I’ve noticed that one of the main terms my viewers search for is BBC period dramas. Out of all the period dramas based on literary works, BBC’s adaptations never fails our expectations. Even non-literary works by BBC delight us with brilliant actors, stunning scenery, and exquisite costumes. I’ve compiled a list from my Period Dramas – TV series list for you, my viewers, and I hope this will help narrow down your search. 🙂 This list includes TV series, miniseries, and made-for-TV films. I will update this list as more BBC films are made known. Last updated on 12 October 2015. Please check the current period dramas post for new BBC titles. 🙂
MEDIEVAL (500-1485)
- BBC’s The Borgias (1981)
- The Last Kingdom (2015)
TUDOR & ELIZABETHAN (1485-1603)
- Gunpowder, Treason and Plot (2004)
- The Hollow Crown (2012)
- Richard II
- Henry IV Pt 1
- Henry IV Pt 2
- Henry V
- The Virgin Queen (2005)
- The White Queen (2013)
- BBC2’s The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses (2016)
- Henry VI Pt 1
- Henry VI Pt 2
- Richard III
STUART (1603-1714)
- Charles II: The Power & the Passion (2003)
- Clarissa (1991)
- The Musketeers (2014)
GEORGIAN/REGENCY (1714-1837)
- Aristocrats (1999)
-
Banished (2015)
- Death Comes to Pemberley (2013)
- Jamaica Inn (2014)
- Miss Austen Regrets (2008)
- Poldark (2015-Present)
- A Respectable Trade (1998)
- The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister (2010)
- War and Peace (2016)
Jane Austen’s novels:
- Emma (with Kate Beckinsale – 1997)
- Emma (with Romola Garai – 2009)
- Northanger Abbey (1986)
- Northanger Abbey (2007)
- Persuasion (1995)
- Persuasion (2007)
- Pride & Prejudice (1995)
- Sense & Sensibility (2009)
In development:
- Dangerous Liaisons (2015?)
VICTORIAN (1837-1901)
- Desperate Romantics (2009)
- Dickensian (2015)
- Fall of Eagles (1974)
- Ripper Street S1-3 (2012-Present)
- The Secret Agent (2016?)
- Tchaikovsky: ‘The Creation of Genius’ (2007)
- Victoria & Albert (2001)
Charles Dickens’ novels:
- Bleak House (2005)
- David Copperfield (1999)
- Great Expectations (2011)
- Little Dorrit (2008)
George Eliot’s novels:
- Daniel Deronda (2002)
- Middlemarch (1994)
Other literary adaptations:
- The Crimson Petal and the White (2011)
- He Knew He Was Right (2004)
- Lark Rise to Candleford (2008)
- Jane Eyre (2006)
- Jonathan Strange & Mr Nowell (2014)
- North & South (2004)
- The Paradise S1-2 (2012-2013)
- The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1968)
- The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1996)
- Tess of the D’Urbervilles (2008)
- Tipping the Velvet (2002)
- Under the Greenwood Tree (2005)
- The Way We Live Now (2001)
- Wives and Daughters (1999)
EDWARDIAN (1901-1914)
- Casualty 1900s / London Hospital (2006-9)
- Fall of Eagles (1974)
- The Go-Between (2015)
- An Inspector Calls (2015)
- The Lost Prince (2003)
- Up the Women (2013-Present)
THE GREAT WAR / WWI (1914-1918)
- 37 Days (2014)
- Birdsong (2012)
- The Crimson Field (2014)
- Fall of Eagles (1974)
- Parade’s End (2012)
- The Village S1 (2013)
1919/20s-30s
- Blandings S1-2 (2013-14)
- Cider with Rosie (2015)
- Dancing on the Edge (2013)
- BBC’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover (2015)
- Lilies (2007)
- Peaky Blinders (2013)
- Upstairs, Downstairs S1 (2010)
- The Village S2 (2014)
- Young James Herriott (2011)
WWII (1939-1946)
- The Diary of Anne Frank (2009)
- Fleming (2014)
- Land Girls (2009)
- Restless (2012)
- The Secret of Crickley Hall (2013)
- Spies of Warsaw (2013)
- Upstairs, Downstairs S2 (2012)
POST WAR (1946-60’s)
- The Best of Men (2012)
- Call the Midwife (2012-Present)
- Daphne (2007)
- The Great Train Robbery (2013)
- The Hour (2011-2012)
- Inspector George Gently (2007-Present)
- United (2011)