.3 364 votes

Genre: Drama

Country: United Kingdom, United States of America

Seasons: 1

Episodes: 10

Audience: TV-MA

Story: Set against the backdrop of the Wars of the Roses, the series is the story of the women caught up in the protracted conflict for the throne of England.

Plot: queen, monarchy, royal family, miniseries, palace intrigue, historical drama, war of the roses, secret wedding

Time: 15th century

Place: england

Cast

Robert Redford

Meryl Streep

Klaus Maria Brandauer

Michael Kitchen

Out of Africa (1985)

7.2 1.5K votes

Genre: Drama, History, Romance

Country: United States of America

Duration: 161 min.

Audience: PG

Story: Tells the life story of Danish author Karen Blixen, who at the beginning of the 20th century moved to Africa to build a new life for herself. The film is based on her 1937 autobiographical novel.

Style: melancholy, romantic

Plot: farm, infidelity, africa, plantation, safari, coffee grower, romance, based on memoir or autobiography, ...

Time: 1910s

Place: nairobi, kenya

Cast

Akshay Kumar

Parineeti Chopra

Mir Sarwar

Ashwath Bhatt

Kesari (2019)

7.1 126 votes

Genre: Action, Drama, History

Country: India

Duration: 151 min.

Audience: 15

Story: In 1897, an army of 21 Sikhs battles 10,000 Afghans to prevent the Saragarhi Fort from being taken down.

Plot: kingdom, patriotism, based on true story, king, historical drama, periodic

Time: 19th century

Cast

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Petr Kotlu00e1r

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Nina u0160uneviu010d

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Alla Sokolova

Udo Kier

The Painted Bird (2019)

7.1 188 votes

Genre: Drama, Thriller, War

Country: Slovakia, Czech Republic

Duration: 169 min.

Story: After losing his parents, a young Jewish boy wanders Eastern Europe, seeking refuge during World War II.

Plot: child abuse, based on novel or book, war crimes, fairy tale, jewish ghetto, holocaust (shoah), german-polish border, sexual violence, ...

Time: world war ii, 1940s, 20th century

Place: poland

Cast

Wu Jing

Nicholas Tse Ting-Fung

Chen Lijun

Yu Shi

Blades of the Guardians (2026)

7.1 90 votes

Genre: Action, Adventure

Country: China

Duration: 126 min.

Audience: R

Story: Dao Ma, the "second most wanted fugitive," is entrusted by his benefactor, the chief of Mo family clan, to take on a mysterious escort mission-escorting the "most wanted fugitive" to Chang'an.

Style: nostalgic

Plot: martial arts, bounty hunter, wuxia, historical drama, historical epic, a.d. anno domini, based on manhua, grand, ...

Cast

Sunny Deol

Varun Dhawan

Diljit Dosanjh

Ahan Shetty

Border 2 (2026)

7.1 27 votes

Genre: Action, Drama, War

Country: India

Duration: 201 min.

Audience: R

Story: Three idealistic soldiers in the Indian army, navy and air force face grueling combat conditions in this film set during the 1971 Indo-Pak war.

Plot: based on true story, sequel, indian army, historical drama, india pakistan war, historical epic, war drama, indian air force, ...

Time: 1970s

Cast

Michael Sheen

Lizzy Caplan

Caitlin FitzGerald

Annaleigh Ashford

Masters of Sex (2013) TV Show

7.1 420 votes

Genre: Drama

Country: United States of America

Seasons: 4

Episodes: 46

Audience: TV-MA

Story: William Masters and Virginia Johnson are real-life pioneers of the science of human sexuality. Their research touched off the sexual revolution and took them from a midwestern teaching hospital to the cover of Time magazine and multiple appearances on Johnny Carson's couch. He is a brilliant scientist out of touch with his own feelings, and she is a single working mother ahead of her time. The series chronicles their unusual lives, romance, and unlikely pop culture trajectory.

Plot: sexuality, based on true story, unfaithfulness, medical research, historical drama, sexologist

Time: 1950s, 1960s

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