A new year, new period dramas for us all! With the number of streaming services that shows are now split between, I can’t always watch them as soon as they drop. (But I am okay saving them for later.) 2025 does seem to be a quieter year for period dramas thus far, at least as far as shows currently announced or scheduled. (Here is hoping more are announced soon.) Some of these have specific air-dates and some don’t, I’ve included them where it is available. These are my to-watch 2025 period dramas!
My To-Watch 2025 Period Dramas
I’ve included the only trailer available thus far, but will be adding more as they are released! (I have to say, trailers are being released later and later now.) That also goes for air dates- when they are made available, I will be updating this post.
Sept. 2025 Update
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale (12 September 2025, in theatres)
We have the final instalment of Downton Abbey! I know that some people believe that Downton should have ended with the show, but I think that the films do low-stakes drama perfectly. (We’ve got some fairly traumatic moments in almost every season, but the films are pretty light.) I don’t know how quickly I will be able to get to the theatres to see it but I’m happy to see the Crawley’s story wrapped up!
The House of Guinness (25 September 2025, Netflix)
As someone who lived in Dublin and is very familiar with the Guinness family, it is an understatement to say that I am excited for The House of Guinness. Created by Steven Knight (the man behind Peaky Blinders), this show is set in the second-half of the nineteenth century and follows the chaos that follows the death of Benjamin Guinness. We’ve got social unrest in Dublin (a fascinating period in Irish history), the impressive Guinness breweries, and chaos.
Miss Scarlet S5 (January 2025, North America)
Miss Scarlet returns without the Duke for a fifth season and it is airing on PBS in January now! It was actually available on PBS Passport/ the Prime Channel on Amazon, so I’ve already watched this one. I only started watching Miss Scarlet in December, so I am newer but I think that the show still works very well without the Duke. (It does Eliza a disservice to think she can’t centre the show without him!) Let’s keep everything crossed it gets renewed for a sixth season.
Miss Austen (May 2025, North America)
Miss Austen is a four-episode mini-series based on Gill Hornby’s book of the same name. The story follows Jane’s sister Cassandra in 1830 as she helps the niece of her dead-fiance save her home. The novel is beloved and given that this year marks the 250th anniversary of Jane’s birth, I think that this will do incredibly well. It also has a great cast- Keeley Hawes, Rose Leslie, Calam Lynch, Phyllis Logan, and Max Irons are all in the show. I’ve still not read the novel, so I will be reading it before to get ready.
The first episode will air in North America on Sunday, 4 May. (I have not seen a confirmed UK air date yet, but I will update this when I find it!)
Outrageous (Summer 2025)
I have not seen any dates confirmed for this either in the UK (airing on UDrama, from what I’ve seen) or in North America (BritBox ) but this is my number one show. This period drama follows the Mitford family in the 1930s over six episodes. We of course have Nancy, the author, and her five sisters including a fascist, a communist, and a duchess. (They also have a brother who is featured.) They were one of the “it” families of society, and the sisters were enmeshed in politics and society across Europe in the 1930s- this is a story made for retelling.
It is also another stellar cast: Bessie Carter, James Purefoy, Toby Regbo, and Anna Chancellor are all gracing the screen for Outrageous.
As soon as there are dates and a trailer for this, I will be updating!
Marie Antoinette S2 (?)
Bizarrely, this show made a mistaken appearance at the beginning of 2025. In some of the period drama communities I’m a part of, many in Europe said that the entire second season was released from Canal+ with no trailer, no press, no announcements. From what I understand, it was a mistaken release and was actually supposed to drop on 6 February 2025 in France. The second season picks up a few years after the first and it looks like we have several notable historical figures appearing. There is no BBC or PBS release date yet, so hopefully that is on the horizon.
The Gilded Age S3 (?)
The Gilded Age quickly became one of my favourite period dramas of the last decade. It is low-stakes but high drama, and I am here for it. The third season started filming in July 2024 and I believe that HBO has confirmed a 2025 release date but no specific date yet. The ensemble cast is getting bigger still with more characters added, so I’m excited to see where they all fit in.
What are your to-watch 2025 period dramas?
Cheers,
The Historian
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Threads
Have you watched Grantchester? I just found it on Netflix and am loving it so far.
I have randomly watched the most recent season, and then went back to the beginning and finished the first season! It is one of the best cosy crime shows I’ve seen!!