Upcoming Costume Dramas 2016

This year's shaping up to be an absolute cracker for Costume Dramas. We've already had the masterpiece that was War & Peace and I'm currently enjoying Victorian Ghost story The Living and the Dead on BBC One, but there are loads more period dramas coming up in the next few months. I'm donning my bonnet in anticipation.

The Secret Agent

BBC One

9pm, 17th July 2016

First up it's The Secret Agent, the BBC's adaptation of Joseph Conrad's 1907 novel. Given it's themes of anachism and terrorism, this could be a very timely retelling. The three-part series follows seedy shop-owner and undercover Russian spy Verloc, as he receives an order to stage an attack on the Greenwich Observatory. Starring Optimist favourite Toby Jones as Verloc and with the likes of Vicky McClure, Stephen Graham and Ian Hart as supporting players, this looks sure to be a must-watch. 

The Crown

Netflix

4th November 2016

That's right, I've gone all modern - this is a Netflix original series and, according to the Telegraph, it cost in excess of £100 million, dwarfing the £20 million said to be spent on the BBC's War & Peace earlier this year. With all that money being flung around, I'm expecting big things from this 10-parter which explores the early reign of Elizabeth II. Writer Peter Morgan, is something of an expert on our current monarch, having previously written The Queen and The Audience both starring Helen Mirren - but this time he's been given the chance to focus on an entirely different era of her life. Apparently, Netflix are planning a further 5 series, following the Queen from her early years through to the present day. I can only assume that will mean hiring a new actress each series to play the central role, first up, it's the ever brilliant Claire Foy. By the looks of the trailer it seems we can expect some fiery scenes between her and Matt Smith who plays a young Prince Philip. I can't wait to see this one.

Poldark

BBC One
4th September 2016
Looks like the Beeb are holding Series Two back until early Autumn - the start of the traditional Sunday night drama season. The tale of a handsome war hero returning home to find his fiance now engaged to his cousin became something of a cultural phenomenon when it first aired and we can only hope that the second series delivers just as much romance, peril and scything on the sun bathed cliffs of Cornwall as its predecessor. I'm intrigued to see how Ross and Demelza's story will continue following that heartbreaking first series finale. No official trailer as yet, keep your eyes peeled.

Victoria

ITV
Start Date TBC
Royalty seems to be de rigeur in costume drama land at the moment. Victoria follows the story of the Queen's great great grandmother with Jenna Coleman, another Optimist fave, in the title role. ITV may be hoping to steal a little of that Poldark magic, as the two shows share a production company in Mammoth Screen. Victoria's sure to give the Cornish-set show a run for its money in the location stakes too as much of it was shot at Castle Howard, one of the UK's most stunning stately homes. The 8-part drama starts with the monarch's ascension to the throne and explores her romance with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg, played by the dashing Tom Hughes. Victoria looks likely to be filling the vacated Downton Abbey timeslot, but no official start date has been announced as of yet.

What else?

Downton Abbey alum Joanne Froggatt stars as a Victorian murderess in ITV's Dark Angel, due to air later this year.

The BBC have commissioned an adaptation of The Witness for the Prosecution by Agatha Christie following the success of last year's And Then There Were None. We may have to wait until next year for this one though.

I couldn't be more excited for Sally Wainwright's biopic on the life of the Bronte sisters, To Walk Invisible. Currently filming around the Bronte's home town of Howarth, the drama from the writer of Happy Valley is due to air on BBC One next year.