10 Lavish Historical Dramas to Stream Right Now

Many of us turn to period dramas for escapism, whether we need to see a good romance, some complex class dynamics or just a raft of gorgeous costumes. Historical dramas, as a subgenre, turn all of this up to eleven, generally throwing in recognizable characters – who were real people, or are at least based on them – occasionally questionable facts, and loads of scandal.

(After all, we wouldn’t be that interested in the lives of historical figures if they were dull, would we?)

While we’re all busy social distancing and taking care of ourselves during the global coronavirus outbreak, everyone could use some ideas of how to entertain themselves. So welcome to the latest regular feature in our “Now Stream This” series, some genre-based ideas of things you should watch, based on a variety of themes. We’re kicking off with historical dramas, just because this particularly subset of period stories is a favorite of mine, and no matter how inaccurate they are, I will watch them. Forever.

Here are a few of the most lavish, entertaining historical period dramas you can stream right now.