Entertainment

The Best 2010s Historical Drama Series  

Ranker TV
332 votes 106 voters 34 items

List Rules Vote up your favorite historical drama TV shows that aired in the 2010s

These are they best 2010s historical drama series, ranked from best to worst by user votes. From some good 2010s historical drama TV shows that are about a very specific global event, to others that take place during a broader era of history, all of these shows shed light on the lives and issues of the time period in which they take place - and they do it in painstaking, beautiful glory.

What shows will you find on this best 2010s historical drama series list? Downton Abbey showed that while classism may exist, everyone has to cope with unexpected bumps in the road of life, while The Queen is still dazzling audiences as it continues its historic reign on Netflix.

Prohibition-era problems created plenty of drama on the HBO series Boardwalk Empire which aired from 2010 – 2014, while The Americans focused on a much more recent part of American history by delving into the Cold War. Other great shows that appear on this top 2010s historical drama series list include Mr. Selfridge, Mad Men and Masters of Sex.

Do you have a favorite historical drama show from the 2010s? Give the best series a thumbs up!

list ordered by
1
Downton Abbey is listed (or ranked) 1 on the list The Best 2010s Historical Drama Series
Watch for Free with Amazon Prime Free Trial Downton Abbey is a British period drama television series created by Julian Fellowes and co-produced by Carnival Films and Masterpiece. It first aired on ITV in the United Kingdom and Ireland on ...more
2
Mad Men is listed (or ranked) 2 on the list The Best 2010s Historical Drama Series
Mad Men is an American period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner. The series premiered on July 19, 2007 on the cable network AMC and is produced by Lionsgate Television. The ...more
3
Spartacus: Blood and Sand is listed (or ranked) 3 on the list The Best 2010s Historical Drama Series
Spartacus: Blood and Sand is the title of the first and most critically acclaimed season of Spartacus, a television series that premiered on Starz on January 22, 2010. The series was inspired by ...more
4
The Crown is listed (or ranked) 4 on the list The Best 2010s Historical Drama Series
The Crown (Netflix, 2016) is an American-British biographical drama series about the reign of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. The series begins with the 1947 wedding of young Elizabeth ...more
5
Vikings is listed (or ranked) 5 on the list The Best 2010s Historical Drama Series
Watch for Free with Amazon Prime Free Trial Vikings (History, 2013) is a historical drama television series created by Michael Hirst. A farmer (Travis Fimmel) rises to fame by successful raids into England, and eventually becomes a ...more
6
Boardwalk Empire is listed (or ranked) 6 on the list The Best 2010s Historical Drama Series
Watch for Free with Amazon Prime Free Trial Boardwalk Empire is an American period drama television series created by Terence Winter. Airing on premium cable channel HBO, the series is set in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the ...more
7
Victoria is listed (or ranked) 7 on the list The Best 2010s Historical Drama Series
Victoria (ITV, 2016) is a drama television series created by Daisy Goodwin. The show depicts first few years of the reign of Queen Victoria (Jenna Coleman), from her accession to the throne at ...more
8
Versailles is listed (or ranked) 8 on the list The Best 2010s Historical Drama Series
Versailles (Canal+, 2015) is a television series created by Simon Mirren and David Wolstencroft. In 1667, 28-year-old all-powerful king of France, Louis XIV (George Blagden), decides to build ...more
9
Peaky Blinders is listed (or ranked) 9 on the list The Best 2010s Historical Drama Series
Peaky Blinders (BBC Two, 2013) is a British television action drama created by Steven Knight, based upon the exploits of the historical gang. In 1919 Birmingham, England, leader Tommy Shelby ...more
10
The Americans is listed (or ranked) 10 on the list The Best 2010s Historical Drama Series
Watch for Free with Amazon Prime Free Trial The Americans (FX, 2013) is an American period drama television series created by Joe Weisberg. Elizabeth (Keri Russell) and Philip Jennings (Matthew Rhys) are two Soviet KGB officers posing as ...more
11
The Borgias is listed (or ranked) 11 on the list The Best 2010s Historical Drama Series
The Borgias is an historical-fiction drama television series created by Neil Jordan; it debuted in 2011 and was canceled in 2013. The series is set around the turn of the 16th century and ...more
12
Harlots is listed (or ranked) 12 on the list The Best 2010s Historical Drama Series
Harlots (Hulu, 2017) is a British period drama television series inspired by "The Covent Garden Ladies" by Hallie Rubenhold. Margaret Wells (Samantha Morton) runs a brothel in 18th ...more
13
Turn: Washington's Spies is listed (or ranked) 13 on the list The Best 2010s Historical Drama Series
Amy Boal added
TURN: Washington's Spies is a period drama based on Alexander Rose’s book Washington's Spies: The Story of America's First Spy Ring, a history of the Culper Ring. The series debuted on AMC on ...more
14
The Pacific is listed (or ranked) 14 on the list The Best 2010s Historical Drama Series
Watch for Free with Amazon Prime Free Trial The Pacific is a 2010 television series produced by HBO, Seven Network Australia, Sky Movies, Playtone and DreamWorks that premiered in the United States on 14 March 2010. The series is a ...more
15
Mr Selfridge is listed (or ranked) 15 on the list The Best 2010s Historical Drama Series
Mr Selfridge is a British period television drama series about Harry Gordon Selfridge and his department store, Selfridge & Co, in London, set in the 1910s. It is co-produced by ITV Studios ...more
16
Outlander is listed (or ranked) 16 on the list The Best 2010s Historical Drama Series
Outlander is a British-American television drama series based on the historical time travel Outlander series of novels by Diana Gabaldon. Created by Ronald D. Moore and produced by Left Bank ...more
17
Hatfields & McCoys is listed (or ranked) 17 on the list The Best 2010s Historical Drama Series
It’s the true American story of a legendary family feud—one that spanned decades and nearly launched a war between Kentucky and West Virginia. Hatfields & McCoys, a three-part miniseries, ...more
18
Masters of Sex is listed (or ranked) 18 on the list The Best 2010s Historical Drama Series
This series is an American period drama television series that premiered on September 29, 2013, on Showtime. Set in the 1950s and 1960s, the series tells the story of Dr. William Masters and ...more
19
Reign is listed (or ranked) 19 on the list The Best 2010s Historical Drama Series
Reign is an American historical fantasy television series following the early years of Mary, Queen of Scots living in France. The series, created by Stephanie SenGupta and Laurie McCarthy, airs ...more
20
Alias Grace is listed (or ranked) 20 on the list The Best 2010s Historical Drama Series
Alias Grace (Netflix, 2017) is a miniseries based on the 1996 novel by Margaret Atwood. Grace Marks (Sarah Gadon) is a convicted murderess who works in the home of the prison warden. Dr. Simon ...more
21
Pan Am is listed (or ranked) 21 on the list The Best 2010s Historical Drama Series
Pan Am is an American period drama television series created by writer Jack Orman. Named for the iconic Pan American World Airways, the series features the pilots and stewardesses of the airline ...more
22
Narcos is listed (or ranked) 22 on the list The Best 2010s Historical Drama Series
Narcos (Netflix, 2015) is an American drama web-television series created by Chris Brancato, Carlo Bernard, and Doug Miro. A chronicled look at the exploits of Colombian Pablo Escobar, as well ...more
23
Da Vinci's Demons is listed (or ranked) 23 on the list The Best 2010s Historical Drama Series
Da Vinci's Demons is an historical fantasy drama series that presents a fictional account of Leonardo da Vinci's early life. The series was conceived by David S. Goyer and stars Tom Riley in the ...more
24
The Pillars of the Earth is listed (or ranked) 24 on the list The Best 2010s Historical Drama Series
The Pillars of the Earth is an eight-part 2010 TV miniseries, adapted from Ken Follett's novel of the same name. It debuted in the U.S. on Starz and in Canada on The Movie Network/Movie Central ...more
25
War and Peace is listed (or ranked) 25 on the list The Best 2010s Historical Drama Series
War & Peace is a 2016 British-American historical period drama television serial, based on Leo Tolstoy's classic novel.