50+ OF THE BEST PERIOD DRAMA ON PRIME VIDEO: APRIL 2025
It’s again time for our annual list that takes a look at what kind of period drama on Prime Video you can discover. Why, well because we do love period drama and taking a look at what’s streaming on some of our favorite streaming apps is a good time. Or at least, this is what the hope is. Plus I am sure most of us have that Amazon Prime account. Some of the titles we hope to find are little known and others are widely popular and universally loved.
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50+ OF THE BEST PERIOD DRAMA ON PRIME VIDEO RIGHT NOW: APRIL 2025. Some of the #PeriodDrama you can find on #PrimeVideo right now. How many do you recognize? #Romance Share on XThese period dramas may not all be the best in terms of production or if held up against the prominent period dramas of our time. But that isn’t all that makes a period drama entertaining. Sometimes its am impressive cast list or other times it’s seeing someone make their film debut.
From happy to bittersweet, beautiful to bleak, there’s a nice selection of feelings you can find underneath the pretty production images. Additionally, most of these feature some impressive British talent, too. Let’s dive in and see what we discover.
PERIOD DRAMA on PRIME VIDEO APRIL 2025
ALICE in WONDERLAND, 1999
This 2-hour production has Tina Majorino in the titular role. Martin Short and Miranda Richardson also stars in this colorful production that does boast some high average ratings on Prime Video. PG-13 is the rating for Violence, smoking, foul language.
AN AMERICAN RHAPSODY
About (according to Prime Video): A young Hungarian girl struggles to find her place in the world when she’s reunited with her parents in the USA years after she was left behind during their plight from the communist country in the 1950s. – Prime Video
Scarlett Johansson stars in what seems to be one of her early acting day roles. Tony Goldwyn also stars. PG-13 is the rating for violence, alcohol use, smoking, foul language
ANNA KARENINA, 2013
Not a film I’ve ever seen a full adaptation for. This one says its original language is in Italian, but I’m sure it has dubbing. The film follows a woman named Kitty who enters into an affair with a Count. Santiago Cabrera from BBC’s The Musketeers stars. 16+ is the rating for nudity, violence, alcohol use, smoking, foul language, sexual content.
ANZAC GIRLS, series
About (according to Prime Video): The true stories of extraordinary young women who witness the brutality and heroism of war and rise to meet the challenge. – Prime Video
ARISTOCRATS
This BBC production follows the lives of the Lennox sisters and their ups and downs as they grow up in the eighteenth century. It’s narrated by a younger sister, and centers primarily around the older (episode one) who refuses to make a proper match even after three social seasons. From that (I only managed two episodes while working on this list), the series spans decades as children grow and matches are made.
Reason to Watch: The cast is pretty impressive and includes Jodhi May, Alun Armstrong, Anne-Marie Duff, Julian Fellowes (yes that Fellowes) and Toby Jones. Plus, if you like multi-generational stories, this one covers that through six episodes, and it’s set in a period I don’t see many period dramas from though anyone who liked The Duchess would probably enjoy this!
TV-14 is the rating for some sexual content (we see married couples in various states of undress in bed). Talk revolves around accepting affairs in a marriage. Note this is only in reference to episodes one and two.
THE AUDREY HEPBURN STORY
Jennifer Love Hewitt plays the iconic film star in this 2-hour film. The film chronicles Hepburn’s life from her childhood as a dancer to making it big as an American movie star.
Reason to Watch: I think I saw this years ago, and if its how I remember, it’s not all happiness. But the film is worth seeing because it has an impressive cast which additionally includes a young Emmy Rossum and a young Sarah Hyland, plus Frances Fisher, Gabriel Macht, and Eric McCormack. If you like biographical films like Walk the Line or Elvis, this might be something to enjoy, plus it has that A+ cast.
THE BASKET
ABOUT (according to Prime Video): A picturesque Pacific Northwest community raising its wheat and children in the midst of a nation reeling from World War I sets the stage for The Basket. In a time of pain and prejudice woven against a background of beauty, The Basket ultimately points to triumph and hope in a changing America. – Prime Video
BEYOND the SEA
This is a kind of biopic about Bobby Darin. I saw this one years ago if I remember right, but it’s been quite a while since I would have seen this so remembering details isn’t something I can speak to right now. It was fun to see Kate Bosworth, from Win a Date with Tad Hamilton, and the costumes are pretty, too. PG-13 is the rating for Violence, alcohol use, smoking, foul language, sexual content
THE BLACK CANDLE
This one boasts an impressive cast including Samantha Bond and Tara Fitzgerald, but it’s not a happy story. Its about blackmail and unrequited love and money. It introduces us to a poor girl who has gotten herself pregnant by a man who wants nothing to do with her. This inspires the kind, working class Joe to propose to her, a man who has always loved her. We also meet Bridget, a wealthy woman who runs a business, and also loves Joe, and she wants to help him have a better place in the world.
Reason to Watch: The story is a kind of Dickens-lite tale that has death and abuse, but hopefully the implication of a brighter future for those who remain. It also has some rare but sweet romance moments, too. The rating is 16+ for violence, smoking, foul language, sexual content (there are about four intense scenes; two involve beating and killing a man, one abuses a woman, and the fourth attempts murder).
THE BLETCHLEY CIRCLE series
Set in the post WWII era, this is a British drama that follows a group of women who were codebreakers during the war, and are now trying to return to their daily lives after a service that they cannot even share with the people closest to them.
Reason to Watch: The series has a brilliant cast (which includes Anna Maxwell Martin) and through two seasons contains a mere seven episodes. Then, with some new faces, the show did make an attempt at a second life in The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco. That show has eight episodes and can, at this time, be streamed through BritBox.
BOMB GIRLS, series
ABOUT (according to Prime Video): During WWII, a group of women risk their lives building bombs in a Canadian munitions factory. But they are also engaged in fights of their own. Peers, friends, and sometimes rivals, the women form an unexpected kinship as they deal with the men-fathers, brothers, coworkers, suitors-not serving overseas. – Prime Video
Reason to Watch: I did watch this two season series two years ago. It was interesting with compelling characters living during a time of great sorrow and difficulty. The cast, as these productions are prone to do, impresses Meg Tilly, Jodi Balfour, Charlotte Hegele, Antonio Cupo, and Ali Liebert.
CATHERINE COOKSON’S THE GIRL, miniseries
The story of a young girl who tries to help her dying mother. This introduces her to a wealthy man, whom her mother says is her father. This then sets into motion a series of events that lead to Hannah living with her father and the cruelty she endures as the story then spans several years, all starting in 1850.
Reason to Watch: Though it’s very much done in a lite way, Cookson’s stories have a kind of Dickens-like atmosphere. They involve death and darker themes (including in this, cruelty to children) and feature stories that have strife for their characters. Additionally, we get to see a young Mark Benton (from Shakespeare and Hathaway) and though she hasn’t had many prominent roles since, this did mark the debut of Siobhan Flynn, who is good as the adult titular character. Three hours tell this story divided into three one-hour parts.
TV-PG is the rating but I’m not sure what content this has (I only saw episode one at this time). There is an intense scene of a child and a woman being beaten; a man is also beaten in the final seconds of episode one. We also see a couple in bed together with intention to have sex.
Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, 1996
Ciarán Hinds plays Rochester in this A&E version of the Charlotte Bronte novel and Samantha Morton is the wise Jane. The story is much the same as any version of Jane Eyre about an impoverished woman who ends up as governess for a wealthy man’s ward, a man who is holding onto quite a secret.
CIDER with ROSIE
Taking place just after World War I, this is described as a semi-autobiographical story about a woman who must take care of her children and step-children when her husband leaves them. The film is described as coming of age, and seems like it could be enjoyable if you like Lark Rise to Candleford, especially given it reads as being partly about feuding matrons!
THE COURTSHIP
I’ve featured this one before, but it’s quite sweet. It’s a foreign language film and has a couple instances of nudity (if this bothers you) and may distract you because of the dubbing, but I was able to overcome this and found a charming little story about a woman who must marry a stranger (a man in need of money) to find proper social standing.
DEATH on the NILE, 1978
Peter Ustinov takes on the role of Hercule Poirot in this Agatha Christie adaptation. It follows the story of a newlywed heiress who dies under mysterious circumstances.
Reason to Watch: This story is interesting and is a unique mystery. The cast is also quite impressive, which includes Angela Lansbury, Bette Davis and Mia Farrow.
DOCTOR FINLAY series
This drama follows a doctor returning to his home village post his service during WWII. The drama, from what I saw (which is two episodes), is slow moving but interesting as it is a kind of day-in-the-life of a doctor treating patients needing treatment.
FOLLOW the RIVER
ABOUT (according to Prime Video): The tumultuous settlement of the New World and the crossing of its two cultures form the backdrop for this sweeping saga of a courageous pioneer woman who is abducted by Shawnee Native Americans. – Prime Video
PG is the rating for some frontier violence and mild thematic material
GRACE of MONACO
Taking place in the 1960s, this follows Grace Kelly as she struggles during a political upheaval period of her marriage. Nicole Kidman plays Grace. PG-13 is the rating for violence, smoking, foul language.
HOUSE of DAVID
This new release series follows the life of David, the Biblical hero.
Biblical epics these days (I went through a whole Christian movie phase back in the day) aren’t my thing, and I have personal reasons why they don’t appeal to or work for me now, but I did see more than one person (through reviews or social media) praising House of David as impressive and moving. 16+ is the rating
THE IDENTICAL
About (according to Prime Video): The story of twin brothers separated at birth in the Great Depression. With different upbringings, one brother becomes a music legend while the other struggles to find a balance between his passion for music and trying to please his father. Starring Ray Liotta, Ashley Judd, and Seth Green. – Prime Video
This one is not a title I’m familiar with, but is had an impressive cast which also includes Erin Cottrell (who Hallmark fans will know) and seems like it could be an uplifting story. PG is the rating for violence, substance use, alcohol use, smoking, foul language
THE INHERITANCE
A poor woman lives with, and is treated kindly by a wealthy family as companion of their daughter. When a relative comes to visit, Edith is made to feel like an outsider, even as she tries to fight her forbidden feelings for a man meant to be a match for someone else. Tom Conti, Meredith Baxter and Thomas Gibson are the leading names in this period drama.
Reason to Watch: This film may be a lower budget, but it’s charming. It’s inspired by a novel by Louisa May Alcott and is, from what I remember, a production that is far better than the novel, which disappointed me. The film also has a swoony and romantic end, so it’s ideal for those of use who love that.
JANE EYRE, 1983
Timothy Dalton plays the iconic Mr. Rochester character in this Charlotte Bronte classic. This is also one of the rare adaptations from BBCs 1980s films that I do actually like. It’s moody as it should be, and while kind of “clunky” at times, it’s ultimately a solid production that I’ve seen more than once.
STREAM on PRIME VIDEO | STREAM the 1971 VERSION on PRIME VIDEO
LA FEMME MUSKETEER
Valentine D’Artagnan is the heroine in this miniseries, but it follows the feisty daughter of the famed musketeer D’Artagnan.
Reason to Watch: this is a fun series that is all about adventure if you like period drama that has an adventurous quality. The series has Michael York and Gerard Depardieu.
LIGHTKEEPERS
Set in the 1900s, this one, according to its Prime Video page says it follows a man deciding to give up women who takes “refuge tending a remote Cape Cod lighthouse. When a mysterious stranger literally washes up in Seth’s life and two beautiful, spirited women arrive, all four of them will be sent sailing into uncharted romantic waters!” It’s a film I did see years ago, but please, don’t ask me to remember how I felt about it (though given I haven’t rewatched it, I’m guessing it’s not a favorite).
LITTLE MEN
Inspired by the Louisa May Alcott novel, this follows Josephine March as she runs a school through an inheritance. The story is comprised of two seasons, each with thirteen episodes.
THE LORD of the RINGS: THE RINGS of POWER
Extremely popular, this Prime Video series is inspired by the stories of J.R.R. Tolkien, and takes places years before his popular The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings novels. According to the Prime Video page, the plot reads “this epic drama follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth.”
MAIL ORDER BRIDE
A western set drama, Mail Order Bride follows a con woman who ends up taking the place of a friend who, before her death, was going to become the bride of a rancher. Daphne Zuniga, Greg Evigan, and Cameron Bancroft lead the cast.
MERLIN, series
A TV show that chronicles the spells and adventures of a young sorcerer Merlin, plus we get to see a young King Arthur fight for his kingdom, too.
NORTH and SOUTH (miniseries)
Follows a southern and proper woman named Margaret Hale who moves to the harsher Northern climate and the people she meets, including the handsome but harsh Mr. Thornton, who live this as a normal way of life.
Reason to Watch: Inspired by the novel from Elizabeth Gaskell, North and South is unquestionably one of the best period dramas from more recent years. Based on the novel by Elizabeth Gaskell, the film has Richard Armitage stepping into the brooding hero role, and Daniela Denby-Ashe as Margaret, a woman from a different culture than his harsher Northern industrial upbringing. It’s charming and harsh, stunning and full of elegant romanticism.
OKLAHOMA! (1955) and (2003)
The plot follows a farm girl and cowboy who fall in love even with a rival for the beautiful Laurie’s hand.
Reason to Watch: The 1955 version of this music isn’t a personal favorite of mine, but I have seen it. It’s also a title that has wide acclaim plus won awards. The colors are bright and there is a love story (plus we meet one of cinema’s funniest supporting leading ladies in Annie), but parts of the plot feel, well, weird to me. I haven’t seen the 2003 version of Oklahoma though. It features Hugh Jackman in the role of hero though.
STREAM 1955 on PRIME VIDEO | STREAM 2003 on PRIME VIDEO
50+ OF THE BEST PERIOD DRAMA ON PRIME VIDEO RIGHT NOW: APRIL 2025. Some of the #PeriodDrama you can find on #PrimeVideo now. How many do you recognize? #Romance Share on XONE NIGHT with the KING
This Biblical epic tells the story of Esther and her journey to help the people she and her family believe God has positioned her to save. This is one film I saw back in the day. It is also one film that leans into romance, but some sense of affection for Esther had to be a part of the King since he had previously banished his former wife for disrespecting him. If you like House of David, you may enjoy this.
THE PARADISE, series
This gets a shout-out often, but it’s worth seeing. It follows the heroine Denise, an ambitious woman who, after being left without parents travels from the country to earn herself a position at the Ladies Paradise, an elegant department store. It’s a sixteen-episode series across a mere two seasons.
Reason to Watch: This series, while getting only those two seasons, is gorgeous to look at. It also plays into the forbidden romance.
REIGN
Not a show I’ve seen (no one is surprised, I know), this is, from what I know, a soapy drama that doesn’t adhere properly to its era (far as customs or costumes). It follows, according to its Prime Video page, the life of “Mary Stuart, the young woman the world would come to know as Mary, Queen of Scots. The teenage Mary is already a headstrong monarch – beautiful, passionate and poised at the very beginning of her tumultuous rise to power.”
RING of FIRE
According to its streaming page, this film is a four Primetime Emmy award nominee and is, as its title would imply, a kind of biopic for Johnny Cash. Although, its Amazon page says its more of a film about June Carter Cash and her beginnings in Virgina through marriage to Johnny Cash. Jewel takes on the role of June.
RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN’S CINDERELLA, 1965
Lesley Ann Warren stars in this musical version of Cinderella.
A ROYAL NIGHT OUT
This is one we have featured on a list like this, but it’s worth watching if you enjoy royal movies. It’s a kind of loose interpretation of what Princess Elizabeth’s one night out (history suggests Elizabeth, along with her sister, did celebrate V.E. Day) may have looked like. Of course, there is a one-night romance and some other shenanigans, too. Sarah Gadon, Bel Powley, Jack Reynor, Emily Watson and Rupert Everett star. PG-13 is the rating for some sexual content and brief drug elements
SENSE and SENSIBILITY, 1995
A beloved version of the Jane Austen classic, this has Emma Thompson in a lead role of Elinor Dashwood and Kate Winslet as the younger, and flighty sister Marianne as they are both tossed up and down in the emotion of love. Thompson also wrote the script and Hugh Grant co-stars along with Alan Rickman and other impressive British talent, too.
THE SLIPPER and the ROSE
A re-telling of Cinderella, this has Richard Chamberlin as the prince and Gemma Craven as the heroine. It’s also a very musical film and one I saw years ago. There have been clips of the film making social media rounds again because Chamberlin recently passed away.
SNOWY RIVER: MCGREGOR SAGA
Set in Australia, this one follows a rancher and family, and the ups and downs they have. Stars, names we would later come to know, Guy Pearce and Josh Lucas appear in this three season drama.
Reason to Watch: This one isn’t a title I’ve seen, but it feels like it would suit When Calls the Heart fans or anyone who likes Josh Lucas.
SOUTH PACIFIC
Considered a classic, this Rogers and Hammerstein musical tells the story of a nurse and French man who find love during the turbulent times of WWII.
SPRING AWAKENING
The life of a college educated woman is chronicled in this story that begins with a woman raising a young child before going back in time to tell a story of how she ends up raising the child of a man she once loved. This isn’t memorable in the same way other stories from this list are, but it has charms and is a small town romance set in the 1900s about mismatched lovers.
Reason to Watch: While the entire story isn’t wholesome, this film does have a wholesome appearance which will make this something anyone who enjoys When Calls the Heart, Anne of Green Gables or other sweet small town romance the ideal target audience. As an aside, people will either have a soft spot for or loathe the hero. 13+ is the rating for some talk of a child out of wedlock (very mild) and kisses. This is definitely more PG.
STONEHEARST ASYLUM
Kate Beckinsale stars in this, in a genre she’s quite comfortable in (period drama), a scrumptious kind of period drama that looks at the lives of characters living in an asylum and the doctors treating them. In this case, Jim Sturgess plays a doctor who finds Beckinsale’s character quite intriguing.
Reason to Watch: If you like Jane Eyre or Gothic period drama like Dickensian or a Frankenstein variation.
TOM JONES
From 1997, this British drama is a bodice ripper kind of romp that its page says follows the titular character “through the mansions and taverns of Georgian England. Henry Fielding’s fallen hero bed-hops his way out of a good home and almost into a hangman’s noose, via a series of misadventures and misunderstandings.” 16+ is the rating for this because of nudity, violence, alcohol use, smoking, foul language, sexual content.
50+ OF THE BEST PERIOD DRAMA ON PRIME VIDEO RIGHT NOW: APRIL 2025. Some of the #PeriodDrama you can find on #PrimeVideo now. How many do you recognize? #Romance Share on XTHE TUDORS
This drama follows the exploits of Henry VIII and the many different wives he has had along with the three children resulting from those unions.
Reason to Watch: From what I remember of this, the drama is soapy and there is a lot of well, things that don’t really add to the story. The drama ran for four seasons, and if you are looking the main reason to possibly consider this show, the cast is pretty impressive and includes Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Natalie Dormer, Sarah Bolger, James Frain, and even Henry Cavill. Only, just know, the series is very adult, so if you are wondering, yes, the TV-MA rating is very appropriate.
WUTHERING HEIGHTS, 1998 and 1939
Based on the novel by Emily Brontë, this is about the fated romance between Cathy and Heathcliff. The story, from what I gather (I really cannot remember if I ever saw a version), it’s a darker story with a story that has little sunshine. The 1998 adaptation has stars like Matthew Macfadyen and the 1939 features Merle Oberon and Laurence Olivier.
STREAM 1998 on PRIME VIDEO | STREAM 1939 on PRIME VIDEO
MORE to CONSIDER ____
if you don’t like adult content, make sure to check ratings and reviews. some of these, based on having seen some and then others are based on what I read do contain nudity or sexual content.
- BERTIE and ELIZABETH
- CHARMS for the EASY LIFE
- CIVIL LOVE
- THE EDGE of LOVE (this film rates R)
- EDWARD and MRS. SIMPSON, 1978
- GULLIVER’S TRAVELS, 1996
- HAVEN
- INFINITY
- THE KING’S DAUGHTER
- THE LAST POST
- THE LOST PRINCE
- MERLIN, 2009
- THE FORTUNES AND MISFORTUNES OF MOLL FLANDERS (this series is supposed to have quite a lot of adult content)
- MY LADY JANE (this series has a TVMA rating which equates to R)
- NEVERLAND
- THE ORIGINALS (portions of this do visit past eras)
- PRINCESS CARABOO
- A SUMMER STORY (though only PG-13, this one has nudity and sex)
- TITANIC
- THE VON TRAPP FAMILY: A LIFE OF MUSIC
- A WALTZ through the HILLS
- THE WAR BRIDE (this film has an 18+ rating)
- WISH YOU WELL
STILL thriving on PRIME ____
Some of these are titles I included on prior lists from 2020, 21, 22, 23, or 2024 but they are still thriving on Prime Video! Below we’ve tried to gather titles from our former list.
- BEAUTY and the BEAST, 2014 miniseries
- CATHERINE CALLED BIRDY
- THE COUNT of MONTE CRISTO (1975)
- CRUSOE, series
- Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman (Series)
- The Electrical Life of Louis Wain
- EMMA (1997, A&E)
- FRENCHMAN’S CREEK
- FROM TIME to TIME
- A GIRL of the LIMBERLOST
- A HAZARD of HEARTS
- JONATHAN STRANGE and MR. NORRELL
- KING SOLOMON’S MINES, 2004
- LADIES in LAVENDER
- PASSION’S WAY
- THE PRISONER of ZENDA
- THE RAILWAY CHILDREN
- THE TENANT OF WILDFELL HALL, 1996
- UNDER the GREENWOOD TREE
- WHEN we go to WAR
Photos: Alamy
which platform should I spotlight the period dramas on next?
Of course, there are many other titles living on Prime Video, too! But these are what I collected. Have you seen any of these period drama Prime Video April 2025 titles? Which ones should I prioritize? Which ones sound I skip? How many of these is going to make you run to Prime Video? What platform should we spotlight period dramas from next? Share all of your thoughts down in the comments section.
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