17 Excellent British Period Dramas You Can Binge Right Now
By Lacy Baugher
Gillian Anderson in “Bleak House”. (Photo: BBC)
Bleak House
No must-binge period drama list would be complete without a little Charles Dickens.
This lavish, all-star adaptation of Dickens’ serial Bleak House originally aired on the BBC in 2005. It was very expensive to produce, with a budget clocking in somewhere near £8 million pounds. Luckily, however, the BBC definitely got its money’s worth. The series looks fantastic , the cast is amazing, and it premiered to much critical and popular acclaim.
Bleak House, as with most Dickens, has many characters, a fairly complicated story, and several major subplots. At the center is a long-running legal case, Jarndyce and Jarndyce, which concerns the fate of a fairly large inheritance. There are multiple wills and conflicting heirs – the case is a mess which has gone on for generations.
The story focuses on the icy Lady Dedlock (Gillian Anderson), a conniving lawyer (Charles Dance), and three young orphans (Patrick Kennedy, Carey Mulligan and Anna Maxwell Martin). Dark secrets abound, various people fall in love, and secret connections are revealed. Oh, and that never-ending court case finally reaches its conclusion.
But the real reason to watch this series is Anderson’s brittle, vulnerable and completely glorious performance. If you’re a fan of the actress in any way, do yourself a favor and check this out.
Bleak House is one of those Dickens that not everyone is necessarily familiar with. (I mean, do you remember this novel from English class?) But this production gives the story a fun, almost soapy feel. And let’s be honest: Aren’t you glad I’m not recommending another version of Great Expectations?
Number of Seasons: 1
Where to Watch: Hulu
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These are obviously only a few of the many, many great costume dramas from recent years. Plus, this list is kind of limited by what’s available to watch online at the moment.
But, thanks to the resurgence of interest in the period drama genre, the stream of new series doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon. So get comfy, and start watching.