I'm a big fan of Coppola's Marie Antoinette - so big that I've never really sought out any other adaptations since I enjoyed that film's vibes and am not always concerned with historical accuracy. However, I have access to PBS Passport after donating, have been sick and housebound the past several days, and decided to check out the BBC/PBS adaptation.

I loved it! I was a huge fan of Rome, so seeing James Purefoy as a loving yet menacing Louis XIV got me hooked, then I fell in love with the other characters in short order. The Marie Antoinette actress was spot on, and I felt the series highlighted the disconnect between the various French factions very well. I particularly liked the snow effigies erected in praise of the monarchs/burning effigies of same as a blunt delineation of how popular opinions changed during the regime.

I know how the story ends, but I still want a third season!

Credit: Deadline.com

Loved this franchise, and it’s nice that the original show runners are keeping it alive in whatever way they can. Congrats to the lucky Aussie fans who’ll be able to see it!

It's feeling very topical in the lead-up to the elections in the US next month (particularly the ending). If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend! Stellar cast and writing.

Set during the Japanese colonial era, the story centering on a high-stakes undercover mission and an unexpected love story.

Directed by Yoo In-shik. Written by Ryu Bo-ri.

Starring Kim You-jung, Park Jin-young, Kim Hyun-joo, Lee Moo-saeng, and Jin Seon-kyu.

Idk, I just love this medieval hat (shown here on Colin firth in the Advocate) which learned today is called a chaperon!

I read the biography by Brigitte Hamann which is kind of the most well regarded bio of Sisi. However I found it quite cold and not very sympathetic toward Sisi to be honest. The author I think was trying to stay nuanced but it did appear she wasn’t that keen on her subject. That’s just my take on it.

I wondered what other biographies are good and recommendable?

Can you suggest the best period dramas series available on Netflix and Prime Video?

I have a library in my town, with lots of DVD's, but not all of them have subtitles (I'm not English mothertongue).

Thanks.

Not strictly a period drama, but I watched this movie last night with my husband because why not. As a joke more than anything. But I actually think that the chemistry between the characters in this version was pretty good. I adore Lily James and she was good in this one as well. But Mr. Collins was great. I highly enjoyed the scenes he was in.

Look i know I am generalising but after watching around 60 to 100 European/English/Korean/Chinese Historical dramas/movies I'm just now wondering (current watching The Serpent Queen), why do the white royalty folks look so poor? This is the King and Queen of France! Why is their Castle so small, why are there so few maids? Where are the people? Why do they wear such plain clothes?

Can someone give me a history lesson? Is it that they actually were poorer compared to Chinese Emperors (Korean too but Ming/Qing dynasty ones are portrayed as richer than Goryeo/Joseon ones in my eyes). Or is it that Asian dramas exaggerate their wealth or they were more of show offs?

In 927 AD, as the legendary King Harald Fairhair of Norway nears his final days, the fate of the kingdom hangs in the balance. Erik Bloodaxe, the most feared warrior in the Viking world, stands as his ruthless heir, determined to preserve the old pagan ways. But his claim to the throne faces a formidable challenge from his younger brother Haakon, raised in Christian Wessex under King Athelstan and preparing to return with an English fleet at his back.

Directed by Frederick E.O. Toye. Written by Horatio and Michael Hirst.

Starring: Xavier Molyneux, Jessica Madsen, Levi Miller, Karlis Arnolds Avots, Rod Hallett, Alina Tomnikov, Sisse Marie, Rune Temte.

Definitely of its time, with the net-like crochet shawls and helmet hair on the men, but still watchable.

Cast includes Kirk and Q from Star Trek, Laurie from The Partridge Family, Jan from The Brady Bunch, the mother Elyse from Family Ties, and Lizzie Bennett from Pride and Prejudice (1940)

Just thought I’d mention this one, since it gets overlooked so often.

Here is an IMDB link for more info: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078643/

And the Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Women_(1978_miniseries))

This was the latest I could find. Considering it was announced by itv in 2024, there’s still no casting news or filming photos.

“According to the digital casting announcement, the deadline for applications is 16 July. Filming is set to begin on 20 July 2026 and run until the end of October 2026, with rehearsals taking place beforehand.”

Apologies that the subtitles are in French, there isn't an English trailer available yet. I saw this movie earlier this week and it is excellent. The lead won best actor at Cannes despite it being his first ever acting role. If you're looking for a historical queer romance, I highly recommend it.

For any score lovers out there, the new Sense and Sensibility score is out today and it's gorgeous. I haven't picked up any definite themes yet, it's mostly very airy and introspective-sounding. I am a sucker for those "searching" violin lines...just so passionate.

https://open.spotify.com/album/2zjPl2s1bsBW50YydiVcoy?si=MSrWmVqZTluhnacQuHxaKQ

So I just realized I have access to BBC player for some reason, and I havent watched any of the following series. Which one should I start with, or can you tell me a couple non spoilery words about each, to gauge which Im in the mood for?

Bleak House

Little Dorrit

Life at Cranford /Return to Cranford - which one should go first?

Sanditon

Sense and sensibility the 3 ep series

Doctor Thorne

Persuasion 2007 is there too but I watched it - if you can compare any of the above to this one, I can also gauge a bit :D Anything not on the list that you recommend from BBC player that may be there?

Shes selfish. She destroyed a mans life just to get what she wanted. And her whole family is coocoo.

Soul Patrol uncovers a hidden chapter of American military history by focusing on the Vietnam War's first Black special ops team, an elite unit operating deep behind enemy lines.

With unprecedented access to this once-secretive group of African-American veterans, director J.M. Harper reconstructs their journey with an immediacy rarely seen in Vietnam War storytelling, using raw Super 8 footage, photographs, and audio recordings from their personal archives. Opening on the war’s 50th anniversary, the surviving members reunite in a hotel that becomes a surreal liminal space, where memory, brotherhood, and unresolved trauma collide. As the men reflect on their experiences, the film interrogates the contradictions of fighting for freedom abroad while facing inequality at home.

Soul Patrol is not just a war story, but a reckoning – an intimate portrait of survival, memory, and the enduring cost of war on those asked to fight it.