The 50 Best Historical Dramas: Trailblazers, Notable Names & Jesus — From ‘Shirley’ to ‘The Chosen’
TV Insider is counting down the 50 best historical dramas on TV over the years. In the latest roundup, we take a look at trailblazers, notable names, and Jesus in popular titles such as Shirley, A Small Light, and The Chosen among others.
Scroll down for a closer look and stay tuned for a deeper look into these must-see historical dramas and more.
Hey there, historians! Join us in our countdown of the 50 Best Historical Dramas, from both television and film. Be sure to check out TV Insider’s April 2024 issue, currently on newsstands.
Shirley (Netflix)
As the first Black woman elected to Congress and the first Black woman to run as a major party candidate for president, Shirley Chisholm was a woman of the people who strove to be a catalyst for change. As she trumpeted in her famous slogan “Unbought and Unbossed,” she wasn’t someone who bent easily to political pressure or took no for an answer. In this riveting biopic, Chisholm (Watchmen Emmy winner Regina King) demonstrates a steely resolve — and heartfelt passion — as she launches a groundbreaking run for the presidency in the 1972 election.
“The agony of people, it moves me. It’s deep within me,” she says in Shirley, written and directed by John Ridley (12 Years a Slave). “I see too much suffering. I believe in people, and I don’t know how to not try.”
Growing up in Brooklyn as the daughter of hardworking immigrant parents from Barbados, Chisholm was an unlikely success. But King points to her upbringing as the key to her commitment to grassroots politics and fighting the establishment. “She embraced what made her different and used it as her superpower,” the actress told Harper’s Bazaar. Helping Chisholm in her campaign are husband Conrad (Michael Cherrie), longtime political mentor “Mac” Holder (the late Lance Reddick), close confidant and aide Arthur Hardwick (Terrence Howard), and young national student organizer Robert Gottlieb (Lucas Hedges).
In her quest to give a voice to the less fortunate, Chisholm suffers stinging defeats but hopes to win enough delegates to force changes to the party platform at the convention. Along the way, she inspires countless women to follow her lead, including future California congresswoman Barbara Lee (Christina Jackson). Despite her loss, she paved the way for other historic government figures. “I don’t think I’m special,” Chisholm says of her resolve. “I’m just how I am, and I don’t know any other way to be.” — Christopher Wallenberg
Judas and the Black Messiah (Prime Video)
Daniel Kaluuya gives an Oscar-winning turn as Fred Hampton in this 2021 biopic about the electrifying Black Panther Party leader as he inspires his followers to fight for Black liberation in the late 1960s. The film focuses on the betrayal of Hampton and the movement by William O’Neal (LaKeith Stanfield), who becomes an FBI informant and infiltrates the organization. Jesse Plemons (Killers of the Flower Moon) also stars. — TV Insider Staff
A Small Light (Disney+)
It’s the story of famed diary writer and Holocaust victim Anne Frank as told through the eyes of her friend, Miep Gies (Bel Powley) — an employee of Anne’s father Otto (Liev Schreiber) who risks her life to help the Frank family and four other Jewish friends in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam. The limited series shines a light not only on Miep and Anne’s (Billie Boullet) friendship but also on Miep’s relationship with her loyal resistance member husband Jan (Joe Cole). — TV Insider Staff
Mrs. America (Hulu)
Icons of the feminist movement, including Betty Friedan (Tracey Ullman), Gloria Steinem (Rose Byrne), and Shirley Chisholm (Uzo Aduba), battle conservative lightning rod Phyllis Schlafly (Cate Blanchett) in this 2020 series that chronicles the struggle to pass the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s. While the progressive women fight for the right to bodily autonomy, self-determination, and cultural power, firebrand Schlafly, with her army of followers (including two played by Sarah Paulson and Melanie Lynskey), uses her growing clout to advocate for a status quo system and entrenched political power. The portrait of Schlafly that emerges is one of complexity: a headstrong woman who suffered her own share of indignities in the male-dominated halls of power (and looked a lot like a women’s liberationist in her fight for respect) but chose instead to prop up the patriarchy in order to gain her seat at the table. — Christopher Wallenberg
Gentleman Jack (Max)
Written in a code that went unbroken until after her death, Anne Lister’s diary detailed a lifetime of lesbian relationships too salacious for early 19th-century England. This 2019–22 series shows Lister’s (Suranne Jones) romance with Ann Walker (Sophie Rundle). Known as the “first modern lesbian” — and to her contemporaries by the disparaging nickname “Gentleman Jack” — she bucked gender norms in her role as a female industrialist and landowner. — TV Insider Staff
The Chosen (Peacock, Prime Video, Netflix)
There’s a lot known and unknown about the life of Jesus of Nazareth, played here with a twinkle in His eye by the endlessly entertaining Jonathan Roumie (left). But this multi-season historical drama (the first of its kind) from creator-director Dallas Jenkins bravely tells His story. Over four seasons so far (the latest has yet to hit a streamer as of press time), viewers have witnessed Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem, the launch of His ministry and a vast number of miracles, from turning water into wine to walking on water.
But what helps make this remarkable series stand out is its focus on periphery figures in Jesus’ life, from Mary Magdalene (Elizabeth Tabish) in her darkest hours to disciples like sweetly awkward former tax collector Matthew (Paras Patel) and bull-headed Simon (Shahar Isaac). For more on The Chosen, seek out TV Guide Magazine’s special collector’s edition at thechosenmag.com. — Emily Aslanian
Behold, Even More of the Son of God
The Passion of the Christ (UP Faith & Family)
In this powerful 2004 film, Jim Caviezel delivers a nuanced, moody performance as Jesus. Directed and co-written by Mel Gibson, Passion shows His final 12 hours in excruciating detail: the Agony in the Garden of Olives, His betrayal by Judas Iscariot (Luca Lionello), His arrest and torture, the carrying of the cross, and His Crucifixion and death. It ends with a glimpse of the Resurrection. (A two-part sequel is reportedly starting to film sometime this year.)
Jesus of Nazareth (Peacock)
Directed by famed Italian filmmaker Franco Zeffirelli, this epic British-Italian miniseries from 1977, which offered a comprehensive story of Jesus (played by the blue-eyed Robert Powell) from birth through His ministry, Crucifixion and Resurrection, was a hit.
Jesus (The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, Freevee)
Little-known 25-year-old Jeremy Sisto (now a staple on CBS’s FBI) told TV Guide Magazine when this three-hour 2000 miniseries began that he was “a Jesus with no baggage.” Along for the trip: Debra Messing (Mary Magdalene) and Gary Oldman (Pontius Pilate).
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