Netflix is one of the largest providers in the competitive streaming market. The American provider excels particularly in the area of series. For all those who like to watch historical series or just want to be inspired, the TECHNOLOGY BUTTON editorial team has put together particularly worth seeing series in front of a historical backdrop.
Historical dramas can be incredibly diverse. In addition to an exciting plot, they convey an impression of historical circumstances and, if we are honest, a triangular relationship surrounded by knights, swords and in front of a historical-mystical backdrop is also much more entertaining. TECHNOLOGY BUTTON has therefore compiled a list of historical series on Netflix that are particularly worth seeing.
The series, produced in 2021, is set in Spain around 1720. A young woman named Clara Belmonte learns of her father’s execution and is no longer able to go outside. But since she has to pay for her living, she gets a job in the kitchen of Castamar Castle with the help of her priest. A highly respected duke resides here, who two years earlier lost his pregnant wife in a riding accident and is marked by the incident.
From now on, Clara has to prove herself in the kitchen, where she not only meets new friends but also those who are envious. Because of her exceptional culinary skills, she quickly gains the role of chefs and supremacy over the kitchen. The Duke also soon became aware of them. What sounds like a cheesy relationship between the employee and the Duke is amazingly exciting. The everyday life of the servants contrasts with the noble life of the upper class, it is about intrigues, extraordinary characters and the question of where Clara actually comes from. Because she doesn’t seem to be a simple cook.
Bridgerton (1 season)
London, early 19th century. The Bridgerton family – made up of mother Violet and her eight children – are preparing to introduce their eldest daughter, Daphne, to London high society. Daphne made an extremely good impression in front of the Queen, which the mysterious Lady Whistledown reported in an article a day later. It is not known who is behind the name. What is certain is that Lady Whistledown knows many secrets that upper society would prefer to keep to itself. The reputation of many a lady or gentleman stands or falls with their reports – Daphne will soon have to experience this first hand. In addition, she is expected to make a good match and get engaged in the summer season. She doesn’t feel like doing it until Simon Basset Duke of Hastings, and a friend of her brother’s, suddenly shows up in London. He never wanted to get married either. Doesn’t that go together perfectly?
And by the way: Season 2 of “Bridgerton” has already been announced by Netflix.
The Baker Street Gang (1 Season)
“Sherlock Homes” meets “The Four Question Marks”. This is how the story in “The Gang from Baker Street” could be summed up. The master detective is not as smart as expected in this series. Instead, he has given himself up to drug addiction, lives off his good name and earns praise for many cases that others have actually solved. More precisely, the Baker Street gang, consisting of Bea, Jessie, Billy, Spike and Leo, on behalf of Dr. Watson. The series captivates with a mixture of crime and mystery against the historical backdrop of 19th century London.
Outlander (5 seasons)
Who wouldn’t want to be transported back to the eventful Scottish past, to the magnificent Highlands? It is not as romantic as you imagine it to be for the nurse Claire (Catriona Balfe). When she and her husband were on their second honeymoon in Scotland in 1945, they came across a mysterious stone circle that sent them back to 1743. There the young woman is surrounded by war, enmity and violence, but also quickly gets to know and love the Scottish warrior Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan). From then on she is torn between her two lives in two different times. Admittedly, the series does not really faithfully reproduce the historical events,
Reign (4 seasons)
There is hardly a female figure that has been so creatively concerned with as with Maria Stuart. The life and above all the death of the Scottish queen from the 16th century preoccupied Friedrich Schiller, Tom Ford and Jousie Rourke, among others. She embodied well-known actresses, including Katharine Hepburn, Vanessa Redgrave, Clémence Poésy and Saoirse Ronan. In the four-season series “Reign”, the young noblewoman is played by Adelaide Kane and the plot does not deal with her years in captivity, but with the time before that, which she spent mainly in France. Between intrigue, murder and ominous prophecies, the young woman has to assert herself and ends up between the brothers Francis (Toby Regbo), the equally young heir to the throne of France, and Sebastian (Torrance Combs),
The Last Kingdom (4 seasons)
Uthred von Bebbanburg (played by Alexander Dreymon), actually the son of Anglo-Saxon nobles, was kidnapped by Vikings as a child and grew up as one of them. After his foster father is murdered, he wants to assert his claim to his rank. Henceforth, as a child of two worlds, he has to decide: is he on the side of his blood relatives or on the side of the people he grew up with? The series is based on the novel “The Uthred Saga” by Bernard Cornwell. Via the fictional character Uthred, the viewer is led into a dark chapter of history in which the seafaring Vikings and the Anglo-Saxons fought fiercely in the North and Baltic Sea region. Among other things, the very realistic setting of the series, the costumes and the acting performance are praised.
Bazaar of Fate (1 season)
The eight-episode mini-series “Bazaar of Fate” deals with a real historical event. On May 4th, 1898 there was a fire in the Parisian bazaar, the victims were mainly women who were unable to assert themselves against the male refugees in the ensuing mass panic and were either trampled down or died in the fire because they did not make it outside in time.
Against this backdrop, the fate of three women in the series is treated: One gets to know her great love through the fire, the other is badly injured and disfigured and has to build a new existence in a strange life, the third tries through the fire To fake her death in order to escape her cruel husband. The French drama series skilfully weaves the individual stories together into a larger whole and paints an impressive picture of Paris at the end of the 19th century
Vikings (6 seasons)
Vikings as a historical series material – it just works well. The “Vikings” series uses the real historical figure of the Scandinavian conqueror Ragnar Lodbrok (played by Travis Fimmel) as a starting point. The Norse Viking hero undertook extensive campaigns of plunder and conquest in England, Denmark and France. The series is about this contact between different cultures on the one hand, and about the internal conflicts of the Vikings on the other. In addition to the cast, which mainly consists of more or less well-known Scandinavian actors, the bloody setting (Greetings from Game of Thrones), the elaborate braided hairstyles and the sometimes really profound dialogues make the series absolutely worth seeing.
Alias Grace (1 season)
A maid kills her employer and his housekeeper in 1843 and is finally acquitted after many years in prison. So far so true. The remarkable story of the maid Grace Marks has been literarily worked up by Margaret Atwood. The novel is now again the template for the equally remarkable Netflix miniseries. In addition to Grace (played absolutely fantastic by Sarah Gadon), the psychologist Dr. Simon Jordan (the equally splendidly cast Edward Holcroft) – practically a prototype of Sigmund Freud – second protagonist who tries retrospectively to clear up the confused story. In long conversations, Grace reveals her life story and the path to crime. However, she is extremely unreliable as a narrator and the viewer always has to question everything
Spartacus (4 seasons)
Even if the series “Spartacus” admittedly lives to a not inconsiderable extent from the attractiveness of its cast, who is never fully clothed, it is still worth seeing from a historical point of view. Against the backdrop of the famous third slave revolt, which was led by the slave and gladiator Spartacus, the series spins the life story of the eponymous hero. There are few reliable facts about the character as well as about the uprising itself, but it is known that the Roman Empire provided a lot of material for cinematic implementations. The series shows Spartcus’ path from Thracian military leader to slave, gladiator and finally to the revolting avenger. Due to the cancer and the death of main actor Andy Whitfield, a miniseries about the also famous gladiator Gannicus was inserted, which is entitled “Spartacus: Gods of the Arena”. This is also worth seeing and the main character Gannicus (Dustin Clare) will also be introduced into the mother series from season 2.
The Crown (4 seasons)
Monarchies are repeatedly the subject of films and series. “The Crown” focuses on the British royal family, especially the young Queen Elizabeth II. The story of the three seasons already released ranges from her wedding to Prince Philip, Prince of Greece and Denmark, to the 70s, with more being planned. The young queen is confronted with a rarely friendly political environment and private power struggles within the family. At a young age, played by Claire Foy, later by Olivia Colman, the figure of Queen Elisabeth unfolds a special fascination, as we know her primarily as a sedate and statesmanlike lady. Even if the series does not take it too closely with the real private circumstances of the British royal family, it shows
Ku’damm (2 seasons)
The “Ku’damm” series proves that German history is also exciting beyond WWII. The series was originally produced as a German television film and consists of the two seasons “Ku’damm 56” and “Ku’damm 59”, each comprising three episodes. Using the example of the Schöllack family, the post-war period and the economic miracle in Germany and especially Berlin are illuminated. The strict Caterina (Claudia Michelsen) runs a dance school on Ku’damm, her husband has been missing since 1944. The three daughters Helga, Eva and Monika couldn’t be more different. While Helga (Maria Ehrich) is newly married and wants to be a perfect housewife, Eva (Emilia Schüle) works in a clinic and wants to catch a wealthy man with a doctorate. Monika (Sonja Gerhard), on the other hand, discovered her passion for the then highly disreputable rock ‘n’ roll. The authentic series deals with the 50s, political unrest, the position of women and simmering conflicts between East and West.
