Shows Like
Shows Like Bridgerton: Period Romance With the Facts Checked
By Jordan A. · · Updated · 5 min read
Bridgerton has been on Netflix since December 2020 and it is a romance first and a history lesson never. Each season picks one sibling, gives them an obstacle that could be solved by a single honest conversation, and then spends eight hours not having it. That is the format, and it is a good one.
The picks below are sorted by which part you want: the heat, the wit, or the actual period. Each gets its service, its years and its season count, and a note on whether it ends. Where each one streams changes, so the title page on BingeNext shows current US options rather than a service I have not checked today.
The Bridgerton universe first
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (Netflix, 2023, one limited season) fills in the young Charlotte and George, and it is the best-written thing Shondaland has made in this world. It shares everything structurally. The difference is that it is a genuine tragedy, and it treats the marriage as a lifelong negotiation rather than a finish line. Choose it if you want the same universe with more weight.
If you want the wit
The Great (Hulu, 2020 to 2023, three seasons) is Elle Fanning as Catherine and Nicholas Hoult as Peter in an absurdist, deliberately inaccurate Russian court. It shares the ballroom scheming and the sexual frankness. The difference is that it is a savage comedy, and the historical accuracy is a joke it makes in the opening credits. Choose it if the Lady Danbury scenes are your favorite. Be aware it was canceled after three seasons, so it does not resolve.
Dickinson (Apple TV+, 2019 to 2021, three seasons, thirty episodes) puts Hailee Steinfeld in a nineteenth century New England that talks like the present day, with anachronistic music and a lot of death imagery. It shares the modern-soundtrack-over-corsets approach. The difference is that it is about a poet refusing to marry, which inverts the entire Bridgerton engine. Choose it if you want something formally strange. It finished on its own terms.
My Lady Jane (Prime Video, 2024, one season) is a historical fantasy romance about Lady Jane Grey in a Tudor England where some people turn into animals. It shares the tone almost exactly: horny, funny, unbothered by facts. The difference is that Prime did not renew it, so the story stops. Choose it if you want the closest match in spirit and can accept an unfinished run.
If you want the romance played straight
The Buccaneers (Apple TV+, 2023 onwards) is Edith Wharton's unfinished novel about American heiresses arriving in 1870s London to buy titles, and it uses a contemporary pop soundtrack the way Bridgerton uses string covers. Worth stating clearly, since this is often reported wrong: it is an Apple TV+ series, not a Netflix one. It shares the ensemble of young women, the marriage market and the modern needle drops. The difference is that the Americans are outsiders, so the comedy is about class friction. Choose it if you want the most direct substitute.
Sanditon (2019 to 2023, three seasons) is an unfinished Jane Austen manuscript completed by Andrew Davies and set in a seaside resort under construction. It shares the Regency setting and the courtship plotting. The difference is that season one ends unhappily, which caused an uproar, and the two later seasons were made after a fan campaign. Choose it if you want proper Austen furniture around your romance.
Poldark (BBC One, 2015 to 2019, five seasons) is Cornwall after the American war, with mines, debt and a marriage that keeps nearly breaking. It shares the sweeping romance and the family fortunes plot. The difference is that it is far more interested in labour and poverty, and it is a longer commitment. Choose it if you want something with forty-three episodes and a real ending.
Outlander (Starz, 2014 onwards) sends a Second World War nurse back to eighteenth century Scotland, and it is the most explicit show on this list by some margin. It shares the central couple you are meant to be invested in for years. The difference is that it is a time travel epic with genuine brutality in it. Choose it if you want to be occupied for a very long time.
If you want the period taken seriously
Gentleman Jack (BBC One and HBO, 2019 to 2022, two seasons) is Suranne Jones as Anne Lister, the real 1830s Yorkshire landowner and diarist who lived openly with a woman. It shares the courtship structure and a lead who addresses the camera. The difference is that it is drawn from four million words of coded diaries, so the history is the point. Choose it if you want a real person. It was not renewed past two seasons.
Harlots (Hulu, 2017 to 2019, three seasons) is 1760s London brothels as a business, run by women competing with each other. It shares the frankness about sex and the female ensemble. The difference is that it is about commerce and survival, not love. Choose it if the Bridgerton version of the period feels too clean.
Vanity Fair (ITV, 2018, one season of seven episodes) is Olivia Cooke as Becky Sharp climbing through Regency society with no scruples whatsoever. It is a 2018 adaptation, not the 2011 one you may see cited. It shares the ballrooms and the social climbing. The difference is that the heroine is the villain. Choose it if you want the shortest watch here.
Where to start
If you want the most direct replacement, start with The Buccaneers. If you want the best acting and writing, start with Queen Charlotte. If you want to laugh, The Great. And if you want a long, complete story with a proper ending, it is Poldark.
If you are picking something to watch with a partner rather than alone, BingeNext couple recommendations takes both of your favorites and finds the overlap, with a note on where each result streams. It takes about a minute.
Topics covered: romance, period-drama, historical, ensemble-cast, drama, netflix
About the author
Jordan A., Founder, BingeNext
Jordan A. is the founder of BingeNext and is responsible for every guide published on this site. He built the recommendation engine after one too many nights lost to the streaming menu. Dates, season counts and where-to-watch details in these guides are checked against official sources before publishing, and corrections are welcome at Jordan@Bingenext.com.