Aya Radwan
We can’t get enough of period dramas; that’s an established fact. Apart from taking us back in time to live in various eras, they show us historical events and, at times, historical figures that we’ve heard so much about but never got the chance to meet. Every year, we’re lucky that creative writers shower us with new period dramas to satisfy our longing for time travel, and they never disappoint.
New Period Drama Shows and Films to Watch and Anticipate
In this article, we’re exploring all the new period dramas that recently began dropping online, as well as some hit drama series and films that we cannot wait for the days to pass and begin watching.
Women at War
During wartime, men leave for the frontline, and women are left behind to silently deal with the consequences of war at home. Following the beginning of the First World War, German troops proceeded to occupy more French land, and France had to keep sending its men to war.
In this new period drama, the fates of four French women from society’s opposing sides have to come together as they had to fill in for the men who went to war. The show took place at Les Vosges in France’s northeast, where many battles of WWI took place in real-life, which added to the show’s simulation of reality, even though our four leading actresses are completely fictional characters.
- Release date: September 2022.
- Length: 8 episodes.
- Language: French.
- Where to watch: Netflix.
Emily
English novelist, Emily Brontë’s name was written down in history after she wrote her only novel, Wuthering Heights. This new period drama film mixes reality with fiction to bring the young novelist’s life to the screen.
The film begins with Emily on her death bed, while her sister Charlotte, once dismissive of her sister’s creative thinking, enquires about her inspiration for Wuthering Heights. We see Emily’s first creative thoughts as they sprout and her uncertainty about what her life call is. She becomes torn between following her creativity, becoming a teacher, and the “love and hate” struggle inside her towards William Weightman.
- Release date: October 2022.
- Length: 130 minutes.
- Language: English.
- Where to watch: HBO MAX, Amazon, Hulu, Disney+, and Apple TV+.
Marie Antoinette
France’s most notorious queen is back but with a punch. Most period dramas depicting the life of the last French Queen focus on one side of her life, her lavish spending, how she broke the country’s budget, her arrogant personality, and the people’s opposition to her actions. However, this new period drama shifts the focal point to Marie’s own perspective.
When she arrived at the French court at age 14, she was an innocent royal who found herself judged from the first moment, and almost everyone wanted a piece of her. However, what nobody knew was that Marie was inherently smart and stubborn and vowed to take everyone on to solidify her position as the new French Queen.
- Release date: December 2022.
- Length: 8 episodes.
- Language: English.
- Where to watch: Amazon Instant, Google Play, Vudu, and iTunes.
Our Blooming Youth
In a fictional era in Korean history, someone sends Crown Prince Lee Hwan a mysterious book of curses. The arrogant young prince falls into the traps of the book, after which his brother suddenly dies, and Lee Hwan is put under a dark curse. Lee Hwan roams the palace and ventures out into the world alone, with the memory of his brother’s death haunting his days and nights. He crosses paths with Min Jae-Yi, a witty and beautiful young woman on the run from an alleged murder.
Jae-Yi went home one day to find her entire family murdered, and the locals chased after her, alleging she was the murderer. We witness how the fateful meeting of Lee Hwan and Jae-Yi will help each of them to solve their miserable ill fate.
- Release date: February 2023.
- Length: 20 episodes.
- Language: Korean.
- Where to Watch: Amazon Prime and Viki.
The Law According to Lidia Poët
In the mid-19th century, Italy witnessed the birth of its first female-qualified lawyer. In a time when women were persecuted for pursuing careers that only men were seen as qualified for, Lidia Poët decided to fight for her right to practise the law.
After her graduation from the University of Turin, Lidia was met by the legal community with intense denial and patronisation. Lidia then proceeded to fight for women’s rights not just in Italy but around the world, and despite her fierce fighting with the system, she was officially accepted as a female lawyer when she was well over 60 years old. Similarities between the show and the real-life Lidia included her illegal practice of law, her cooperation with her brother, Enrico, and never getting married.
- Release date: February 2023.
- Length: 6 episodes.
- Language: Italian.
- Where to watch: Netflix.
Daisy Jones and the Six
“An epic rise to fame followed by mysterious disintegration” is the best statement to describe the 1970s rock band Daisy Jones and the Six. The show creators based this new period drama on two interesting works of art, the first is a best-selling novel carrying the same name by Taylor Jenkins Reid, and the second is the 1960s American-British rock band, Fleetwood Mac.
Through a series of documented interviews, the audience is reunited with the band members, who agree to each reveal their side of the story, which eventually leads to their disbanding.
- Release date: March 2023.
- Length: 10 episodes.
- Language: English.
- Where to watch: Amazon Prime.
Sanditon: Season 3
Jane Austin’s last and unfinished novel comes to life in Sanditon, and we’re on a date with the period drama’s last season. After Charlotte, the protagonist arrives in Sanditon, she is intrigued by its people and finds herself entangled in their secrets, and she stumbles upon secrets about the Colbournes.
We see Charlotte as she leaves Sanditon and returns later with her fiancé to face the Colbournes with the new secrets she’d uncovered. However, all plans both Charlotte and Colbourne previously concocted are ruined when unexpected guests arrive in town with new agendas to follow.
- Release date: March 2023.
- Length: 6 episodes.
- Language: English.
- Where to watch: Amazon Prime.
Chevalier
Ridiculed, oppressed, and politically harassed, the life of Chevalier de Saint-Georges comes to life for the first time on screen. Joseph Bologne was born in the mid-18th century in France to a French father and an enslaved mother. He begins training as one of the King’s gendarmes at a young age. During his training days, he also receives music lessons.
Later, Joseph becomes a musical prodigy, mastering the strings of the violin, which opens the door for him to become a concertmaster and start composing. Despite Bologne’s skills, the discriminatory regime and falling out of favour with Queen Marie Antoinette, he had to steer his life in a different direction.
- Release date: April 2023.
- Length: 107 minutes.
- Language: English.
- Where to watch: Amazon Instant, Google Play, Vudu, and iTunes.
Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret
This new period drama film takes us back to 1970s America, where teenage Margaret finds herself facing the challenges of adolescence alone. Based on a coming-of-age novel of the same name, Margaret grew up in an interfaith family, which confuses her religious identity and relationship with God. So, after her family moves to New Jersey, she embarks on an exciting and gossip-filled journey to build her own relationship with God, her adolescence, and her classmates and form new friendships at her new school.
If by chance you read the original novel, then you’ll surely enjoy this film adaptation, the author herself, Judy Blume, remarked it was better than the novel.
- Release date: April 2023.
- Length: 106 minutes.
- Language: English.
- Where to watch: Amazon, Amazon Prime, Vudu and Peacock.
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story
It’s a rare occasion that we get a prequel to a period drama series, but we couldn’t be happier about this new period drama that takes place before the Bridgerton hit series. In Queen Charlotte, we will see how young Charlotte meets young King George of England and how a firey love story grows between the two.
The new Queen culminates more power through her new position as the Queen of England. We will also see her many faces, which were built on her real historical figure. In reality, Queen Charlotte loved her husband dearly; she enjoyed botany and music and was believed to have birthed 15 children.
- Release date: May 2023.
- Length: 6 episodes.
- Language: English.
- Where to watch: Netflix.
Outlander: Season 7
Outlander has been holding the podium for the audiences’ time-travel series since its release. In this new season of the hit period drama, the 1700s will pull us back in time again as Jamie and Claire face unending challenges during their time in America during the Revolution.
The couple needs to continuously fight for peace and stability over the Ridge, with new emerging challenges from the Browns and the Christies. For this season, the writers drew inspiration from the 7th volume of the Outlander book series, Echo in The Bone, by Diana Gabaldon.
- Release date: June 2023.
- Length: 8 episodes.
- Language: English.
- Where to watch: Starz App.
Are you hungry for more period dramas? We’re positive that our recommendations of English, Chinese, Japanese and Russian period dramas will conjure your appeal.