10 Light-Hearted Period Dramas Better Than Outlander

"Mr Selfridge"  2013-2016)

This series dramatizes the story of American entrepreneur Harry Gordon Selfridge, who founded the famous Selfridge's department store in London, focusing on his innovative business strategies and tumultuous personal life.

1

"Upstairs Downstairs" (2010-2012 TV Series)

A revival of the classic series, this drama is set in a large townhouse in Belgravia, London, in the 1930s, following the lives of the wealthy family upstairs and their servants downstairs as they face a period of social change.

2

"Call the Midwife" (2012-present)

Based on the memoirs of Jennifer Worth, this series follows the lives and work of a group of midwives and nuns in the poverty-stricken East End of London during the late 1950s and early 1960s.

3

"The Gilded Age" (2022-present)

Set in the United States during the Gilded Age, the late 19th century, this series centers on a young woman who moves to New York City and is thrust into the world of the city's old money elite and the wealthy, ambitious newcomers.

4

"Anne with an E" (2017-2019)

An imaginative, talkative orphan named Anne is mistakenly sent to live with aging siblings on Prince Edward Island, where she transforms their lives and the small community with her unique perspective and spirit.

5

"Bramwell" (1995-1998)

The series follows Dr. Eleanor Bramwell, a pioneering female doctor in the late Victorian era, as she struggles against the prejudices of the time to establish a free hospital for the poor in London's East End.

6

"The Paradise" (2012-2013)

Adapted from Émile Zola's novel "Au Bonheur des Dames," this series centers on a small-town girl who finds employment and eventual love in Britain's first department store in the late 19th century.

7

"Lark Rise to Candleford" (2008-2011)

Set in the small Oxfordshire hamlet of Lark Rise and the wealthier neighboring market town, Candleford, this series explores the daily lives, loves, and labors of the people at the end of the 19th century.

8

"Young James Herriot" (2011)

A drama focusing on the early life of veterinarian James Herriot during his student days in Glasgow in the 1930s, before his famous career documented in "All Creatures Great and Small."

9

"The Bletchley Circle" (2012-2014)

A group of former female codebreakers of Bletchley Park reunites in the early 1950s to solve a series of complex crimes using their unique skills and knowledge.

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