20 Shows Like Reign That Are Worth Your Time

The CW's "Reign" ran from 2012 to 2017 and starred Adelaide Kane as Mary, Queen of Scots. Beginning in 1557, the series picks up with Mary's betrothal to Francis (Toby Regbo), the heir to the French throne. But this being a CW show, there are, of course, a gaggle of ladies in waiting and a love triangle via an invented half brother (Torrance Coombs). The series also co-stars Megan Follows as Mary's mother-in-law Catherine de Medici, who was known for her schemes and knowledge of poisons, and a little magic is thrown in here and there through the appearances of seer Nostradamus. In later seasons, Mary's rival Queen Elizabeth I (Rachel Skarsten) pops in to take the story down its natural course. 

With "Reign" you're definitely getting a bit of a history lesson, but also some anachronistic fun through fashion, invented romances, and music. Eat your heart out, "Bridgerton" — "Reign" did the instrumental pop song years before you did. But before you think we're knocking "Bridgerton," it's here on this list of shows to check out if you really like "Reign." Tackling a ton of European monarchy history, and even going back to the Roman Empire, the shows on this list feature a ton of kings, queens, royals, and occasionally some commoners to satisfy the "Reign" itch.  

"Reign" takes place mostly in France, but just across the English channel there's a rich, violent, and dramatic history perfect for television adaptations. Author Phillipa Gregory, famous for writing "The Other Boleyn Girl" among numerous historical novels, has a plethora of novels focused on the events of medieval England, which the Starz networks has mined for a number of shows. The first, "The White Queen," is based on three of Gregory's books: "The White Queen," "The Red Queen," and "The Kingmaker's Daughter." Set during the Wars of the Roses, specifically beginning in 1464, this series stars Rebecca Ferguson as Elizabeth Woodville, the wife of King Edward IV, a king of the York line whose reign was constantly questioned by those of the Lancastrian line. 

The series also stars Max Irons as Edward IV of England; James Frain as Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, the aforementioned "Kingmaker"; Aneurin Barnard as Richard III of England, Edward IV's brother who would eventually usurp the throne; Faye Marsay as Lady Anne Neville, "The Kingmaker's Daughter" and queen consort to Richard III; and Amanda Hale as Lady Margaret Beaufort, "The Red Queen" and mother of eventual King Henry Tudor. This series plows through a period of about 20 years in a single season, so pay attention to who's who — and who is working with who and betraying who. The finale glides right into the next entry on this list.

"The Spanish Princess," based on Gregory's novels "The Constant Princess" and "The King's Curse," tells the story of Catherine of Aragon. Daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain, Catherine was betrothed to the future English Tudor King, Arthur, as a child. It's 1501, and a grown Princess Catherine (Charlotte Hope) arrives in England ready to marry Arthur (Angus Imrie), but all does not go to plan, as Arthur dies shortly after they're wed. Catherine is determined to remain Queen of England, so she attaches herself to Arthur's younger brother Harry (Ruairi O'Connor), the eventual King Henry VIII.

Margaret Beaufort is still alive in this series, and now played by the cunning Harriet Walter. Laura Carmichael, Edith of "Downton Abbey" fame, joins the cast here as Maggie Pole, a character that grew up during "The White Queen" and "The White Princess," so the character development and storylines are particularly interesting for those two characters, whom we've seen in previous shows. Unlike the previous two series, however, "The Spanish Princess" got two seasons to flesh out its story. It covers about 25 years and ends as King Henry VIII's eyes are turning from Catherine and toward Anne Boelyn, and we all know how that story goes. But if you don't, jump right into the next series.

For a more serious and political look at Henry VIII's relationship with Anne Boleyn and his split from the Catholic Church, check out the 2015 PBS Masterpiece miniseries "Wolf Hall." This much shorter telling focuses on Sit Thomas Cromwell, played here by Mark Rylance. "Homeland" star Damien Lewis dons the crown as King Henry VIII, and the Queen of "The Crown," Claire Foy, plays Anne Boleyn. Sir Jonathan Pryce plays Cardinal Wolsey, and a tiny Tom Holland plays Cromwell's son Gregory.

Based on Hilary Mantel's novels "Wolf Hall" and "Bring Up the Bodies," "Wolf Hall" is only focused on a short period of time, one of Henry's wives, and the split from the church, so it doesn't have to cover the same number of years that "The Tudors" did, nor does it have the same salacious content that the Showtime series did. Indeed, "Wolf Hall" is a bit more subdued, and features Cromwell as a more sympathetic character than the other Tudor-era series on this list. So if you're more interested in political intrigue than the sex and violence, "Wolf Hall" might be more to your liking.

Popping back over to Starz but forward a few decades in time, "Becoming Elizabeth" begins with King Henry VIII's death in 1547 and focuses on his sole daughter from second wife Anne Boleyn, who would go on to become one of the longest-reigning monarchs in English history. Alicia von Rittberg stars as a teenage Elizabeth, who is caught between the new king, her young brother Edward VI (Oliver Zetterström), her older sister Mary (Ramola Garai) who will eventually become Queen Mary, and her father's widow Catherine Parr (Jessica Raine) and her straying husband, Thomas Seymour (Tom Cullen).

Starz obviously chose to skip over Henry VIII's reign after "The Spanish Princess," possibly because it's already ben so extensively covered in shows like "The Tudors" and "White Hall." Elizabeth's time as queen has also been explored in a number of movies, such as 1998's "Elizabeth" and its 2007 sequel "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" starring Cate Blanchett. Queen Elizabeth I also pops up as a main character on "Reign" during the final two seasons. It's interesting to see a time period in her life that other films and TV shows haven't yet covered. 

If "The Serpent Queen" intrigued you enough and you want to know more about this mysterious Medici family, jump back in time about 100 years and check out the Italian Renaissance by way of a family drama. "Medici" stars Richard Madden (Robb Stark from "Game of Thrones") as Cosimo de Medici, and Stuart Martin as Lorenzo de Medici, the two sons of Florentine banker Giovanni de Medici. Dustin Hoffman plays the family patriarch Giovanni de Medici, whose relationship with the Catholic Church and influence over the popes makes for an extremely powerful family in 1429.

"Medici" covers a lot of ground; over 20 years pass in the first season alone, subtitled "Masters of Florence." Season 2, "The Magnificent," begins another 20 years after Season 1 ends, so the drama jumps all the way to 1469. Though presented in English, the three seasons of "Medici" were shot in Italy and produced for Italian television, so even if the actions of the Medici family are questionable to you, the stunning filming locations are enough to draw you into the Renaissance drama.

Italy is as fascinating and rich in TV-worthy history as England, so let's stay there and jump back in time by more than 1400 years to ancient Rome for ... you guessed it, HBO's "Rome." This highly fictionalized series stars Kevin McKidd (before his "Grey's Anatomy" days) and Ray Stevenson as Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pollo, two Roman soldiers and commoners whose lives are impacted by the transition from Roman republic to empire. Ciarán Hinds plays Julius Caesar, the Roman general who took charge of his armies and in turn took charge of Rome, declaring himself dictator. Tobias Menzies of "outlander" and 'The Crown" plays Marcus Junius Brutus, Caesar's most famous assassin, with James Purefoy as Mark Antony and Lyndsey Marshal as Cleopatra.

"Rome" takes a lot of liberty with its story here, inventing characters like Pollo and creating composite characters from historical figures only mentioned in passing in ancient documents. The series is a ton of fun, though, with exactly the kind of salacious events that you'd expect from HBO's sensibilities. 

Speaking of opulence, over in Russia almost 100 years later in 1745, a young princess named Sophie converted to Orthodox Christianity, taking the new name Catherine so she could marry her cousin, Tsar Peter III. Hulu's "The Great" stars Elle Fanning as the titular Catherine the Great, with Nicholas Hoult as the immature ruler Peter. The series is an anachronistic and decidedly anti-historical account of Catherine and Peter's early marriage, with a definitively dark comedy tone. 

Everything is exaggerated here, with satirical takes on historical events. The characters yell out the word "Huzzah!" more than once an episode as Catherine grows to realize her husband is about as dumb as rocks. If you're looking for something a little more bawdy and fun than the many previous serious dramas on this list, "The Great" might be the kind of quasi-historical thing you're looking for. The costumes are particularly lovely, though the show will definitely have you Googling whether any of the events of the show actually happened or were total fabrications. 

Speaking of the American Revolution, the PBS series "Poldark" takes a look at what happens to the losers. Based on the books by Winston Graham, "Poldark" revolves around Captain Ross Poldark (Aidan Turner), a soldier who returns home from fighting in the American Revolution as the love of his life is about to marry his cousin and his estate is in shambles. Ross hires a local town girl Demelza (Eleanor Tomlinson) to help him clean up and put the place back in order; naturally, the sparks fly. The two get married out of a sort of convenience, but eventually the passion emerges.

There are 12 books in Graham's "Poldark" series crammed into five seasons of the late 18th century drama. There's a lot of familial betrayal, period shenanigans, and romance as Ross and Demelza raise multiple children amid a time of recovery and reevaluation in English history. With a feisty heroine and a rough on the outside, soft on the inside leading man, "Poldark" hits the same romance buttons pressed by "Reign" and "Outlander."

Just about two decades after the Regency period ended, an 18-year-old named Victoria was thrust from obscurity and onto the throne. The PBS Masterpiece series "Victoria" stars Jenna Coleman as the titular queen whose reign lasted 63 years, until 1901, and whose influence over the majority of the 18th century Great Britain coined the term "The Victorian Era." On the series, Victoria's life at such a young age revolves around finding a husband in Prince Albert (Tom Hughes) and peppering Europe with a ton of offspring that they then marry off to other European royal houses, earning her the nickname "The Grandmother of Europe."

"Victoria" ran for three seasons but unfortunately ended on somewhat of a cliffhanger, with Prince Albert collapsing with illness. As history goes, Victoria retreated into seclusion after Albert died relatively young in 1861. There aren't any plants for a fourth season, as Town & Country Magazine reported in July 2021, but even so, after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, it's interesting to watch the story of another of England's long-tenured female monarchs.

Then again, if you're tired of real-life history, real-life people, and just want a little bit of magic and dragons, there's always the HBO smash hit "Game of Thrones." If you haven't seen it by now, you've probably heard that many people didn't like how it ended. But spoilers or not, the end result might land differently for someone who's watching it anew and wasn't glued to the TV every Sunday night for eight seasons. The cast is too huge to list here, just know that "A Song of Ice and Fire" author George R.R. Martin partially based the novels on the Wars of the Roses, as wells as other historical periods and figures, so you are getting a bit of history here with the dragons, white walkers, and various families feuding for power.

And if you watch "Game of Thrones" and miss the world of Westeros, love the Targaryens, the dragons, and the other mysteries of this universe, you're in luck, as HBO has followed it with "House of the Dragon," a prequel series set almost 200 years before "Thrones." Even in a fantasy world, we've got hundreds of years' worth of story to binge.