TV’s Steamiest Period Dramas, Ranked

Emily Dickinson was a revolutionary wordsmith whose work spoke to the humorous and longing heart of what it felt like to be ahead of your time. In Apple TV+’s retelling of her story starring Hailee Steinfeld, Dickinson is seen as that young woman trying to decipher her own concoction of hope, melancholy, and the untapped desire of youth. Her burgeoning awareness of her queerness also leads to some exciting and sensual encounters that set the tone for this series that wasn’t just about the legacy Dickinson left behind. It was about the thrilling life she lived.

Don’t let the PBS of it all fool you. Aiden Turner’s turn as the beloved literary character Captain Ross Poldark is hot, but in that cliffs of England kind of way where everyone looks beautiful in the sea breeze and the problems of the day are just tense enough to get your pulse racing. Then you throw in an unrequited love, a torrid romance, a few adulterous storylines, some clothes ripping, and the fear of being lost in a mine, and you have yourself a sneakily hot series that knows the value of its lead actor emerging shirtless from the ocean and uses it to great effort.

You wouldn’t think that a show about the grimy lives of pirates in the Golden Age of anarchy on the high seas would make for a sexy excursion, but you would be wrong. In a time when acceptable behavior was largely determined by the loudest religion in the room, the fearless freedom of piracy came with many perks, including a healthy dose of sexual liberation. In many cases, the show’s depiction of sex was more about basking in the lack of inhibition within the pirate communities in Nassau and beyond. But some of the show’s sweeter moments—including the queer romance backstory for the series’ main character Captain Flint (Toby Stephens)—made this love story with the sea even more sensual.

Nothing brings two people together like the fiery passion of hatred, and that’s exactly what fueled the arranged marriage between Catherine the Great (Elle Fanning) and Emperor Peter III of Russia (Nicholas Hoult), at least according to this admittedly doctored telling of the famous political pairing. Catherine was driven by ambition, Peter was powered by his libido. Their clash of ideals eventually erupted into some spicy scenes and, ultimately, a devoted alliance. But with a court of allies and enemies that was just as sex driven as their own partnership, the series was not short of steam.

Who says broadcast television can’t be sexy? This take on the story of Mary Stuart (Adelaide Kane), the Queen of Scotland, was nothing short of boundary-pushing from the second it aired on The CW as a period companion to more contemporary and trendy shows like The Vampire Diaries. The first episode caused a bit of controversy before it even aired because of an overt masturbation scene that was edited down for broadcast. But that willingness to embrace this coming-of-age era for Mary Queen of Scots led to more than a few saucy scenes, including one where Queen Catherine (Megan Follows) had a rowdy threesome.

Palace intrigue takes on a whole new meaning in this immersive series about the creation of the Palace of Versailles under the rule of French King Louis XIV. The Canal+ series (which aired in the U.S. on Ovation and eventually became a hit on Netflix) was filmed inside the real French palace, giving it an air of distinction. But the series also evokes the amorous reputation of its home country to serve up the more carnal desires indulged behind the closed doors of nobility, with sex scenes that probably won’t be featured on any of the tourist brochures for those visiting the real Versailles.

HBO’s recreation of Rome at the time of Julius Caesar was a fleeting but blazing hit for the network, and its two-season run was dipping in tunics and sex. The series follows two officers, Lucius (Kevin McKidd) and Titus (the late Ray Stevenson), who find themselves at the heart of political games and in the beds of some very important people. Sex was power in ancient Rome, and the show took every opportunity to remind its audience of that. There is also more than one scene where someone is being bathed by hand before it turns into something that is anything but clean.

Beyond its eye-catching title, this Hulu series about the women who work in brothels of varying social status is actually a progressive and mindful exploration of how sex work was very real work for women in 18th-century London. Led by competing madames, played by Samantha Morton and Leslie Manville, this series is sexy by default because of the sheer amount of sex it depicts. But it wisely showed sex through the eyes of its women, which made it a more important statement on how sex was as much about survival as it was about pleasure.

Netflix’s megahit franchise, consisting of both Bridgerton and Queen Charlotte, set in the Regency era of London’s elite class is known for being a bodice-ripping good time, and it certainly lives up to the reputation. When the show first premiered, it left viewers blushing once its central romance stopped dancing around their enemies-to-lovers tension and consummated their unexpected coupling—on every surface they could find, including a library ladder. From there, the franchise has continued to up the ante of its sex appeal to stay ahead of an audience that is hungry for more love stories that don’t skimp on the skin.

For the many that tried to replicate it, The Tudors set the standard for the modern-day frankness with which it showed sex as a means of securing power in the court of King Henry VIII. With the likes of Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Natalie Dormer, and a young Henry Cavill leading the charge, the series will raise the temperature in any room it is playing. But what really stands out is how the show used the sexual exploits of its ruling class and the ways in which they used pillow talk—among other bedroom activities—to push through agendas and settle scores.

All that oil, sweat, and perpetual threat of death set up some very steamy scenes in and around the Roman Colosseum in this story about the Thracian gladiator Spartacus (Andy Whitfield) and his role as the leader of a slave rebellion in 73 BC. Unlike other series set at this time in history, the three seasons of Spartacus—Blood and Sand, Vengeance, War of the Damned, and its prequel series, Gods of the Arena—wholeheartedly committed to showing sex, love, and connection in all forms, including a few important depictions of gay relationships. Gladiators were forced to live on a knife’s edge, and it makes sense their sex lives, when possible, would be almost feral embraces of what could be their final days.

The newest entry to this list led its promotional campaign with the tagline “Lust. For Power,” and it didn’t disappoint. As the initially naive son of an opportunistic mother (Julianne Moore) in search of power, George (Nicholas Galitizine) finds himself thrust into the orbit of the horny King James I (Tony Curran), who he is able to seduce and manipulate in the early 17th century. Whether it was in the king’s bed or the beds of any number of other people of all genders, George did not shy away from sex, and the show never sanded down the edges of his insatiable appetite for it. Explicit in all the right ways, Mary & George was a step forward for queer representation that didn’t cut to black when things started heating up.

This may be one of the more modern entries on the list, but it is the only one that tried to get the heart of why we are fascinated with and driven by sex no matter what era we live in. Depicting the real-life research of Dr. William Masters (Michael Sheen) and Virginia Johnson (Lizzy Caplan) into the human response to sex, the series shot its sex scenes as if it was fascinated by every deep breath, quiver, and touch—because it was. It treated bodies and connection like a canvas where every nerve is firing off little lightning bolts. It is hot because it takes the time to really show what other series can lose in the heavy petting, which is a visual understanding of why people like sex. For that reason, in order to understand Masters and Johnson’s research, Masters of Sex features some of the most sensual scenes of sex ever put on TV.

While you might not consider Showtime’s McCarthy-era drama series a period show, it is a tragically faithful product of its time, even more than other series on this list. Living in the decades-long relationship between Hawk Fuller (Matt Bomer) and Tim Laughlin (Jonathan Bailey), the series pulls no punches in showing the consequences of being gay in America in the 1950s through the 1980s (and beyond). Mixed in with that ever-timely commentary is a refreshingly explicit and physical relationship between two men who are still trying to find out how to love each other beyond the bedroom. The sex scenes got plenty of attention when the show premiered, and rightfully so. It is some of the most uninhibited gay sex ever depicted onscreen, and never hiding that side of Hawk and Tim’s relationship grants this historical story even more authenticity—while also fogging up the windows.

So many shows have tried to do it like Outlander and very few have even come close. When it first debuted, this adaptation of Diana Gabaldon’s books about the adventures of Claire (Caitríona Balfe) and Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) became known for the way in which it entangled unexpected love with unyielding depictions of sex—a reputation that brought in viewers like moths to a flame. Over time, the series has settled into its own depictions of sex and has even used that type of physical intimacy more sparingly in more recent seasons. But the early years of the Frasers’ marriage is a legendary showcase of the ravenous hunger of young love and the passion that blossoms when the rest of the world feels like it’s tearing you apart. Plus, there was a time in history when Jamie never passed by a babbling brook without bathing naked in it, and for that, we are grateful.