Last Updated on February 6, 2024
We’ve gathered up the period dramas that are newly included with your US Prime Video membership in September, October, and November 2023. We also include titles that can be watched for free with Freevee, no subscription needed.
Then, we share the historical / costume / period dramas that are newly available on Prime Video Add-On Channels, are available to rent, and movies and TV series in the genre that are being released to DVD this fall.
Check this list throughout the season; we’ll update all the sections (alphabetically) as more titles become available. If some of these titles look familiar, it’s because they were previously available with Prime Video, were pulled off, and now they are back.
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To watch the trailers for the movies and TV series on this list, read the descriptions and add them to your watchlist, just click on “Watch the TRAILER” and “Add to your WATCHLIST.” This is a US-based list, but if you live in Canada or the UK, you can also use our links to check availability in your country.
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 Amazon Prime Video membership.
From British costume dramas to sweeping romantic epics, there’s a lot here by the end of the season; we hope this list helps you discover more period dramas to love.
The summer Prime Video list is here. Also see the list of Period Dramas New on Netflix Fall 2023.
Those who are new here should know that Willow and Thatch also has a special section for period dramas that have been added recently to different streaming services. See the “New to Streaming” drop-down menu at the top of the page.
Period Dramas Added in September 2023
Newly available historical, costume and period dramas (movies and TV series) that are included with your Prime Video membership, or can be watched for free with ads on Freevee (formerly IMDb TV).
Hugo (2011)
A heartwarming period drama for the family. Set in 1930s Paris, an orphan who lives in the walls of a train station is wrapped up in a mystery involving his late father and an automaton.
Starring Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen, Asa Butterfield.
Rated PG
Available September 1
Little Dorrit (1987) Part 1
Charles Dickens’ tale of a girl who fights her way out of a debtors’ prison and into society. Part 1 of this 1987 adaptation follows her early life, her education, and her strength as those around her grab for quick riches instead of lasting love.
Director Christine Edzard’s “Little Dorrit” lasts nearly six hours and was released in two parts, of approximately three hours each. The first part was subtitled Nobody’s Fault, an allusion to one of Dickens’ proposed titles for the original novel, and the story developed from the perspective and experiences of the Arthur Clennam character.
Starring Derek Jacobi, Alex Guinness, Joan Greenwood, Patricia Hayes, Max Wall.
Rated G
Available September 1
Little Dorrit (1987) Part 2
Charles Dickens’ tale of a girl who fights her way out of a debtors’ prison and into society. Part 1 of this 1987 adaptation follows her early life, her education, and her strength as those around her grab for quick riches instead of lasting love.
Director Christine Edzard’s “Little Dorrit” lasts nearly six hours and was released in two parts, of approximately three hours each. The second film, titled Little Dorrit’s Story, took many of the same events and presented them through the eyes of the heroine. Together they represented overlapping chronicles.
Starring Derek Jacobi, Alex Guinness, Joan Greenwood, Patricia Hayes, Max Wall.
Rated G
Available September 1
Mr. Jones (2019)
1933. An ambitious young journalist, Gareth Jones, travels to Moscow to uncover the truth behind Stalin’s Soviet propaganda that pushes their “utopia” to the Western world. When he gets a tip that could expose an international conspiracy, Jones’ life and the lives of his informants are at stake. Based on a true story that would later inspire George Orwell’s seminal book Animal Farm.
Starring James Norton, Vanessa Kirby, Peter Sarsgaard.
Rated 13+
Available September 21
Nicholas Nickleby (2002)
In this feature length film adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel, after Nicholas’ father dies and leaves the family penniless, the Nickleby family moves to London to stay with their Uncle Ralph. When Ralph turns abusive and separates the family, Nicholas has no choice but to reunite the family against all odds.
Starring Jamie Bell, Jim Broadbent, Tom Courtenay, Alan Cumming, Edward Fox, Anne Hathaway, Nathan Lane.
Rated PG
Available September 1
Passport to Freedom (2021)
In this 8-episode miniseries based on the incredible true story, Aracy de Carvalho is a young clerk at the Brazilian Consulate. For two years, she has been secretly issuing passports to Jews without the dreaded “J” stamp, which not only won’t allow them to travel, but will doom them to the horrors of concentration camps. When newly appointed diplomat, João Guimarães Rosa, arrives in Hamburg, the two fall madly in love, and he would come to be known as the greatest Brazilian writer of the twentieth century. Also known as “The Angel of Hamburg.”
Starring Sophie Charlotte, Rodrigo Lombardi, Tarcísio Filh.
Rated 16+
Available September 7
When Calls the Heart (Season 1)
In this family-friendly romantic Hallmark series based on the Janette Oke books, a young schoolteacher from a wealthy family accepts a teaching position in a small frontier town.
Starring Erin Krakow, Pascale Hutton, Jack Wagner, Daniel Lissing.
Rated TV-G
Available September 29
Zoo (2018)
Based on a true story, 12 year old Tom and his misfit friends fight to save Buster the baby elephant during the air raids on Belfast in 1941.
Starring Art Parkinson, Penelope Wilton, Toby Jones, Colin McIvor.
Rated PG (might not be suitable for sensitive children)
Available September 1
The following period-set movies and series (and period-inspired titles) are also newly available and included with your Prime membership or with Freevee in September 2023. Click on the titles for more information, to watch trailers where available, and to start streaming full movies or episodes:
September 1: April Morning (1988), The Black Dahlia (2006), Carve Her Name with Pride (1958), Courage Mountain (1990), Driving Miss Daisy (1990), Innocent Lies (1995), La Bamba (1987), Night Creatures (1962), October Sky (1999), Of Mice and Men (1992), Tenth Man (1988), The Assisi Underground (1986), The Mask of Zorro (1998), The Legend of Zorro (2005), The Motorcycle Diaries (2004), Unsettled Land (1989), and the period-set fantasy series The Wheel of Time (Season 2). September 4: Adventures of a Mathematician (2021). September 13: The King’s Choice (2016). September 19: Into the White (2012). September 20: The Auschwitz Report (2021).
Available September 29: If you need something for Halloween, consider Angelica (2015), set in Victorian London. Sensitive viewers should be aware that there are some disturbing scenes involving medical research on animals.
The first episodes of Victoria (Season 1), World on Fire (Season 1), and Hotel Portofino (Season 1) are available to stream for free for a limited time. Read about “Hotel Portofino” here. Billy the Kid (Season 1) is also available for free for a limited time.
Also see Tudor Monastery Farm (Season 1), led by archaeologist Peter Ginn and historian Ruth Goodman.
On Freevee: The Shape of Water (2017), Heaven’s Gate (1980), Harlem Nights (1989), The Prague Mysteries (Season 1), Little House on the Prairie (Seasons 1 – 9), When We Go To War (Season 1).
Period Dramas Added in October 2023
Newly available historical, costume and period dramas (movies and TV series) that are included with your Prime Video membership, or can be watched for free with ads on Freevee (formerly IMDb TV).
The Dead (1987)
The final film of legendary director John Huston, based on the closing story of James Joyce’s Dubliners. The film is delicate and unhurried, detailing a Christmas dinner at the house of three spinster musician sisters in turn-of-the-century Ireland, attended by friends and family. Among the visiting attendees are the sisters’ nephew Gabriel Conroy and his wife Gretta. The evening’s reminiscences bring up melancholy memories for Gretta concerning her first, long-lost love when she was a girl in rural Galway. Her recounting of this tragic love to Gabriel brings him to an epiphany: he learns the difference between mere existence and living.
Starring Anjelica Huston, Donal McCann, Helena Carroll, Dan O’Herlihy, Donal Donnelly.
Rated 16+
Available October 1
Mercy Street (Season 1)
Inspired by real events and shown on PBS, the period drama series “Mercy Street” takes viewers beyond the battlefield and into the lives of a distinctive cast of characters — doctors, nurses, contraband laborers and Southern loyalists — realizing the chaotic world of Union-occupied Alexandria, Virginia and the Mansion House Hospital in the early years of the Civil War.
Starring Hannah James, McKinley Belcher III, Suzanne Bertish, Norbert Leo Butz, Gary Cole.
Rated TV-14
Available October 27
The following period-set movies and series (and period-inspired titles) are also newly available and included with your Prime membership or with Freevee in October 2023. Click on the titles for more information, to watch trailers where available, and to start streaming full movies or episodes:
October 1: Eight Men Out (1988), Lee Daniels’ The Butler (2013), Lawless (2012), Moby Dick (1956), Much Ado About Nothing (1993) and the fantasy period-inspired Nanny McPhee (2006) and Nanny McPhee Returns (2010). October 4: De Gaulle (2021). October 8: Max Manus: Man of War (2008). October 9: Jamestown (Season 1) Read our REVIEW. October 10: The period-inspired contemporary set Romeo & Juliet (2013). October 11: Damsel (2018). October 12: A Girl of the Limberlost (1990). October 13: Indian Summers (Season 1), The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries (Seasons 1 & 2). October 14: Oklahoma! (1955). October 17: Bel Ami (2012), Son of the South (2021). October 18: The Amazing Mr. Blunden (1972). October 21: The Lodgers (2018). October 22: Christina (2010). October 24: The Railway Man (2014).
The first two episodes of The Winter King (Season 1) are also available to stream for free for a limited time.
Our Freevee picks in October are Somewhere in Time (1980), The Sound of Freedom (2010), and Fiddler on the Roof (1971).
Period Dramas Added in November 2023
Newly available historical, costume and period dramas (movies and TV series) that are included with your Prime Video membership, or can be watched for free with ads on Freevee (formerly IMDb TV).
Beecham House (2020)
Delhi 1795: John Beecham is determined to leave the past behind and start a new life with his infant son. But to reunite his family and keep the identity of his child secret, what cost must John pay? Shown on PBS.
Starring Tom Bateman, Lesley Nichol, Lara Dutta.
Rated TV-14
Available November 3
The Lighthouse (2019)
In this Oscar-nominated period drama, two lighthouse keepers fight each other for survival and sanity on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s.
Starring Robert Pattinson, Willem Dafoe, Valeriia Karaman.
Rated R for sexual content, nudity, violence, disturbing images, and some language
Available November 20
Little Women (2017)
Based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott and shown on PBS in three episodes, “Little Women” is the story of sisters Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy, as they navigate what it means to be a young woman: from gender roles to sibling rivalry, first love, loss, and marriage.
Starring Emily Watson, Willa Fitzgerald, Kathryn Newton, Maya Hawke, Annes Elwy.
Rated TV-PG
Available November 3
The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017)
“The Man Who Invented Christmas” tells the magical journey that led to the creation of Ebenezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim and other classic characters from A Christmas Carol. Directed by Bharat Nalluri (Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day), the film shows how Charles Dickens (Downton Abbey’s Dan Stevens) mixed real life inspirations with his vivid imagination to conjure up unforgettable characters and a timeless tale, forever changing the holiday season into the celebration we know today.
Starring Dan Stevens, Christopher Plummer, Jonathan Pryce.
Rated PG
Available November 11
Master And Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)
In 1805, aboard the H.M.S. Surprise, the brash Captain Jack Aubrey and his trusted friend, the ship’s scholarly surgeon, Stephen Maturin, are ordered to hunt down and capture a powerful French vessel off the South American coast. Though Napoleon is winning the war and the men and their crew face an onslaught of obstacles, including their own internal battles, “Lucky Jack” is determined that nothing will stop the Surprise from completing its mission.
Starring Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany, Max Pirkis, James D’Arcy.
Rated PG-13
Available November 1
The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)
Adapted from Philippa Gregory’s 2001 novel of the same name. Driven by their father and uncle’s drive for power and status, sisters Anne and Mary Boleyn are pitted against one another to see which one can court the affections of King Henry VIII and provide him with a male heir to the throne.
Starring Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson, Eric Bana, Jim Sturgess, Kristin Scott Thomas.
Rated PG-13
Available November 1
Ridley Road (2022)
Set in 1962 and inspired by true events, this story captures two historical movements that grow and clash throughout the era–the Nazi-inspired National Socialist Movement and a Jewish anti-fascist movement known as The 62 Group. Shown on PBS.
Starring Agnes O’Casey, Rory Kinnear, Eddie Marsan.
Rated TV-14
Available November 3
The following period-set movies and series (and period-inspired titles) are also newly available and included with your Prime membership or with Freevee in November 2023. Click on the titles for more information, to watch trailers where available, and to start streaming full movies or episodes:
November 1: A Home Of Our Own (1993), Braveheart (1995), Chaplin (1993), Chicago (2003), Radio Days (1987), Unforgiven (1992), Valkyrie (2008), The Name of the Rose (1986), Ladies in Lavender (2005), The Auschwitz Report (2021), Bitter Harvest (2017). Also see the family-friendly movie The Von Trapp Family: A Life of Music (2015). November 2: Waiting for the Barbarians (2020). November 3: Prime Suspect: Tennison (Season 1), and the partially period-set Man in an Orange Shirt (Season 1). November 8: For the family, watch Renfroe’s White Christmas (1997). November 14: Also for the family and partially period-set: Grizzly Mountain (1997). November 20: L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables Fire and Dew (2016), L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables The Good Stars (2017), Hans Christian Andersen (1952). November 23: W.E. (2011), Ekaterina: The Rise of Catherine the Great (Season 1). November 28: Big Eyes (2014).
For a limited time, watch episode 1 of Season 1 of Agatha Christie’s Poirot here.
Our Freevee picks in November are Belfast (2021) and The Madness of King George (1994).
Period Dramas New to Prime Video Channels
This section contains period dramas added in September, October, and November 2023 (movies and TV series) that are included with add-on Prime Video Channels. If you don’t already subscribe to the channel, click “Add to your WATCHLIST” to sign up for a free trial.
Available with PBS Masterpiece Add-On Channel
Carmen Curlers (Season 1): What began as two employees working out of a basement in 1963 grew into a worldwide phenomenon with a staff of thousands operating around the clock in a huge factory–complete with a helipad, a private kindergarten, and even its own fire station. From Walter Presents, in Danish with English subtitles. Add to your WATCHLIST Available October 6th
Giovanna’s Journey / Winds of Passion (Season 2): Naples, in the 1960s. After learning that she was kidnapped as an infant, Giovanna travels through Italy to discover the truth about her real family. From Walter Presents, in Italian with English subtitles. Add to your WATCHLIST Available November 24
Hotel Portofino (Season 2): 1927: The Hotel Portofino has overcome its early troubles and is starting to prosper. Bella must decide whether to accept her no-good husband Cecil back into her life in the face of her growing friendship with a handsome architect. Read more about it. Add to your WATCHLIST Available October 15th
The Lady with the Black Veil (2015): Clara is a young and noblewoman with a free and rebellious spirit who was separated from her twin brother and forced into an arranged marriage. Despite this, she falls in love with her husband and fights to win his love. Clara however, falls victim to her aunt’s and cousin’s conspiracies, as they are determined to steal her inheritance. The Italian-Spanish mystery-drama television miniseries directed by Carmine Elia is set in Trentino, in the late nineteenth century. Also known as “La Drama Velata.” Add to your WATCHLIST Available September 22
Little Bird (2023): Inspired by true events, follow the story of Indigenous woman Bezhig Little Bird on a journey to find her birth family and uncover the hidden truth of her past. Read more about it. Add to your WATCHLIST Available October 12
Love and Sacrifice (Season 3): From the last year of the Belle Epoque until the arrival of World War One tragically seals their fate, Brando, Silvia, the entire Corradi family–and all the men, women and children tied to their villa and their quarry–must fight for love, for their ideals, for power–and against injustice. In Season 3, Lucrezia and Brando are engaged. But as romantic and political tensions rise, will Brando find out that he owes his life to Silvia and her sacrifice? From Walter Presents, in Italian with English subtitles. Add to your WATCHLIST Available November 17th
Victoria (Seasons 1- 3): Discover all three seasons of the unmissable global hit drama starring Jenna Coleman as Queen Victoria, a nineteenth-century heroine for our times. This landmark account of the life of one of history’s greatest monarchs unfolds against the backdrop of pivotal moments in history, as the Queen and Prince Albert (Tom Hughes) must meet each public challenge while confronting profound personal change. Add to your WATCHLIST Available September 2
World on Fire (Season 2): It’s 1940 and WWII has reached the sands of the Egyptian desert while German bombs fall on Manchester in England. Harry introduces an explosive force into Robina’s household. Read more about it. Add to your WATCHLIST Available October 15th
New Period Dramas to Rent
This section contains period dramas added in September, October, and November 2023 (movies and TV series) that are newly available to rent on Prime Video, or have had a significant price drop. Click on the titles for trailers and descriptions, and to add films to to your watchlist.
A Haunting in Venice (2023)
Kenneth Branagh stars as celebrated sleuth Hercule Poirot in this terrifying mystery set after World War II. Retired and living in Venice, Italy, Poirot reluctantly attends a séance where a murdered guest thrusts the detective into a sinister, shadowy world.
Starring Kyle Allen, Kenneth Branagh, Camille Cottin.
Rated PG-13
Available November 1
Invitation to a Murder (2023)
In this feature length film homage to Agatha Christie, set in the south of England in 1934, an amateur detective joins five strangers at a remote mansion, home of billionaire Lewis Findley-and must solve a real-life murder mystery.
Starring Mischa Barton, Chris Browing, Seamus Dever.
Rated PG-13
Available October 11
Simone: Woman of the Century (2023)
Simone Veil’s life story through the pivotal events of Twentieth Century. An intimate and epic portrait of an extraordinary woman who eminently challenged and transformed her era defending a humanist message still keenly relevant today.
Starring Elsa Zylberstein, Rebecca Marder, Élodie Bouchez.
Rated 18+
Available September 18
New Period Drama DVD Releases
This section contains a selection of historical, costume, and period dramas and other titles of interest that are being released this season to DVD and Blu-ray.
Masterpiece: Endeavour Complete Collection: This compelling prequel series to Britain’s long-running “Inspector Morse” program stars Shaun Evans as the young Endeavour Morse. Set in the mid-’60s, the series finds Detective Constable Morse assigned to Oxford shortly after leaving the university before completing his studies. Morse may be a neophyte officer, but his considerable powers of deduction are already much in evidence… as is his interest in Jaguar cars. Available HERE
Godland (2022): The struggle between the strictures of religion and humankind’s brute animal nature plays out amid the beautifully forbidding landscapes of remote Iceland in this stunning psychological epic from director Hlynur Pálmason. In the late nineteenth century, Danish priest Lucas (Elliott Crosset Hove) makes the perilous trek to Iceland’s southeastern coast with the intention of establishing a church. There, the arrogant man of God finds his resolve tested as he confronts the harsh terrain, temptations of the flesh, and the reality of being an intruder in an unforgiving land. What unfolds is a transfixing journey into the heart of colonial darkness—one that’s attuned to both the majesty and the terrifying power of the natural world. Available HERE November 21, 2023
The Great: The Final Season: Season 3 revolves around more court machinations, complicated relationships, and coup attempts. Catherine is still in charge, meeting with peasants and nobles to get input on her quest to modernize Russia. She’s working on bonding with Peter and their young son Paul. Meanwhile, the sidelined Peter, tries his hand at “First Husband” duties like hunting and inventing new cuisines but soon finds himself bored with his lack of power. Available HERE October 24, 2023
PBS: Hotel Portofino (Season 2): It is the summer of 1927 and Bella Ainsworth (Natascha McElhone) is still devoting her considerable energies to the Hotel Portofino, which has overcome its early troubles and is starting to prosper. Available HERE November 7, 2023
I Heard The Bells (2022): Known as America’s Poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow leads an idyllic life—until the day his world is shattered by tragedy. With a nation divided by Civil War and his family torn apart, Henry puts down his pen, silenced by grief. But it’s the sound of Christmas morning that reignites the poet’s lost voice as he discovers the resounding hope of rekindled faith. Available HERE November 14, 2023
Masterpiece: Miss Scarlet and the Duke (Seasons 1 – 3): Victorian London would have deemed it unacceptable that willful Eliza Scarlet (Kate Phillips) continue to operate her father’s detective agency after his passing. With no other options for her maintenance, though, she had to make a business partner out of her dad’s onetime protégé-coarse, womanizing Scotland Yard DI William “the Duke” Wellington (Stuart Martin). Available HERE October 10, 2023
Murdoch Mysteries (Season 16): Detective Murdoch (Yannick Bisson) and Dr. Ogden (Hélène Joy) are thrilled with their new baby, but domestic bliss eludes Crabtree (Jonny Harris) on his path to the altar and coroner Miss Hart (Shanice Banton) as she deals with her menacing father. Available HERE October 25, 2023
Pennyworth: The Complete Series: The DC origin series follows Alfred Pennyworth (Jack Bannon – The Imitation Game), a former British SAS soldier in his 20s, who forms a security company in 1960s London and goes to work with young billionaire Thomas Wayne, who’s not yet become Bruce Wayne’s father. Available HERE
Masterpiece: World on Fire (Season 2): October 1940: Manchester, England. As valiant Jewish RAF pilot David defends the skies against the Luftwaffe, Harry (Jonah Hauer-King) and Kasia (Zofia Wichłacz) finally arrive home. How will Robina (Lesley Manville) cope with another refugee under her roof? Available HERE November 28
Other Shows You May Also Like
This section contains a curated list of movies and TV series newly included on Prime, that are NOT period dramas. We think fans of period and costume dramas will enjoy them just the same. Follow the links to watch the trailers. You may also like:
Available in September: September 1: All About My Mother (2000), The Bad News Bears (1976), Bewitched (2005), The Birdcage (1996), The Bourne Identity (2002), The Break-Up (2006), Children Of Men (2007), Eight on the Lam (1967), Fools Rush In (1997), Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), Jeff, Who Lives At Home (2011), The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005), Spanglish (2004). September 7: A Foreign Field (1993). September 8: Sitting in Bars with Cake (2023), The Last Bus (2021). September 15: A Million Miles Away (2023). September 19: A Thousand and One (2023).
Available in October: October 1: A Star Is Born (1976), Frasier (Seasons 1-11), Holiday Inn (1942), Legally Blonde (2001). October 11: Begin Again (2014). October 17: Polite Society (2023), The Women Of Brewster Place (1989). October 18: Love Sarah (2021). October 23: Ondine (2010). October 31: Book Club: The Next Chapter (2023).
Available in November: November 1: Hope Springs (2012), Miracle on 34th Street (1947), The Terminal (2004), Untamed Heart (1993), This Beautiful Fantastic (2017). November 3: Broadchurch (Season 1). November 10: Midsommar (2019). November 23: If You Believe (1999). November 28: A Good Person (2023), Notting Hill (1999), Main Street (2010).
If you enjoyed this post, be sure to see The Period Films List, with the best British period dramas, historical and costume movies and TV series sorted by era.
