Reign is an American historical romantic drama television series. Created by Laurie McCarthy and Stephanie Sengupta for The CW Network, the show is set in the late-sixteenth century. It revolves around the life of Mary, Queen of Scots, and her rise to power in the French Court. Are you interested in watching more historical shows like Reign? Do not worry, we have you covered.
Adelaide Kane stars as Queen Mary in Reign, alongside an ensemble cast. The show premiered on October 17, 2013, and lasted for four seasons. The series finale aired on June 16, 2017.
Warner Bros. Television and CBS Television Studios produced the show. Since its debut, Reign received mixed reviews from television critics. They praised the acting and costume design but had a lot to say about historical inaccuracy.
This vivid historical drama series tells the story of Mary. You can watch it on Netflix if you like. With that in mind, let’s take a look at other historical shows like Reign.
Jane Eyre
The period drama set on the Moors is based on the classic novel of the same name. In the series, Jane is a governess who moves to Thornfield Hall to work for an enigmatic Mr. Rochester.
Like the castles Queen Mary inhabits in Reign, Thornfield is a mysterious and eerie setting in which a woman might lose herself. During the show, Jane finds herself sufficiently haunted by the strange characters who live in the halls of Thornfield. Rochester is the scariest of them all.
Jane and Rochester are drawn toward one another, but she knows less and less about him.
The Tudors
The historical fiction television series was praised for its historical accuracy, unlike the Reign. Set primarily in 16th century England, the show was a collaboration among British, American, and Canadian producers.
Named after the Tudor dynasty, it is based specifically upon the reign of King Henry VIII. When it premiered in April 2007, it was the highest-rated Showtime series in three years.
The fourth and final season was broadcasted in 2010, with the series finale airing on June 20, 2010.
The Vampire Diaries
If you have no problem with fictional history, the Vampire Diaries is a great place to start. You get all the mystery and supernatural elements but without historical elements.
The pilot episode of the show attracted the largest audience for the CW Network of any series. Nina Dobrev played the lead character for the first six seasons. She only did a voiceover for the season finale of the 7th season. The eighth season was the final one.
The Originals
The concepts and characters developed in the Vampire Diaries served as inspiration for the media franchise that includes other television series. The Originals is basically a spinoff of the Vampire Diaries.
This fantasy supernatural drama television series began airing in October 2013. It follows vampire-werewolf hybrid Klaus MIkaelson and his family.
Gunpowder, Treason, and Plot
The 2004 BBC miniseries Gunpowder, Treason & Plot is based upon the lives of Mary, Queen of Scots, and her son James VI of Scotland. It is a quite similar show to Reign in the sense both deal with the life of Mary.
Writer Jimmy McGovern tells the story behind the Gunpowder plot in two parts, each centered on one of the monarchs.
In episode 1, Mary is in exile in France and returns to Scotland in 1561. And in the opening scene of episode 2 in Scotland, her son James I says, “I have every right to hate you” to his mother.
Cursed
This story of the Arthurian legend is a Netflix original series. It premiered in July 2020 with elements of fantasy, adventure, and historical fiction.
Cursed puts a young woman by the name of Nimue into the spotlight. Katherine Langford portrays Nimue to her best abilities. Nimue is a Fey, possessing an ability to tap into ancient magic.
Combine that with the Sword of Power, and she has more authority than she realizes or wants.
Medici
The popular series stars Richard Madden, Daniel Sharman, and Toby Regbo. Fun fact: Toby is also a star in Reign.
The show is based on the real House of Medici, an Italian family that rose to power in the 15th century through their banking business.
Medici ran from 2016 to 2019, putting the focus on the family’s rise to power amid the tumultuous social upheavals of medieval Italy. The events in Medici are actually set not long before Mary’s reign in France and Scotland.
The Crown
The Netflix series is the biggest hit in the past few years. It is one of the most popular and critically acclaimed Netflix originals. The Crown follows another British monarch, the reign of Queen Elizabeth II.
The show begins with Elizabeth’s ascent to the throne at the age of 25 in the 1940s and then progresses to modern times.
The Crown examines how the queen’s earlier years shaped the future of herself and the future of England.
Knightfall
The historical drama fiction television series was created for the History channel. It premiered in December 2017 and the next summer, History renewed it for a second season.
The show recounts the success, fall, persecution, and suppression of the Knights Templar. It focuses on the fictional Templar Leader Landry du Lauzon, who is a brave warrior discouraged by the Templar’s failures in the Holy Land. He is reinvigorated by the news that the Holy Grail has resurfaced.
The White Princess
The historical drama television miniseries was developed for Starz. It is based on a 2013 novel of the same name by Philippa Gregory and the sequel The King’s Curse.
The White Princess is a sequel to the 2013 miniseries The White Queen, which adapted three of Gregory’s previous novels.
The eight-episode series focuses on the marriage of Henry VII and Queen Elizabeth of York, which effectively ends the Wars of the Roses by uniting the houses of Lancaster and York.
Riverdale
The American teen drama is based on the characters of Archie Comics. It was adapted for the CW network by Archie Comics’ chief creative officer Roberto Aquirre-Sacasa. Produced by Warner Bros. Television and CBS studios, the series features an ensemble cast.
It debuted in January 2017 to positive reviews. The sixth season premiered on November 16, 2021.
The White Queen
This British historical drama was developed for BBC One. As we said before, it was based on Philippa Gregory’s historical novel series The Cousins’ War.
It is set against the backdrop of the Wars of the Roses and presents the story of the women involved in the long conflict. The show starts in 1464, with the nation at war for nine years fighting for the rightful king and the throne.
It follows three women, Elizabeth Woodville, Margaret Beaufort, and Anne Neville. They manipulate events behind the scenes of history to gain power.
Game of Thrones
Writer George R.R. Martin has hinted that the War of the Roses served as inspiration for his epic fantasy drama. He has yet to write the books, but HBO adapted his first novels for the Game of Thrones series.
If you love historical events and fighting for power, Game of Thrones is the best you can get. The story is set on the fictional continents of Westeros and Essos. The large ensemble cast has some huge stars like Lena Headey, Peter Dinklage, Emilia Clarke, Kit Harington, Richard Madden, Sophie Turner, and many more.
Game of Thrones is a record holder in the number of Primetime Emmy Award trophies it won. In total, the show won 59 Primetime Emmy Awards.
Wolf Hall
The British television series premiered on BBC Two in January 2015. It is a six-part series serving as an adaptation of two of Hilary Mantel’s novels, Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies.
The fictionalized biography documents the rapid rise to power of Thomas Cromwell in the court of Henry VIII through to the death of Sir Thomas More.
It was a critical success and received eight Primetime Emmy Award nominations and three Golden Globe Award nominations.
The Borgias
Let’s finish off the list of shows like Reign with another historical fiction drama series. Created by Neil Jordan, The Borgias debuted in 2011 but was canceled in 2013.
Set in Renaissance-era Italy, it follows the Borgia family in their scandalous ascension to the papacy. They use bribery, simony, intimidation, and murder in their quest for wealth and power.
The Borgias remain one of history’s most infamous crime families. Jeremy Irons stars as Pope Alexander VI and Francois Arnaud as Cesare. Holliday Grainger stars as Lucrezia and David Oakes as Juan.
