Period Dramas 2017

It’s that time of year you’ve been looking forward to – a post on all the period dramas / historical dramas / costume dramas (with a specific time period) coming out in 2017 and beyond!

Featuring ‘Still Star-Crossed’

This year, I’m including my Top 10 to watch (i.e. the ones I’m looking forward to). The titles will also be listed chronologically by month. Films that I have seen will be rated out of 5 stars.

This list is in chronological order (alphabetical where no date is specified) by release date and will be updated as more period/costume dramas and release dates are known. These titles will also appear in Period Dramas – Movies and Period Dramas – TV series but please excuse me if the pages are not as quickly updated as this post. If you want to catch up on last year’s films, visit Period Dramas 2016.

I will also be giving credit to my readers who inform me of upcoming period dramas

Top 10 Period Dramas in 2017

Last update: 28 Dec 2017

January

1 Jan 2017 UK/US / 16 Feb 2017 Australia / 23 Dec 2016 US – Silence (movie)
Two Jesuit priests are persecuted in Japan during the 17th Century when they try to locate their mentor. Stars Liam Neeson, Andrew Garfield, etc. (trailer)

2 Jan 2017 @ 9pm UK – ITV’s The Halcyon (TV series) ★★★★
8-part drama set in 1940 in London. What was it like to be in a 5 star hotel in the West End during WWII? (trailer)

2 Jan 2017 @ 9pm UK (Alibi) / 9 Jan 2017 US (Ovation) / 10 Oct 2016 Canada (CBC) – Murdoch Mysteries S10 (TV series) ★★★★
Set in 1904 in Toronto. Renewed for S11.

7 Jan 2017 FX (US) & BBC One (UK) – Taboo (TV series) ★★★★★
8 episodes set in the early 1800’s about an adventurer from England who has just returned from Africa to build his own shipping empire. Starring Tom Hardy, Jonathan Pryce, Oona Chaplin, David Hayman, Michael Kelly. Renewed for S2. (trailer) Thank you Nessnola!

11 Jan 2017 Canada – CBC’s X Company S3 (TV series)
Set in Canada and Europe during WWII about an espionage camp. Series finale.

13 Jan 2017 UK – ITV’s Tina and Bobby (TV series)
3-part drama about footballer Bobby Moore who played for England and West Ham United and his first wife, Tina.

13 Jan 2017 UK/US – Live By Night (movie)
Crime drama set during the Prohibition. Stars Ben Affleck, Sienna Miller, Zoe Saldana, Elle Fanning, Scott Eastwood, Brendan Gleeson, etc. (trailer)

13 Jan 2017 Canada / 24 Feb 2017 UK / 25 Dec US – Hidden Figures (movie) ★★★★★
It’s thanks to a team of African-American women (Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson) who helped NASA launch its first successful space mission. Starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Jangle Monae, Kirsten Dunst, etc. (trailer)

15 Jan 2017 US/Canada (PBS Masterpiece) / 28 Aug 2016 UK – ITV’s Victoria S1 (TV series) ★★★★★
An 8-part hour-long drama on the life of Queen Victoria from the age of 18 onwards. First episode is 1.5 hour long. Jenna Coleman (Doctor Who) has been cast as young Queen Victoria and Tom Hughes (The Lady Vanishes) will play Prince Albert. Also stars Rufus Sewell as Lord ‘M’. Series has been renewed. (trailer)

18 Jan 2017 France – Un Sac de Billes (movie)
Based on a true story about two young Jewish brothers who escape Nazi persecution in occupied France. (trailer) Thank you Vanessa!

20 Jan 2017 UK / 7 Oct 2016 US – The Birth of a Nation (movie)
Former slave Nat Turner leads a liberation movement in Virginia, USA in 1831.

20 Jan 2017 UK (Netflix) / 6 Nov 2016 Canada (Discovery) – Frontier (TV series) ★★★★★
6 episodes set in the late 18th Century about the Hudson’s Bay Company in what is now Canada. Series renewed. Thank you to my friend K!

20 Jan 2017 UK / 2 Dec 2016 US – Jackie (movie)
Starring Natalie Portman as First Lady Jackie Kennedy, following the assassination of John F. Kennedy. (trailer)

21 Jan 2017 US – Mudbound (movie)
Set in Mississippi just after WWII about two returning soldiers who work on a rural farm and encounter racism and prejudice.

22 Jan 2017 US/Canada (PBS) – Mercy Street S2 (TV mini-series)
Set during the Civil War. Series finale. (trailer)

27 Jan 2017 UK / 4 Nov 2016 USA – Hacksaw Ridge (movie)
About WWII American Army Medic Desmond T. Doss who received the Congressional Medal of Honor for refusing to kill people in Okinawa. (trailer)

27 Jan 2017 UK/US/Canada – Amazon’s Z: The Beginning of Everything (TV series) ★★★★
10 episode drama on Zelda (Christina Ricci) from when she met F. Scott Fitzgerald (David Hoflin) in 1918 to the 1920’s.

29 Jan 2017 US – Black Sails S4 (TV Series)

30 Jan 2017 Germany – Landgericht (TV movie)

February

3 Feb 2017 UK / 4 Nov 2016 US – Loving (movie)
In 1958, the interracial couple, Richard and Mildred Loving, were sentenced to prison in Virginia for getting married.

8 Feb 2017 UK (BBC Four) / 30 May 2016 US (History/Lifetime/A&E) – Roots (TV Series) ★★★★★
An 8-hour miniseries based on the novel by Alex Haley and a remake of the 1977 TV miniseries about the history of an African man sold to America as a slave and his descendants. Spanning from the Colonial times in 1750 to post-Civil War. Starring Anika Noni Rose, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Anna Paquin, Matthew Goode, Jonathan Purefoy, T.I., etc. (trailer)

10 Feb 2017 UK / 25 Dec 2016 US – Fences (movie)
Set in the US in the 1950’s about an African-American father struggling with race relations whilst raising his family.

10 Feb 2017 US/Canada – Reign S4 (TV Series)
I still don’t consider this a period drama but it’s supposed to be ‘based on’ Mary of Scots…

17 Feb 2017 US / 25 Nov 2016 UK – A United Kingdom (movie)
Based on the inspiring true story of Seretse Khama, the King of Bechuanaland (today: Botswana), and Londoner Ruth Williams who married in 1948 despite fierce opposition. Starring David and Jessica Oyelowo (but they don’t play husband & wife), Rosamund Pike, Tom Felton, Laura Carmichael, Jack Davenport, Charlotte Hope, etc.

17 Feb 2017 US / 12 Sept Canada (TIFF) – In Dubious Battle (movie)
Set in California in the 1930’s. Based on Steinbeck’s novel of the same name. Directed by James Franco.

19 Feb 2017 @ 9PM UK – BBC One’s SS-GB (TV series) ★★★★
BBC’s 5-part adaptation of Len Deighton’s book on what life would have been like had the Nazis occupied the UK during WWII. Stars Sam Riley, Aneurin Barnard, Kate Bosworth, etc. (trailer)

22 Feb 2017 Germany – Katharina Luther (TV movie)

24 Feb 2017 – Rangoon (movie)
A love triangle during WWII.

27 Feb 2017 Russia – Ekaterina / Catherine S2 (TV Series)
11 episodes about Catherine the Great.

March

3 March 2017 UK – Viceroy’s House (movie)
Set in 1947 about the last Viceroy of India, Lord Mountbatten, living upstairs and the 500 H indu, Muslim, and Sikh servants downstairs. Starring Hugh Bonneville, Gillian Andersen, Michael Gambon, etc. (trailer)

3 March 2017 Canada / 24 Feb 2017 UK/US – Bitter Harvest (movie)
A Canadian epic romantic-drama set in 1932, during the genocide of Ukraine (Holodomor) from a man-made famine. Cast includes Samantha Barks, Max Irons, Aneurin Barnard, etc. (trailer)

5 March 2017 US/Canada – Time after Time (TV series)
Partly a period drama and set in the 21st Century. H.G Wells time travels to modern NY to catch Jack the Ripper. (teaser)

8 March 2017 US – Underground S1-2 (TV series)
Set just before the Civil War about a group of enslaved men and women journeying to the north for freedom.

10 March 2017 US / 12 Sept 2016 Canada (TIFF) – Brimstone (movie)
A thriller set in 19th Century America, inspired by American Southern Gothic and Dutch religion. Starring Dakota Fanning, Kit Harrington, Carice van Houten, Guy Pearce, etc. (trailer)

10 March 2017 US – Ottoman Lieutenant (movie) ★★★
A love story between an American nurse and Turkish officer during WWI. Starring Josh Hartnett, Ben Kingsley, Hera Hilmar, Michiel Huisman, etc. (trailer)

16 March 2017 Hungary – Kincsem (movie)
Set in Hungary after the revolution of 1848 about the horse Kincsem which gives Ernõ Blaskovich a purpose in life.

17 March 2017 – Beauty & the Beast (movie) ★★★★★
The Disney live-action of the animation from 1991, set around the 18th Century. More details in this post. (trailer)

17 March 2017 US / 9 April 2015 Germany – Elser / 13 Minutes (movie)
Set in Munich in 1939 about one man, Johann Georg Elser, who attempted to assassinate Hitler but missed by 13 minutes. (trailer)

21 March 2017 Germany – Charite (TV Series)

24 March 2017 UK – Another Mother’s Son (movie)
Set during WWII in the island of Jersey. Based on the true story of Louisa Gould who hid a Russian POW escapee.

26 March 2017 US (PBS) / 29 Dec 2016 UK – BBC One’s To Walk Invisible: The Bronte Sisters (TV movie) ★★★★★
A 2-hour TV movie about the Bronte sisters. Starring Jonathan Pryce, Chloe Pirie, Finn Atkins, Charlie Murphy, and Adam Nagaitis. (trailer)

27 March 2017 @ 10pm UK (ITV Encore) / 29 March 2017 US (Hulu) – Harlots (TV series)
8-episode drama set in London during the 18th Century about a brothel owner struggling to raise her daughters. Renewed for S2. (trailer)

31 March 2017 Spain – La llum d’Elna (TV movie)

31 March 2017 UK – BBC’s Decline and Fall (TV series)
Three-part drama about Paul Pennyfeather who’s been made a victim of a prank by The Bollinger Club at Oxford University in the 1920’s. Thank you Nessnola!

April

2 April 2017 US (PBS) / 22 Jan @ 8PM 2017 UK – BBC One’s Call The Midwife S6 (TV series) ★★★★★
8 episodes set in 1962.

2 April 2017 US (PBS) / 3 April 2016 UK – ITV’s Home Fires S2 (TV series) ★★★★★
Set in rural Cheshire during WWII, the series continues to follow a group of inspirational women. WARNING: Ends on a cliffhanger and ITV has axed the series.

4 April 2017 US / 18 April 2017 UK (BT TV) – The Son (TV series)
A Western drama based on the book by Philipp Meyer. Thank you Sophie!

7 April 2017 UK / 14 April 2017 US / 8 Sept 2016 Canada (TIFF) – A Quiet Passion (movie)
A biographical film about American poet Emily Dickinson. Starring Jennifer Ehle, Cynthia Nixon, etc. (trailer)

7 April 2017 UK / 16 Dec 2016 US – Neruda (movie)
Set in 1948 in Chile about the poet and politician Pablo Neruda.

7 April 2017 US / 21 Sept 2016 France – Cézanne et moi (movie)
Set in the 19th Century about the friendship between post-impressionist painter Paul Cezanne (Guillaume Gallienne) and novelist/playwright Émile Zola (Guillaume Canet).

7 April 2017 US / 21 April 2017 UK – The Zookeeper’s Wife (movie)
Adapted from Diane Ackerman’s novel of the same name and based on the true story of Warsaw zookeepers Jan and Antonia Zabinski who saved many Jews and animals during the Nazi occupation. Starring Jessica Chastain, Daniel Bruehl, etc. (trailer)

14 April 2017 US / 2 June 2016 Australia – Queen of the Desert (movie)
A biographical film starring Nicole Kidman as Gertrude Bell, who was a British explorer, traveller, cartographer, archaeologist, and political offer at the dawn of the 20th C. (trailer)

14 April 2017 US / 15 June 2016 UK (EIFF) – Tommy’s Honour (movie)
About the founders of modern golf! Set around the late 19th Century. Stars Sam Neill.

16 April 2017 UK – ITV’s Maigret: Night at the Crossroads (TV movie) ★★★★
Set in 1950’s Paris. (trailer)

16 April 2017 US – Starz’s The White Princess (TV Series)
This is the STARZ sequel to BBC’s The White Queen, based on the novel by Philippa Gregory of the same name. It focuses on Elizabeth of York and Henry VII. Features new actors (not the same as those in TWQ). Series will have 8 episodes. (trailer)

21 April 2017 UK / 23 Nov 2016 US – Rules Don’t Apply (movie)
A romantic comedy set in 1958 in the US about an aspiring actress, her driver, and the billionaire filmmaker they work for. Cast includes Lily Collins, Alec Baldwin, Steeve Coogan, Martin Sheen, etc. (trailer)

21 April 2017 UK / 24 March 2017 US – Their Finest (movie)
A comedy set in London about a group of filmmakers struggling to boost morale with an inspirational film during the Blitz. Starring Gemma Arterton, Bill Nighy, Sam Claflin, Jeremy Irons, Richard E Grant, etc. (trailer)

21 April 2017 US / 28 April 2017 UK / 11 Sept 2016 Canada (TIFF) – The Promise (movie)
Love triangle story set during the last days of the Ottoman Empire. Stars Christian Bale, Oscar Isaac, Charlotte Le Bon, Angela Sarafyan, etc. (trailer)

23 April 2017 @ 8pm UK – ITV’s The Durrells S2 (TV series) ★★★★★
Renewed for S3. (trailer)

23 Apr 2017 @ 9pm UK (Sky, Virgin, BT) / 25 April 2017 @ 9pm US – National Geographic’s Genius (TV series)
10 part drama starring Geoffrey Rush as Albert Einstein and how he developed the theory of relativity.

28 April 2017 Worldwide (Netflix) – Las Chicas del Cable S1 / Cable Girls (TV series)
Set in 1920’s Madrid about four women from different backgrounds who work as operators for a phone company. Renewed for S2 and S3. Starring Yon González (Gran Hotel). (trailer)

28 April 2017 US – Voice from the Stone (movie)
Haunting thriller set in Tuscany in 1950’s, starring Emilia Clarke. (trailer)

May

4 May 2017 NZ / 21 April 2017 US / 24 March 2017 UK – Lost City of Z (movie)
Set in 1925 about British explorer, Percy Fawcett, and his journey into the Amazon jungle. (trailer)

5 May 2017 @ 9pm UK (Sky 1) – Jamestown (TV series)
8 episodes about the English settlers in Jamestown in 1617. Renewed for S2. (trailer)

5 May 2017 US/Canada (Netflix) / 16 March 2017 @ 9pm UK (BBC2) – The Last Kingdom S2 (TV Series) ★★★★
Set in 872 in England. The adventure will continue with Uhtred heading North. Renewed for S3. (trailer)

8 May 2017 UK (CBBC) – Hetty Feather S3 (TV series) ★★★★★
Hetty escapes the Foundling Hospital to look for her real mother. Renewed for S4.

12 May 2017 Worldwide (Netflix) / 19 March 2017 Canada – CBC’s Anne (TV Series) ★★★★★
An 8-part adaptation of L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables starring Amybeth McNulty as Anne. (trailer)

12 May 2017 UK / 31 March 2017 US / 9 Sept Canada (TIFF) – Frantz (movie) ★★★★
A tale of love and remembrance set in a small German town just after WWI. (trailer)

12 May 2017 Canada – Maudie (movie)
Set in Marshalltown, Nova Scotia in 1937 about folk artist Maud Lewis (nee Dowley).

19 May 2017 UK/US – King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (movie)
Arthur (Charlie Hunnam) does not know of his royal lineage until he draws the Excalibur from the stone. He must learn to master the sword’s mysterious powers and to defeat Vortigern (Jude Law). Also starring Annabelle Wallis, Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey, David Beckham, Djimon Hounsou, Eric Bana, etc. (trailer)

21 May 2017 @ 9/8c US/Canada (PBS) / 31 Oct 2016 UK – ITV’s Dark Angel (TV miniseries) ★★★★★
2-part drama series about Victorian serial killer, Mary Ann Cotton (Joanna Froggatt). (trailer)

25 May 2017 UK – Interlude in Prague (movie)
Drama about W. A. Mozart (Aneurin Barnard) with murder and scandal. Also stars Samantha Barks, James Purefoy, etc. (trailer)

26 May 2017 – The Pirates of the Caribbean 5: Dead Men Tell No Tales (Salazar’s Revenge) (movie) ★★★★★
Captain Jack Sparrow & crew try to find the Trident of Poseidon to defeat Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem). Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley will be returning to the film. (trailer)

29 May 2017 @ 9pm US – ABC’s Still Star-Crossed (TV series) ★★★★★
Based on Melinda Taub’s novel of the same name, set after the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. (However, I have a feeling it will deviate from the novel.) (trailer) Thank you Katie!

June

2 June 2017 US / 12 Sept 2016 Canada (TIFF) – The Exception / The Kaiser’s Last Kiss (movie)
‘A German soldier tries to determine if the Dutch resistance has planted a spy to infiltrate the home of Kaiser Wilhelm in Holland during the onset of World War II, but falls for a young Jewish Dutch woman during his investigation.’ – IMDB Cast includes Lily James, Christopher Plummer, Janet McTeer, etc. (trailer)

2 June 2017 – Wonder Woman (movie)
Based on the comics, an American pilot, Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), crashes on the island of Themyscira and tells the Amazon princess Diana (Gal Gadot) about WWI. She then leaves the island to help bring an end to the war. (trailer) Thank you Harv

8 June 2017 Russia – Anna Karenina. The Story of Vronsky / Анна Каренина. История Вронского (movie)
Told from Count Vronsky’s point of view. (trailer)

16 June 2017 UK – Churchill (movie)
Thriller about Winston Churchill (Brian Cox) set 96 hours before D-Day. Also starring Miranda Richardson, James Purefoy, etc. (trailer)

18 June 2017 @ 9/8c US (PBS) / 23 April 2017 UK – ITV’s Grantchester S3 (TV series)
1950’s crime drama set in Grantchester, starring James Norton (War & Peace) as Rev Sidney Chambers.

18 June 2017 @ 8/7c US (PBS) / 13 Nov 2016 UK – BBC One’s My Mother and Other Strangers (TV series) ★★★★★
Set in a small community in Northern Ireland in 1943. Stars Hattie Morahan. (trailer)

30 June 2017 UK – Alone in Berlin (movie)
Set in 1940, Berlin about a couple who resist the Nazi regime in their own way after losing their only son during the war. Cast includes Emma Thompson, Brendan Gleeson, and Daniel Bruehl.

30 June 2017 US – The Little Hours (movie)
A comedy set in the Middle Ages about a servant who runs from his master and hides in a convent. Starring Alison Brie, Dave Franco, etc.

July

10 July 2017 US (TNT) – Will (TV series)
A 10-part fictional account of young William Shakespeare in his early 20’s. Stars Jamie Cambell Bower. (trailer)

14 July 2017 UK / 30 June 2017 US – Beguiled (movie)
Set during the Civil War in the US about a Union soldier who romances the lonely women at a Confederate girls boarding school. Starring Elle Fanning, Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, Colin Farrell, etc.

14 July 2017 US / 28 April 2017 UK / 9 Sept 2016 Canada (TIFF) – Lady Macbeth (movie)
An adaptation of Leskov’s Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District. Set in Victorian England. (trailer)

14 July 2017 US / 9 June 2017 UK – My Cousin Rachel (movie)
Adapted from Daphne du Maurier’s novel of the same name. Set in Cornwall in the 19th Century. Starring Sam Claflin, Rachel Weisz, Holliday Grainger, etc. (trailer)

21 July 2017 Australia/NZ/UK/US/Canada – The Black Prince (movie)
This is about Queen Victoria (Amanda Root) and the last King of Punjab, Maharajah Duleep Singh (Satinder Sartaaj). (trailer) Thank you Vicki!

21 July 2017 UK/US – Dunkirk (movie) ★★★★★
About the evacuation of Dunkirk at the beginning of WWII. Stars Tom Hardy, Mark Rylance, Kenneth Branagh. (trailer)

26 July 2017 @ 9pm UK – BBC Two’s Against the Law (TV Movie)

Based on the Montagu Trial in the 1950’s when Peter Wildeblood, Lord Montagu, and Michael Pitt-Rivers were found guilty of homosexual offences and jailed.

28 July 2017 – Amazon Prime’s The Last Tycoon (TV series)
Based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s final unfinished novel, set in the 1930’s. Stars Lily Collins, Matt Bomer, Kelsey Grammer, Rosemarie De Witt, etc.

28 July 2017 US (BBC America) / 19 June @ 9pm UK 2017 (BBC Two) /12 Oct 2016 (Amazon Prime) – Ripper Street S5 (TV Series) ★★★★
The final series of Ripper Street.

August

4 August 2017 UK / 17 Feb 2017 Canada/US – Land of Mine / Under Sandet (movie)
A Danish-German movie inspired by real events just after WWII. A group of young German POWs in Denmark are forced to remove mines.

11 August 2017 US – Pilgrimage (movie)
Set in Ireland in 1209 about monks who must make a dangerous journey across the land to escort a sacred relic. Stars Richard Armitage, Tom Holland, etc.

15 Aug 2017 UK – BBC2’s Quacks (TV movie) ★★
A medical comedy with six 30-minute episodes set in the 1840’s about four young doctors.

18 August 2017 UK – Final Portrait (movie)
Set in Paris in 1964 about artist Alberto Giacometti. Starring Geoffrey Rush, Armie Hammer, Clemence Poesy, etc. (trailer)

20 August 2017 US (PBS) / 8 Jan 2017 UK – ITV’s Endeavour S4 (TV series) ★★★★
Endeavour will be returning to 1967 Oxford. Renewed for a 5th series. (trailer)

September

1 Sept 2017 UK / 10 Sept 2016 Canada (TIFF) – Limehouse Golem (movie)
Crime thriller set in Victorian London based on Peter Ackroyd’s novel of the same name. Stars Bill Nighy. (Ironically, partly mentioned in Ripper St S4.) (trailer)

1 Sept 2017 US / 25 Aug 2017 Canada – Tulip Fever (movie)
A 17th Century romance about an artist who falls in love with a married woman. Stars Cara Delevigne, Alicia Vikander, Holliday Grainger, Cressida Bonas, Judi Dench, Tom Hollander, Christopher Waltz, etc. (trailer)

10 Sept @ 8pm 2017 US – Starz’s Outlander S3 (TV series)
13 episodes based on Outlander: Voyager.

11 Sept 2017 UK (BBC) – Upstart Crow S2 (TV mini series)
Six episodes plus a Christmas special. Renewed for S3.

15 Sept 2017 UK / 22 Sept 2017 US – Victoria & Abdul (movie)
Judi Dench will play Queen Victoria again in a new film based on Shrabani Basu’s book Victoria & Abdul: The True Story of the Queen’s Closest Confidant. (trailer)

15 Sept 2017 US – Rebel in the Rye (movie)

17 Sept 2017 Canada (Superchannel) / 19 Feb 2017 US – Hallmark’s When Calls The Heart S4 (TV series)
Renewed for S5.

20 Sept 2017 Spain – Morocco – Love in Times of War / Tiempos de guerra ( TV series)
13 episodes set in Morocco in 1921. Starring Amaia Salamanca.

22 Sept 2017 Spain – Velvet Colección (TV series)
Spin-off of Velvet with 10 hour-long episodes. Set in 1967. Ana and Alberto and their son Alberto return to Spain and open a second Velvet in Barcelona. Not sure why it’s a spin-off when it could easily be S5.

25 Sept 2017 @ 8pm Canada – CBC’s Murdoch Mysteries S11 (TV series) ★★★★★

30 Sept 2017 US (Ovation) / 10 July 2017 Canada (Movie Network) / 11 June 2017 Germany (Sky) / 21 April 2017 UK (BBC2) / 27 March 2017 France (Canal) – Versailles S2 (TV series) ★★★★★
Set 4 years later in 1671. Renewed for a 3rd series, to begin filming in April 2017.

October

1 Oct 2017 US (PBS) / 11 June 2017 UK – BBC1’s Poldark S3 (TV series) ★★★★
Renewed for S4 and S5. (trailer)

8 October 2017 @ 8:30pm Australia (Foxtel) – A Place To Call Home S5 (TV Series)
Set in 1958, four years after the end of S4.

9 Oct 2017 UK – ITV2’s Timewasters (TV mini series)
Comedy set in South London during the 1920’s about a group of 4 young Black men who time travel to the past and realise it’s not as ‘glamorous’ as Downton Abbey had led them to believe.

13 Oct 2017 Germany – Babylon Berlin S1 (TV series)
8 episodes set in Berlin during the Golden 20’s. Renewed for S2 with 8 episodes.

13 Oct 2017 US / 27 Oct 2017 UK – Breathe (movie)
Biographical film about Robin Cavendish (who became paralysed with polio at age 28) and his devoted wife, Diana. Directed by Andy Serkis; starring Andy Garfield, Claire Foy, Tom Hollander, Hugh Bonneville, etc. (trailer)

13 October 2017 US / 29 Sept 2017 UK – Goodbye Christopher Robin (movie)
Set in the 1920’s about author A.A. Milne and how his son, Christopher Robin, inspired the Winnie the Pooh stories.

18 Oct 2017 France – Au revoir là-haut (movie)
Based on the novel by Pierre Lemaitre. Set in November 1918 just before the Armistice in France. Thank you Emilie!

18 Oct 2017 @ 10pm ET / 7pm PT Canada – Discovery Canada’s Frontier S2 (TV series)
Renewed for S3. (trailer)

20 Oct 2017 UK – The Death of Stalin (movie)
Satirical comedy set in 1953 about the events after Stalin’s death. (trailer)

20 Oct 2017 US/Canada – Netflix’s 1922 (TV series)
Set in 1922 about a farmer conspiring to murder his wife for her wealth.

20 Oct 2017 US – Wonderstruck (movie)
Two stories set in 1927 and 1977 respectively about a child’s quest.

21 Oct 2017 UK – BBC One’s Gunpowder (TV miniseries)
Three part 17th Century thriller starring Kit Harrington (Robert Catesby), Peter Mullan (Father Garnet), Mark Gatiss (Robert Cecil), Liv Tyler (Ann Vaux), and Tom Cullen (Guy Fawkes). This focuses on 30-year-old Robert Catesby who came up with the Gunpowder Plot. (trailer)

26 Oct 2017 Russia – Matilda (movie)
Set around the 1890’s-1900’s in Imperial Russia about Prima Ballerina Matilda Kshesinskaya who became the mistress of three Grand Dukes (one of whom was Nicholas II and another whom she married, Andrei Vladimirovich). Thank you Tatiana & nessnola! (trailer)

November

1 Nov 2017 UK – ITV’s Frankenstein Chronicles S2 (TV series)
Thank you @foreignrhythm!

3 Nov 2017 Worldwide (Netflix) / 25 Sept 2017 Canada – CBC’s Alias Grace (TV miniseries) ★★★★★
6-part drama based on Margaret Atwood’s novel of the same name about a true murder case in 1843. (trailer)

3 Nov 2017 UK / 10 Nov 2017 US – Murder on the Orient Express (movie)
Based on Agatha Christie’s novel of the same name. Starring Johnny Depp, Daisy Ridley, Michelle Pfeiffer, Penelope Cruz, Judi Dench, Kenneth Brannagh, etc. (trailer)

6 Nov 2017 @ 10pm ET/7pm PT Canada / 23 Jan 2018 UK – CBC’s Frankie Drake Mysteries (TV Series)
11 episodes set in Toronto in 1921 about female detective Frankie Drake.

10 Nov 2017 Germany – Babylon Berlin S2 (TV series)
8 episodes continuing from S1. Renewed for S3.

10 Nov 2017 – Painted Woman (movie)
Western film about Julie Richards who is given the chance to escape from two different men. Thank you, Emma!

12 Nov 2017 @ 9pm UK (BBCOne) / US (Starz) – Howards End (TV miniseries)
Four part drama based on E.M. Forster’s novel of the same name about social and class divisions in early 20th Century England. Starring Hayley Attwell, Matthew Macfadyen, etc. Filmed in London and nearby.

22 Nov 2017 US / 12 Jan 2018 UK – Darkest Hour (movie)
Set during the beginning of WWII about Winston Churchill (Gary Oldman) leading a charge against Adolf Hitler’s army. Starring Lily James, Kristin Scott Thomas, etc.

22 Nov 2017 US / 24 Nov 2017 Canada / 1 Dec 2017 UK – The Man Who Invented Christmas (movie)
An adaptation of the book of the same name by Les Stanford, Dan Stevens has been cast as Charles Dickens, Jonathan Pryce as Dickens’s father, and Christopher Plummer as Ebenezer Scrooge. (trailer)

22 Nov 2017 US/Canada – Netflix’s Godless (TV Series)
6-part Western set in the 1880’s. Starring Michelle Dockery.

23 Nov 2017 NZ – The Stolen (movie)
Set in 1860’s New Zealand about a wealthy upper class English immigrant who goes to NZ to find her kidnapped baby son.

24 Nov 2017 UK / 30 June 2017 US / 9 Sept Canada (TIFF) – Marie Curie: The Courage of Knowledge (movie)
Set around the turn of the 20th Century about physicist and chemist, Marie Curie. (trailer)

24 Nov 2017 UK / 27 Oct 2017 US – Suburbicon (movie)
A crime comedy set in 1959.

29 Nov 2017 – History’s Vikings S5 (TV Series)
20 episodes.

December

6 Dec 2017 Canada/US (History) – Knightfall (TV series)
10-episode drama set around 1307 about the downfall and persecution of the Knights Templar. Starring Tom Cullen, Olivia Ross, Padraic Delaney, etc.

8 Dec 2017 Worldwide – Netflix’s The Crown S2 (TV series) ★★★★★
10 episodes about The Queen and the British Royal Family from 1955-1965. Four more series, each with 10 episodes, to follow with new actors replacing The Queen & Royal Family every 2 series. Dan Stevens will join as Lord Snowdon. The Crown S3 will be set around the 1970’s. (trailer)

16 Dec 2017 UK (BBC2) / 5 March 2017 US – FX’s Feud S1 (TV series)
Anthology series set in the 1960’s about the feud between Joan Crawford (Jessica Lange) and Bette Davis (Susan Sarandon). Also stars Kathy Bates (Joan Blondell), Stanley Tucci (Jack Warner), Catherine Zeta-Jones (Olivia de Havilland), etc.

21 Dec 2017 Canada/US / 15 Nov 2017 @ 9pm UK – BBC2’s Peaky Blinders S4 (TV series)

22 Dec 2017 US / 21 Nov 2017 UK – Crooked House (movie)
Agatha Christie novel adapted by Julian Fellowes.

22 Dec US – Drawing Home (movie)
Set in the 1920’s about an East Coast debutante who dates John D. Rockefeller III but falls for an artist from the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

25 Dec 2017 (Netflix) – Las Chicas del Cable S2 / Cable Girls (TV series)
Renewed for S3.

25 Dec 2017 UK (BBC) – Upstart Crow S2: Christmas Special (TV mini series)

25 December 2017 UK – ITV’s Victoria S2: Christmas Special (TV series)

25 December 2017 UK – BBC One’s Call the Midwife S6: Christmas Special (TV series) ★★★★★

25 December 2017 US / 1 Jan 2018 UK – The Greatest Showman (movie)
Set during the 19th C in the US about showman P. T. Barnum (Hugh Jackman). Also starting Rebecca Ferguson, Michelle Williams, Zac Efron, etc. (trailer)

25 Dec 2017 US / 2 Feb 2018 UK – Phantom Thread (movie)
Set in 1950’s London about renowned dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis). This is to Day-Lewis’ final film. (trailer)

25 Dec 2017 US – Hallmark’s When Calls The Heart S5 Christmas Special (TV series)
Two-hour Christmas special, followed by S5 in 2018.

25 Dec 2017 UK – ITV’s Maigret in Montmartre (TV movie)
Set in 1950’s Paris.

26 & 27 Dec 2017 UK – BBC’s The Miniaturist (TV miniseries)
Adaptation of Jessie Burton’s novel of the same name set in 1686 in Amsterdam. Starring Romola Garai and Anya Taylor-Joy.

26-27 Dec 2017 – Maria Theresia (TV Miniseries)
Two episodes (each 2 hours long) in Czech, German, Slovak, and Hungarian about the Hapsburg Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa.

For period dramas in development and coming out in 2018, please visit Upcoming Period Drams 2018 – Future.

SaveSave

SaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSave