15 Period Dramas of the Past 5 Years with Near-Perfect Rotten Tomatoes Score

Period dramas have a special way of whisking us back in time, showing us the glamour and the struggles of days gone by, and in the last five years, filmmakers have really stepped up their game, creating stories that not only look beautiful but also tell powerful tales that stick with you.

1. George & Tammy (2022 – Present)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 86%

Chronicles the tumultuous, passionate, and musically rich marriage of country music power couple George Jones and Tammy Wynette, highlighting their iconic duets, solo careers, and the personal struggles with addiction and fame that both bond and tear them apart.

2. Barbarians (2020 – Present)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 86%

Set in 9 A.D., this series dramatizes the events leading up to the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest where Germanic warriors halt the northward advance of the Roman Empire, focusing on the conflicted loyalties of Arminius, a Roman officer of Germanic origin.

3. The Gilded Age ( 2022 – Present)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 86%

In 1880s New York, young Marian Brook moves from rural Pennsylvania to New York City after her father's death to live with her old money aunts, navigating the social wars of the era as new money challenges the established order.

4. 1883 (2021 – Present)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 89%

A prequel to "Yellowstone, " this series follows the Dutton family as they embark on a westward expansion journey through the Great Plains toward the last bastion of untamed America, facing harsh challenges and personal tragedies.

5. 1923 (2022 – Present)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 90%

Another chapter in the "Yellowstone" origin story, focusing on a new generation of the Dutton family in the early 20th century, confronting the challenges of Prohibition, Western expansion, and the Great Depression, maintaining their legacy against a backdrop of historical upheavals.

6. Gentleman Jack (2019 – Present)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 92%

Based on the true story of Anne Lister, a landowner in 19th-century England who defied the era's expectations to manage her ancestral home, engage in a same-sex relationship, and strive for economic independence.

7. Dickinson (2019 – 2021)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 92%

A comedic and poetic look into the life of young Emily Dickinson, offering a stylized, contemporary take on her coming-of-age story, her ambitions to become a writer, and her passionate, gender-defying relationship with her friend and sister-in-law, Sue.

8. Mary & George (2024 – Present)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 93%

Details the secretive and manipulative spy games of Mary Villiers and her son, George, at the court of King James I, focusing on their complex machinations for power and influence within the royal court.

9. The Ipcress File (2022 – Present)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 94%

A stylish adaptation of the Cold War espionage thriller, following British Army sergeant turned spy, Harry Palmer, as he's drawn into a dangerous world of counter-intelligence and betrayal while investigating the kidnapping and brainwashing of key British scientists.

10. The Underground Railroad (2021 – Present)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 94%

Cora, a slave on a Georgia plantation, makes a desperate bid for freedom along the Underground Railroad, discovering an actual railroad beneath the soil; her journey is fraught with danger as a relentless slave catcher closes in.

11. Transatlantic (2023 – Present)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 95%

Set against the backdrop of World War II, follows the dangerous and valiant efforts of the Emergency Rescue Committee in Marseille, France, as they work to save the lives of refugees fleeing the Nazis, featuring real historical figures among the characters.

12. The Great (2020 – 2023)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 96%

A satirical, comedic take on the rise of Catherine the Great from an outsider to the longest-reigning female ruler in Russia's history, her tumultuous marriage to Emperor Peter III, and her progressive vision for the country.

13. The Good Lord Bird (2020)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 98%

Tells the story of enslaved boy Onion who becomes a member of John Brown's motley family of abolitionist soldiers during the Bleeding Kansas crisis, leading up to the famous 1859 raid on the Army depot at Harpers Ferry, an event that catalyzed the Civil War.

14. The Porter (2022 – Present)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 100%

Focuses on the lives of train porters in the early 1920s as they form the world's first Black union, navigating through the complexities of social, economic, and personal challenges against the backdrop of the jazz age and significant social change.

15. The Law According to Lidia Poët (2023 – Present)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 100%

Based on the life of Italy's first female lawyer, Lidia Poët, who battles gender barriers and societal expectations in the late 19th century to practice law, facing various cases that challenge the legal system and her place within it.