We’ve gathered up the period dramas that are newly included with your US Amazon Prime Video membership in the Winter of 2019 – 2020.
Then, we share the historical / costume / period dramas that are coming to Prime Video Channels, are available to rent, and movies and TV series in the genre that are being released to DVD, all for the months of December, January, and February.
Finally, we list some newly added non-period movies and series like British shows and romances that you may also like, that are included with your Prime Video membership.
Check this list throughout the winter; we’ll update all the sections (alphabetically) as more titles become available.
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It’s easy to watch the trailers for the films on this list, or add the movies and TV series to your watchlist: just click.
From British costume dramas to sweeping romantic epics, there’s a lot here by the end of the season, so to help you keep track: the blue TVs next to the title mean the film is included with your membership, the orange TVs mean it is available to rent or is available with a Prime Video Channel subscription.
Period Dramas Added in December
This section contains newly available historical, costume and period dramas (movies and TV series) that are included with your Prime Video membership.
In 1862, daredevil balloon pilot Amelia Wren teams up with pioneering meteorologist James Glaisher to advance human knowledge of the weather and fly higher than anyone in history. While breaking records and furthering scientific discovery, their voyage to the very edge of existence helps the unlikely pair find their place in the world they have left far below them. But they face physical and emotional challenges in the thin air, as the ascent becomes a fight for survival. Opening in theaters on December 6. Based on the events in book The Aeronauts: Travels in the Air by James Glaisher.
Starring Felicity Jones, Eddie Redmayne, Himesh Patel, Anne Reid.
Rated PG-13
Available December 20
Spain, 1948. An attractive young woman is found dead in a room of the luxury Almirante Hotel. The manager, Rosalia, points to a powerful man and a troubled love story as the cause of her suicide. But Rosalia herself soon becomes a suspect.
Starring Ana Turpin, Fernando Tato, Xoque Carvajal.
Rated 13+
Available December 10
Billionaire and aviation tycoon Howard Hughes is a successful public figure: a director of big-budget Hollywood films, a passionate lover of Hollywood leading ladies Katharine Hepburn and Ava Gardner, and an aviation pioneer who helps build TWA into a major airline. But in private, Hughes remains tormented, suffering from paralyzing phobias and depression. The higher he rises, the farther has to fall. Set between the late 1920s to the mid 1940s.
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale, Jude Law.
Rated PG-13
Available December 1
A classic family-friendly movie set in the Edwardian era. An inventor takes his kids and a candy tycoon’s daughter for a musical ride in a flying car that floats.
Starring Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howes, Lionel Jeffries, Benny Hill, Gert Fröbe.
Rated G
Available December 31
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, finds out that his uncle Claudius killed his father to obtain the throne, and plans revenge. Franco Zeffirelli’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s tragedy about the young prince of Denmark was filmed on location around the UK, including Stonehaven in Scotland, and boasts an impressive ensemble cast.
Starring Mel Gibson, Glenn Close, Alan Bates, Helena Bonham Carter.
Rated PG
Available December 1
It’s 1856, and Sam Hunter from Iowa City falls in love with a Mormon Pioneer traveling west to Utah under treacherous circumstances. To gain her love, joins the church and joins the movement west. His faith is challenged when an early snow causes trouble for the Martin Handcart Company.
Note: This is a faith-based, LDS movie.
Starring Jaelan Petrie, Stephanie Albach, Chris Kendrick.
Rated PG
Available December 3
Warsaw, December 1945: the second World War is finally over and Mathilde is treating the last of the French survivors of the German camps. When a panicked Benedictine nun appears at the clinic one night begging Mathilde to follow her back to the convent, what she finds there is shocking: a holy sister about to give birth and several more in advanced stages of pregnancy.
A non-believer, Mathilde enters the sisters’ fiercely private world, dictated by the rituals of their order and the strict Rev. Mother. Fearing the shame of exposure, the hostility of the new anti-Catholic Communist government, and facing an unprecedented crisis of faith, the nuns increasingly turn to Mathilde as their belief and traditions clash with harsh realities.
Starring Lou de Laâge, Agata Buzek, Agata Kulesza.
Rated PG-13
Available December 26
Based on the classic novel by Louisa May Alcott. When two homeless boys from Boston find themselves at Plumfield, a rural boarding school run by Jo and her husband, the boys learn both academic and life lessons they won’t ever forget.
In 1871, John Brooke meets a homeless youth named Nat Blake in Boston. He sends her to his sister-in-law Jo Bhar, who runs Plumfield School for Boys with her husband Fritz. Later Nat’s friend Dan comes to Plumfield. Jo and Fritz allow him to stay, though he soon proves to be a troublemaker.
Starring Mariel Hemingway, Chris Sarandon, Kathleen Fee, Michael Caloz, Ben Cook.
Rated PG
Available December 18
It’s the late 1950s and Miriam “Midge” Maisel has everything she has ever wanted — the perfect husband, two kids and an elegant apartment on New York’s Upper West Side. Her seemingly idyllic life takes a surprising turn when she discovers a hidden talent she didn’t previously know she had — stand-up comedy.
In season 3, Midge and Susie discover that life on tour with Shy is glamorous but humbling, and they learn a lesson about show business they’ll never forget. Joel struggles to support Midge while pursuing his own dreams. Abe embraces a new mission and Rose learns she has talents of her own. Recipient of 16 Emmys, 3 Golden Globes, 5 Critics Choice and 3 SAG Awards.
Starring Rachel Brosnahan, Alex Borstein, Michael Zegen, Tony Shalhoub, Marin Hinkle.
Rated TV-MA
Available December 6
This historical documentary series finds archaeologists Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn and domestic historian Ruth Goodman on the Acton Scott estate, located in rural England and frozen in the Victorian era.
The trio lives here for a year, using only Victorian-era tools and materials, such as those found scattered around the estate, to re-create everyday life during the late 1800s. The three must grow and harvest their own food, care for and breed a variety of livestock animals, maintain the estate’s buildings and even craft their own tools and furniture.
Also available: Victorian Farm: Christmas Special: Filmed in and around the Acton Scott Estate in Shropshire, Ruth, Peter and Alex return to tackle an array of new farming tasks, to explore life in the wider working countryside and to discover how the Victorians created the celebration of Christmas as we know it today. Add to your WATCHLIST
Available December 16
Available December 4: The Final Goodbye (2019), Northanger Abbey (2019). Available December 5: Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (2019). Available December 10: In Love and War (1987). Available December 15: We Have Always Lived in the Castle (2019), Lady Instagram (2019). Available December 16: Planetarium (2019). Available December 31: The Kentuckian (1955), Wild Faith (2017).
Period Dramas Added in January
This section contains newly available historical, costume and period dramas (movies and TV series) that are included with your Prime Video membership.
The epic tale of a class struggle in twentieth century Italy, as seen through the eyes of two childhood friends from different backgrounds. Set in the countryside of the Province of Emilia in the year 1900, this is the story of two men, one a bastard born into a family of farm workers, the other an heir to a wealthy family of landowners. A compelling, unforgettable story of human nature, of human existence, of the constant struggle against the oppression of tyranny.
Starring Robert De Niro, Gerard Depardieu, Burt Lancaster.
Rated R for violence and explicit sexual situations / full nudity.
Available January 1
The true stories of extraordinary young women who witness the brutality and heroism of war and rise to meet the challenge.
Arriving in Egypt to serve in World War I, a group of idealistic young Australian and New Zealand nurses are full of romantic notions. All too soon, however, they are faced with convoys of the dead and wounded from the doomed Gallipoli campaign. Realizing that war is not quite the “splendid adventure” they thought it would be, they rise to meet the challenge, finding love, heartbreak, and lasting friendship along the way.
Based on the book by Peter Rees and drawing on the real nurses’ letters, original journals, and historical records, this acclaimed Australian miniseries follows five unsung heroines through the traumatic war years.
Starring Georgia Flood, Antonia Prebble, Laura Brent, Caroline Craig, Anna McGahan.
Not rated but intended for mature audiences
Available January 27
In the 1830’s in northern England, Riah Millican, a widow with three children, takes a job as housekeeper to a reclusive former teacher, Percival Miller. Miller gives Riah the gift of a black velvet gown and educates her children. But when Riah discovers the reason behind the gifts, she vows to leave his house. But Miller has a hold on her, and after his death, he leaves his house to her.
Starring Bob Peck, Janet McTeer, Geraldine Somerville.
Rated 16+
Available January 28
Mary Surratt is the lone female charged as a co-conspirator in the assassination trial of Abraham Lincoln. As the whole nation turns against her, she is forced to rely on her reluctant lawyer to uncover the truth and save her life.
Starring Robin Wright, James McAvoy, Tom Wilkinson, Kevin Kline.
Rated PG-13
Available January 1
A chronicle of the life of 18th century aristocrat Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, who was reviled for her extravagant political and personal life.
Starring Keira Knightly, Ralph Fiennes, Charlotte Rampling.
Rated PG-13
Available January 2
It’s 1969, and things have taken a darker turn for the old Cowley team. It takes a series of brutal crimes to reunite Endeavour, Thursday, and the team, and finally lead them to the truth behind a comrade’s death. Shown on PBS Masterpiece.
Starring Shaun Evans, Roger Allam, Anton Lesser.
Rated 16+
Available January 8
A gripping and powerful film set in Warsaw, in December 1945. A young French Red Cross doctor is summoned to a local convent where she discovers several nuns in various states of pregnancy, facing an unprecedented crisis of faith as their fiercely private world clashes with harsh realities.
“Anne Fontaine’s spiritually and emotionally complex The Innocents represents a welcome change: a war movie by women, about women.” – Roger Ebert
Starring Lou de Laâge, Agata Buzek, Agata Kulesza.
Rated PG-13
Available January 23
During the Great Depression, Georgia socialite Adele Invergordon announces a publicity-garnering high-stakes match at her struggling family golf course, featuring the greatest golfers of the era. Once-promising local golfer Rannulph Junuh, whose career and life were derailed by World War I, is brought in to play alongside the stars, but his game is weak — until the enigmatic Bagger Vance offers to coach him back into the great golfer he once was, and teaches him about the meaning of life along the way.
Starring Will Smith, Matt Damon, Charlize Theron.
Rated PG-13
Available January 1
In late 19th century Europe, the young American Ms. Isabel Archer isn’t afraid to challenge societal norms. Impressed by her free spirit, her kindhearted cousin writes her into his fatally ill father’s will. Suddenly rich and independent, Isabelle ventures into the world, along the way befriending a cynical intellectual and romancing an art enthusiast. However, the advantage of her affluence is called into question when she realizes the extent to which her money colors her relationships.
Starring Nicole Kidman, John Malkovich, Barbara Hershey.
Rated PG-13
Available January 1
Revealing fighting skills as lethal as his legendary intellect, Holmes will battle as never before to bring down a new nemesis and unravel a deadly plot that could destroy the country.
When a string of brutal murders terrorizes Victorian era London, it doesn’t take long for legendary detective Sherlock Holmes and his crime-solving partner, Dr. Watson, to find the killer, Lord Blackwood. A devotee of the dark arts, Blackwood has a bigger scheme in mind, and his execution plays right into his plans. The game is afoot when Blackwood seems to rise from the grave, plunging Holmes and Watson into the world of the occult and strange technologies.
Starring Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong.
Rated PG-13
Available January 1
Rebbe Mendel is a single father who teaches the Talmud, a sacred text of Judaism, to the boys of his small Polish town. Behind closed doors, he also instructs his daughter, Yentl, despite the fact that girls are forbidden to study religious scripture. When Yentl’s father dies, she still has a strong desire to learn about her faith — so she disguises herself as a male, enrolls in a religious school, and unexpectedly finds love along the way.
Starring Barbra Streisand, Mandy Patinkin, Amy Irving.
Rated PG
Available January 1
Available January 1: CrissCross (1992), Golden Gate (1993), 1929 (2019), 1945 (2017), Across the Tracks (2019), Across the Waters (2019), The Admiral: Love and Fate in a Time of War (2009), Red River (1948), Huckleberry Finn (1974), The Unforgiven (1960). Available January 3: The Scarlet Letter (1934), The Bounty (1984). Available January 5: Little Women (1950). Available January 17: De-Lovely (2004). Available January 18: Greaser’s Palace (1972), The Secret of Santa Vittoria (1969). Available January 27: Poverty and Nobility (1953). Available January 30: Frances (1982).
Period Dramas Added in February
This section contains newly available historical, costume and period dramas (movies and TV series) that are included with your Prime Video membership.
*Season 1 included with Prime until 3/31/2020* In 1715, during the Golden Age of Piracy, New Providence Island is a lawless territory, controlled by history’s most notorious pirate captains. The most feared is Captain Flint.
As the British Navy returns to redeem their land and exterminate Flint and his crew, another side of him emerges. Captain Flint aligns himself with Eleanor Guthrie, daughter of the local kingpin, to hunt the ultimate prize and ensure their survival. Many opponents stand in their way: rival captains, jealous of Flint’s power; Eleanor’s ambitious and intrusive father; and a young sailor recently recruited onto Flint’s crew, John Silver, who constantly undermines his captain’s agenda.
Starring Toby Stephens, Hannah New, Luke Arnold, Jessica Parker Kennedy, Tom Hopper, Toby Schmitz, Clara Paget, Mark Ryan.
Rated 18+
Available February 28
Period-inspired. Based on a reinterpretation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, the modern day rom-com follows 32-year-old Bridget, who decides it’s time to take control of her life — and start keeping a diary. With a taste for adventure, and an opinion on every subject, she’s turning the page on a whole new life.
Starring Renée Zellweger, Colin Firth, Hugh Grant.
Rated R for language and some strong sexuality.
Available February 25
In 19th-century England, a pastor who’s suffered a personal loss accepts a position in a town that believes in a Christmas miracle candle, which he strives to abolish.
Deep in the heart of the English countryside lies the enchanting village of Gladbury. Legend has it every twenty-five years an angel visits the village candlemaker and touches a single candle. Whoever lights this candle and prays before it receives a miracle on Christmas Eve, but in 1890, at the dawn of the electric age, this centuries old legend may come to an end.
When David Richmond, a progressive young minister, arrives in Gladbury, the villagers discover a new formula for miracles: good deeds and acts of kindness. While David’s quest to modernize Gladbury sets him at odds with the old world candlemaker, he finds an unlikely ally in the lovely skeptic, Emily Barstow. Now, the fiery candlemaker must fight to preserve the legacy of the Christmas Candle, but when the blessed candle goes missing, the miraculous and human collide in the most astonishing Christmas the village of Gladbury has ever seen. Based on the popular novel by Max Lucado.
Starring John Hannah, Samantha Barks, Barbara Flynn, James Cosmo, Hans Matheson, Sylvester McCoy, Lesley Manville.
Rated PG
Available February 2
In 1949 in New York City, a ghostwriter finds himself romantically involved with his current wife, a married woman and his long-vanished wife. Based on the novel by Isaac Bashevis Singer.
Starring Ron Silver, Anjelica Huston, Lena Olin, Malgorzata Zajaczkowska, Alan King.
Rated R for adult situations/language, nudity.
Available February 5
In this celebrated film set in the 1950s in Algeria, a reclusive ex-soldier is thrown into the woes of rebellion when he’s ordered to escort a villager accused of murder to prison during the Algerian War. As their journey leads them through a deadly firefight between settlers and rebels, the two men on opposite sides of the conflict must join forces to survive in this adaptation of Albert Camus’ short story “The Guest.”
Starring Viggo Mortensen, Reda Kateb, Djemel Barek.
Rated 13+
Available February 6
In this fascinating Italian Second World War era period drama, former colonel Giovanni Bertone is a fraudster who extorts money from the families of the Nazi-Fascist prisoners. He promises them their freedom. Discovered by Colonel Muller, he is offered a pact: to save his life, he must go to Milan with a false identity to discover the members belonging to the Resistance.
Starring Pierfrancesco Favino, Hristo Shopov, Raffaella Rea.
Rated 16+
Available February 14
In this British detective drama, set in the 1950s, Sidney Chambers is feeling adrift. Soon Will Davenport is the new Vicar of Grantchester, drawn to crime solving. While Will embraces the future, Geordie is left entirely baffled by it. In a world without Sidney, where does he fit in?
Starring James Norton, Robson Green, Tom Brittney.
Rated TV-14
Available February 1
*Season 1 included with Prime until 3/31/2020* 1619. On what feels like the edge of the world sits Jamestown, Virginia. For 12 years, it has been populated only by men, but the settlement is shaken up when the first women land in this wilderness. The disruptive new arrivals are immediately thrust into a new world of desire, power, and survival. From the makers of “Downton Abbey.”
Starring Naomi Battrick, Max Beesley, Jason Flemyng, Burn Gorman, Dean Lennox Kelly.
Rated TV-14
Available February 28
A wealthy, precocious and loving child is raised in India, but sent away to a New York boarding school by her beloved father when he must go off to war. Loosely based upon the novel A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
When young Sara is sent to a boarding school by her well-meaning World War I-bound father, the imaginative girl makes the best of things by entertaining her friends with fanciful tales. After running afoul of the strict headmistress, Miss Minchin, Sara receives some heartbreaking news, and is forced to work in servitude. As she struggles to keep her spirits up, she makes some remarkable discoveries that may change her seemingly bleak fate.
Starring Eleanor Bron, Liam Cunningham, Liesel Matthews.
Rated G
Available February 1
In this turn of the century historical romance, a Madame with a mysterious past calls a group of wealthy friends to a lakeside hotel. It will be a weekend they’ll never forget. Based on the novel by Gladys Huntington.
It’s 1906. The young, aristocratic beauty, Natalia Solario, is on a long late-summer holiday at a luxury Swiss-Italian hotel on Lake Como. Englishman Bernard Middleton, freshly graduated from university, arrives at the resort and quickly falls under the spell of the enigmatic divorcee, rumoured to be hiding a scandalous past. The budding romance is rudely interrupted when Natalia’s long-estranged brother Eugene turns up, reawakening a tragic past shared by brother and sister. Eugene’s reappearance and the siblings’ apparently sordid background entraps them, provoking a profound effect on the small resort community. There are whispers of incest, and veins of passion and violence.
Starring Marie Féret, Cyril Descours, Salomé Stévenin, Harry Lister Smith.
Rated 13+
Available February 28
A Gothic-inspired period thriller from the 1950s. Turn-of-the-century set story of a 104-year-old man who keeps ever young with the help of a series of operations repeated every ten years – and what happens when the man who performs the operations dies. Set in Paris in 1890.
Directed by Hammer legend Terence Fisher (Horror of Dracula) with a screenplay by Jimmy Sangster (Dracula: Prince of Darkness) and based on a play by Barré Lyndon.
Starring Anton Diffring, Hazel Court, Christopher Lee.
Rated 13+
Available February 1
*Season 1 included with Prime until 3/31/2020* In 1920s Melbourne, the Honorable Phryne Fisher is a thoroughly modern woman operating in a mostly male world. The glamorous “lady detective” goes about her work with a pistol close at hand–and, more often than not, a male admirer even closer. To the dismay of Detective Inspector Jack Robinson, Phryne’s investigations take her through back alleys, jazz clubs, and shady neighborhoods. Ignoring the dangers all around her, she glides through life determined to enjoy every moment. But beneath her devil-may-care attitude, Phryne hides ghosts from the past that continue to haunt her.
Starring Essie Davis, Nathan Page, Hugo Johnstone-Burt, Ashleigh Cummings, Miriam Margolyes, Nicholas Bell, Miranda Otto.
Nor rated.
Available February 28
Based on a novel by Edith Wharton and set in early 1900’s France, a widow renews a romantic interest, but the former lovers are reunited under less than ideal circumstances. When they find each other again, he is deeply involved with one of her employees. The two women engage in a series of psychological battles in order to defeat each other in this battle of the heart.
Starring Sela Ward, Timothy Dalton, Alicia Witt, Leslie Caron, Jamie Glover.
Rated 13+
Available February 5
Oscar winner Adrien Brody stars in this epic true-life story of brilliant pianist and composer Wladyslaw Szpilman, an acclaimed musician who survived WWII with the help of a German officer.
In this adaptation of the autobiography “The Pianist: The Extraordinary True Story of One Man’s Survival in Warsaw, 1939-1945,” Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish Jewish radio station pianist, sees Warsaw change gradually as World War II begins. He struggles to survive the destruction of the Warsaw ghetto, and is separated from his family, hiding in various locations among the ruins of Warsaw.
Starring Adrien Brody, Emilia Fox, Michal Zebrowski, Ed Stoppard, Maureen Lipman, Frank Finlay.
Rated R for violence and brief strong language
Available February 17
Adapted from Henry James’ classic novel, The Turn of the Screw, a young woman is hired to take care of two children, Miles and Flora, as their governess. When the governess starts seeing ghosts, she’s led on a path that allows her to uncover the home’s dark past involving the children’s previous governess.
Starring Jude Law, Harvey Keitel, Lauren Bacall, Sadie Frost, Jack Taylor, Agusti Villaronga.
Rated 16+
Available February 20
In this turn-of-the-century period thriller, a mysterious actress witnesses a murder at an esteemed opera house. As the town’s dark past begins to reveal itself, she exacts an elaborate plot of revenge that revolves around the origins of a real life ghost story.
Starring Brett Cullen, Lauren Sweetser, Connor Price, Brandon Keener, Micah Hauptman.
Rated PG-13
Available February 21
Friends are caught up in a tumultuous love triangle in this sweeping period romance, played out against the timeless beauty of the English coast. In 1913 at a British artists colony, they compete for the affections of a comely debutante, but the object of their pursuit soon learns to regret her choice.
Starring Dominic Cooper, Dan Stevens, Emily Browning, Hattie Morahan, Max Deacon.
Rated 16+
Available February 17
In this 12-part costume drama mini-series, the Harland and Wolff shipyard has been handed the biggest project in its history. It will build a great, unsinkable ship. “Titanic: Blood & Steel” is the untold story of the building of a legend, and the many lives it affected during its three-year construction.
Starring Derek Jacobi, Chris Noth, Alessandra Mastronardi, Kevin Zegers, Neve Campbell.
Rated 13+
Available February 7
Available February 2: Sleepy Hollow (1999).
Also see the list of Period Drama Added to Prime Fall 2019.
Period Dramas New to Prime Video Channels
This section contains period dramas added in December, January and February (movies and TV series) that are included with add-on Prime Video Channels. If you don’t already subscribe to the channel, follow the link below the film description that says “Available …” to sign up for a free trial.
An animated retelling of Charles Dickens’ classic novel about a Victorian-era miser taken on a journey of self-redemption, courtesy of several mysterious Christmas apparitions.
Starring Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth.
Rated PG
Available December 2 with STARZ Channel.
Set in postwar Germany in 1946, this is the story of a woman who travels to Hamburg to reunite with her husband who has been given the task of rebuilding the city, but finds herself living in the same home as a German widower and his daughter.
Starring Alexander Skarsgard, Keira Knightley, Jason Clarke, Kate Phillips, Fionn O’Shea.
Rated R
Available January 4 with HBO Channel.
A 4-episode fresh take on E.M. Forster’s story of two independent and unconventional sisters and the men in their lives seeking love and meaning as they navigate an ever-changing world.
Margaret Schlegel is an intelligent, idealistic young woman who is courted by the older Henry Wilcox, a self-made conservative businessman. After his wife Ruth Wilcox dies unexpectedly he becomes the owner of Howards End. Meanwhile Margaret’s passionate and capricious younger sister Helen Schlegel takes up the cause of Leonard Bast, a young bank clerk who falls on hard times at work and at home with his partner Jacky. In the absence of their late parents, the sisters’ loving but interfering Aunt Juley tries to keep the young ladies and their brother Tibby on the straight and narrow.
Starring Starring Matthew Macfadyen, Philippa Coulthard, Julia Ormond, Hayley Atwell, Tracey Ullman.
Rated TV-14
Available January 13, 2020 with PBS MASTERPIECE Channel.
Set in the lower echelons of 1860s Paris, Therese Raquin, a beautiful young woman, is trapped into a loveless marriage to her sickly cousin, Camille, by her domineering aunt, Madame Raquin. Therese spends her days confined behind the counter of a small shop and her evenings watching Madame play dominoes with an eclectic group. After she meets her husband’s alluring friend, Laurent, she embarks on an illicit affair that leads to tragic consequences.
Starring Elizabeth Olsen, Tom Felton, Jessica Lange, Oscar Isaac.
Rated R for sexual content and brief violent images.
Available December 1 with EPIX Channel.
War is coming to America, when “Outlander” returns. The story of time-travel 1960’s Claire Fraser and her 18th century husband Jamie Fraser as they try to make a home for themselves in the rough and dangerous ‘New World’ of America.
Starring Caitriona Balfe, Sam Heughan, Sophie Skelton, Richard Rankin.
Rated TV-MA
Available February 16, 2020 with STARZ Channel.
“Line of Separation” depicts a small village in Germany literally torn in half by the cold war. The second season picks up in 1960 where lovers Friedrich and Anna and friend Adolf Hoffman are trying to convince the older farmers to join the socialist cooperative. Meanwhile, children playing in the western part of the town are unaware that the American army has deposited bombs and grenades in that area, which arouses the old feud between Franz Schober and Georg von Striesow who works as a secret agent for the Americans. Now there is a struggle for whether or not the story should go public.
Starring Heiner Lauterbach, Natalia Wörner, Senta Auth.
Rated TV-MA
Available December 20 with PBS MASTERPIECE Channel.
Set during the Regency Period, the storyline is as follows: Tom Parker is obsessed with turning the sleepy seaside village of Sanditon into a fashionable health resort, and he enlists the financial backing of the local, curmudgeonly wealthy widow, Lady Denham. Through a mishap while traveling through the countryside, Tom and his wife, Mary make the acquaintance of the Heywoods, a local farming family. While describing his plans for Sanditon, their eldest daughter Charlotte is intrigued and excited and Tom invites her for an extended stay at the seaside town.
Upon her initial arrival, the sensible and naïve Charlotte observes hypochondria, avarice and attempted seduction run amok. Lady Denham is playing matchmaker for her destitute nephew, Sir Edward, who is determined to seduce Lady Denham’s ward, Clara and become the primary heir to his aunt’s estate. The arrival of wealthy, mixed-race heiress Miss Lambe, under the guardianship of Tom’s upright brother Sidney, due to a promise he made to Lambe’s father on his deathbed, adds an interesting complication. Eligible men naturally find Miss Lambe fascinating, while Charlotte is intrigued by Sidney…
With many promising loose ends and romantic possibilities, how will the young people pair off? Who will Lady Denham designate as her heir? Will Tom’s tourist spa finally catch on with the public? Where will that lead? Andrew Davies imaginatively enters this world of Georgian-era suitors, hustlers, and health cranks and boldly tells us what happens next.
Starring Rose Williams, Theo James, Anne Reid, Kris Marshall, Crystal Clarke.
Rated PG-13
Add to your WATCHLIST (coming soon)
Available January 12, 2020 with PBS MASTERPIECE Channel.
It is summer once again at the Seaside Hotel and Mrs. Andersen and her maids open up for a new season. It is 1930, and the financial crisis threatens to cut off the hotel’s supplies, but the bourgeois guests refuse to let go of the upscale and luxurious holiday life they’ve become accustomed to. However, when behind closed doors, their seemingly perfect facades begin to shatter. Merchant Madsen is struggling to recover from his bankruptcy that happened last year.
Amanda is still married to the secretly homosexual Count Ditmar, but is dreaming of the affair she had last summer with Max. Mrs. Aurland is afraid her husband will discover he isn’t the father of their new-born son when the real father checks into the hotel. Actor Mr. Weyse, arrives in the company of a young student actress, Kitty Hansen, who is not as innocent as she might appear. And at the center of all this we follow the head maid Fie as she struggles with work, life and love. All the while, with the guests’ shenanigans keeping everyone so pre-occupied nobody notices what’s happening south of the Danish border, where a small Nazi-party begins to grow.
Starring Ole Thestrup, Bodil Jorgensen, Rosalinde Mynster.
Rated TV-MA
Available December 6 with PBS MASTERPIECE Channel.
Cultures and ideas collide in 1900s Vienna, Austria, where opulent cafes and opera houses set the scene for heated discussions about philosophy, science and art. Max Liebermann is a brilliant young English doctor and one of Sigmund Freud’s young students. He encounters Austrian Detective Inspector Oskar Rheindardt who is struggling with his latest murder case. Max decides to help Oskar investigate the unusual and chilling string of murders.
Max draws upon his perception and forensics skills, along with his deep understanding of human behavior and deviance, to solve some of Vienna’s most mysterious and deadly cases. Read more.
Starring Matthew Beard, Juergen Maurer.
Rated PG-13
Available January 20, 2020 with PBS MASTERPIECE Channel.
Period Dramas Newly Available to Rent
This section contains historical, costume and period dramas (movies and TV series) that are newly available to rent on Amazon this season.
Based on Henry James’ novel, Merchant-Ivory’s period drama tells the story of Olive Chancellor, a 19th-century Boston woman dedicated to the suffrage movement who takes Verena Tarrant, a radical young woman, under her wing. But her cousin, is a male chauvinist who wants to marry and domesticate the young woman and a battle of wills ensues over her future.
Starring Madeleine Potter, Vanessa Redgrave, Christopher Reeve.
Rated 16+
Available to purchase / rent February 8
A working-class Italian-American bouncer becomes the driver of an African-American classical pianist on a tour of venues through the 1960s American South.
Starring Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali, Linda Cardellini.
Rated PG-13
Available December 2
Based on the thrilling and inspirational life of an iconic American freedom fighter, “Harriet” tells the extraordinary tale of Harriet Tubman’s escape from slavery and transformation into one of America’s greatest heroes. Haunted by memories of those she left behind, Harriet ventures back into dangerous territory on a mission to lead others to freedom. With allies like abolitionist William Still and the entrepreneurial Marie Buchanon, Harriet risks capture and death to guide hundreds to safety as one of the most prominent conductors of the Underground Railroad. Witness the story of a woman who defied impossible odds to change the course of her life and the fate of the nation.
Starring Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom, Jr., Janelle Monae.
Rated PG-13
Available January 15
The story follows a lonely German boy who must confront his own fanaticism when he finds a Jewish girl hiding in his attic in this satirical comedy.
Starring Roman Griffin Davis, Thomasin McKenzie, Scarlett Johansson.
Rated PG-13
Available for purchase February 4 and available for rent February 18
Thirty years after starring in “The Wizard of Oz,” beloved actress and singer Judy Garland arrives in London to perform sold-out shows at the Talk of the Town nightclub. While there, she reminisces with friends and fans and begins a whirlwind romance with musician Mickey Deans, her soon-to-be fifth husband.
Starring Renée Zellweger, Jessie Buckley, Finn Wittrock, Rufus Sewell, Michael Gambon.
Rated PG-13
Available December 10
Two lighthouse keepers fight each other for survival and sanity on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s. From Robert Eggers, the visionary filmmaker behind horror masterpiece ‘The Witch’.
Starring Willem Dafoe, Robert Pattinson, Valeriia Karaman.
Rated R
Available December 27
Kateryna was raised as a lady of noble blood, but for the whole world, she is only someone else’s property, a bondmaid of the richest landowner in Nizhyn – Chervinskyi. Struggling for her freedom and the right to be happy, she will have to endure the deaths of her closest people, survive the popular uprising, and much more. What awaits Kateryna at the end of such a wretched path to freedom?
Starring Kateryna Kovalchuk, Oleksiy Yarovenko, Stanislav Boklan.
Rated 13+
Available February 25
Centers on the Battle of Midway, a clash between the American fleet and the Imperial Japanese Navy which marked a pivotal turning point in the Pacific Theater during WWII. Directed by Roland Emmerich and based on real-life events.
Starring Ed Skrein, Patrick Wilson, Woody Harrelson.
Rated PG-13
Available for purchase February 4 and available for rent February 18
Set during the harrows of World War II, Waiting for Anya tells the story of a young shepherd who, together with his grandfather and a widow, help smuggle Jewish children across Nazi-occupied France into Spain. When German soldiers move into town, things become even more dangerous for those involved. They stage one last daring effort to get all of the Jewish children across the border to safety, but if they are caught, it’s not only the end for the children, but also for their family. Based on the seminal British novel of the same name by War Horse author Michael Morpurgo.
Starring Anjelica Huston, Noah Schnapp, Jean Reno, Elsa Zylberstein, Sadie Frost, Thomas Kretschmann.
Rated 13+
Available for purchase / rent February 8
In the mid-19th century, Emily Dickinson is writing prolifically, baking gingerbread, and enjoying a passionate, lifelong romantic relationship with another woman, her friend and sister-in-law Susan…yes this is the iconic American poet, popularly thought to have been a recluse. Beloved comic Molly Shannon leads in this humorous yet bold reappraisal of Dickinson, informed by her private letters.
While seeking publication of some of the 1,775 poems written during her lifetime, Emily (Shannon) finds herself facing a troupe of male literary gatekeepers too confused by her genius to take her work seriously. Instead her work attracts the attention of an ambitious woman editor, who also sees Emily as a convenient cover for her own role in buttoned-up Amherst’s most bizarre love triangle. A timely critique of how women’s history is rewritten, the period drama remains vibrant, irreverent and tender–a perhaps closer depiction of Emily Dickinson’s real life than anything seen before.
Starring Molly Shannon, Amy Seimetz, Susan Ziegler.
Rated PG-13
Available for purchase / rent February 12
Also newly available: Tristana (1970).
New Period Drama DVD Releases in Winter 2019 – 2020
This section contains a selection of historical, costume, and period dramas that are being released this season to DVD and Blu-ray.
A Sunday in the Country (1984): A lovingly photographed and exquisitely acted portrait of French family life on the brink of WWI. Monsieur Ladmiral is a widowed painter in his twilight years who welcomes his bourgeois son Gonzague and free-spirited daughter Irene to his home for a lazy afternoon lunch. Over the course of the day buried resentments come to the surface – the passage of time has left no family member unscathed. Based on the novel by Pierre Bost, “A Sunday in the Country” is a moving picture of the hopes, disappointments, and small joys of family as a father’s life reaches its autumn season. Available HERE December 17, 2019
Downton Abbey Movie (2019): The worldwide phenomenon, Downton Abbey, returns as a spectacular motion picture, with the beloved Crawleys and their intrepid staff preparing for the most important moment of their lives. A royal visit from the King and Queen of England unleashes scandal, romance and intrigue that leaves the future of Downton hanging in the balance. Written by series creator Julian Fellowes and starring the original cast, this grand cinematic experience will have you cheering for your favorite characters all over again. Available HERE December 17, 2019
Father Brown (Season 7): Mark Williams stars as Father Brown, a clergyman with a particular talent for crime-solving. Assisted in his efforts by a motley, and not always godly, squad of allies, he investigates crimes to save souls. Available HERE December 10, 2019
Joan the Maid (1994): Jaques Rivette’s ambitious two-part historical epic about Joan of Arc. In The Battles, the first installment of his ambitious yet restrained two-part study, director and co-screenwriter Rivette surveys the revelatory period where Joan met with royalty, joined the army, and led the French into battle against the English. As Joan, Sandrine Bonnaire gets at the reality behind the legend, showing the matter-of-fact courage of a teenage girl. The Prisons, the second part of Rivette’s diptych, focuses on the final two years of Joan’s life, from the battlefield victory, to prison life, to the stake. Available HERE December 3, 2019
Judy (2019): Thirty years after starring in “The Wizard of Oz,” beloved actress and singer Judy Garland arrives in London to perform sold-out shows at the Talk of the Town nightclub. While there, she reminisces with friends and fans and begins a whirlwind romance with musician Mickey Deans, her soon-to-be fifth husband. Available HERE December 24, 2019
Masterpiece: The Durrells in Corfu (Season 4): The future’s looking bright for the eccentric Durrells, as we catch up with their lives on the beautiful island of Corfu in the fourth and final season. Louisa’s keeping busy by opening the doors of the family villa as a guest house, but with cousin Basil her only paying guest, business isn’t exactly booming. Available HERE December 3, 2019.
Masterpiece: Howards End (2017): Written by Kenneth Lonergan, comes the four episode adaptation of E.M. Forster’s, “Howards End.” Starring Matthew Macfadyen as Henry Wilcox, Philippa Coulthard as Helen Schlegel, Julia Ormond as Mrs. Wilcox, Hayley Atwell as Margaret Schlegel and Tracey Ullman as Aunt Juley, this is a fresh take on the story of two independent and unconventional sisters and the men in their lives seeking love and meaning as they navigate an ever-changing world. Also starring Joseph Quinn, Rosalind Eleazar and Alex Lawther. Available HERE February 4, 2020.
Masterpiece: Sanditon (2019): Emmy Award winning writer Andrew Davies brings Jane Austen’s unfinished last novel vividly to life. The once sleepy fishing village of Sanditon is transforming into a fashionable spa resort full of intrigues and dalliances. Changing alongside it is the impulsive and unconventional Charlotte Heywood, who journeys to discover herself and find love on her own terms. Available HERE February 4, 2020
Other Shows You May Also Like
This section contains a curated list of movies and TV series new and are included on Prime, that are NOT period dramas. We think fans of historical and costume dramas will enjoy them just the same. Follow the links to watch the trailers. You may also like:
Available December 1: Almost Famous (2000), Some Kind of Wonderful (1987), The Secret of Moonacre (2008).
Available December 15: Edible History: Hannah Hart embarks on a quest to learn about and recreate the historic recipes of her favorite foods with one caveat: she must use as many period-correct tools and techniques as possible. Will older necessarily mean better?
Available December 20: Dan Snow’s Norman Walks: Take a stroll through the Norman period of British history with television presenter Dan Snow as he explores some of the most historically significant regions in the country.
Available January 1: Where the Lilies Bloom (1974) is a G-rated film set in rural North Carolina. A father dies, leaving his four children orphans. Rather than go to the authorities and wind up wards of the state, they decide to fend for themselves. Fifteen-year-old Mary Call takes on the role of the adult and, along with her brother and sisters, hides the death of their father from the adult world — including their adoring schoolteacher, Miss Fleetie, and pesky farmer Kiser Pease, who has eyes for Mary.
Available January 17: Starring Viola Davis and Allison Janney, Troop Zero (2019) tells the story of a misfit girl dreaming of life in outer space but living in rural 1977 Georgia. When a national competition offers her a chance at her dream, to be recorded on NASA’s Golden Record, she recruits a makeshift troop of Birdie Scouts, forging friendships that last a lifetime and beyond. An Amazon Original.
Available February 1: In Precious (2009), Precious Jones, an inner-city high school girl, is illiterate, overweight, and pregnant…again. Naïve and abused, Precious responds to a glimmer of hope when a door is opened by an alternative-school teacher. She is faced with the choice to follow opportunity and test her own boundaries. Prepare for shock, revelation and celebration.
If you enjoyed this post, be sure to see The Period Films List, with the best British, historical and costume dramas sorted by era.
