This autumn will invite us to embark on a wonderful journey back in time, through ostentatious costumes, great passions, family intrigues, and distant atmospheres. From fresh takes on literary classics to highly anticipated returns, the final months of the year will bring several period TV series to the small screen, set between the 19th century and the early decades of the 20th. Here are all the titles to mark on your calendar, what they’re about, where and when to watch them, and why you won’t be able to resist.
All the Costume Drama Series Coming This Autumn
The Doll
Warsaw, 19th century: in a society still dominated by rigid class hierarchies, Stanisław Wokulski is a self-made trader who, after amassing a fortune, aims to win over the aristocrat Izabela Łęcka. His love for her becomes an obsession, while social differences and personal ambitions constantly test their relationship. Based on the celebrated novel by Bolesław Prus, the Polish miniseries plunges viewers into 19th‑century Warsaw, suspended between tradition and modernity. What makes it especially compelling is the weave of a grand love story, class conflict, and social transformations, told through complex characters and meticulous period reconstruction.
Already available for streaming on Netflix
Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story
The fourth season of the anthology crime drama brings to the screen one of late 19th‑century America’s most enigmatic true‑crime cases: Lizzie Borden, accused of murdering her father and stepmother. Set in an era marked by rigid social conventions, the series reconstructs a world of appearances, family secrets, and hidden tensions, weaving historical drama with mystery. What makes it unmissable is precisely the atmosphere: period costumes and settings join a dark and unsettling narrative, able to resurrect a case that still raises questions and interpretations today.
Already available for streaming on Netflix
The Other Bennet Sister — Pride and Redemption
The world of Jane Austen returns to the screen through a fresh perspective: Mary Bennet, the middle sister often pushed to the margins of the story. Amid dances, social conventions, and desires difficult to confess, Mary embarks on a journey of growth and emancipation, learning about herself and finding her place in the world. The series offers an original view of Austen’s universe, blending romance, irony, and reflections on identity and the expectations placed on women. A story capable of appealing to Austen fans, but also to those seeking a historical drama with multi‑faceted characters and a protagonist finally centered in the spotlight.
From September 26 on Sky and streaming on NOW
East of Eden
Adapted from John Steinbeck’s famous novel, the miniseries follows Cathy Ames (played by Florence Pugh), a restless and determined woman whose arc intertwines with the lives of brothers Adam and Charles Trask, giving rise to a family saga that spans generations and decades. What makes the drama unmissable is the fresh outlook of Zoe Kazan, the creator, who brings to the screen the battle between good and evil, inherited legacy, and the freedom to choose, with special emphasis on a complex and controversial female character. A star-studded cast, a grand American story, and an atmosphere rich in period detail complete the picture.
From October 1 on Netflix
The Gilded Age
The sumptuous period drama from Julian Fellowes returns with a fourth season set in 1880s New York, during a social and economic transformation that pits the aristocracy against the new magnates. After securing a central place in high society, Bertha Russell must face the consequences of her ambitions and the choices that have reshaped family dynamics. Agnes van Rhijn glimpses an opportunity to reclaim lost prestige, while Marian searches for a new path and Peggy fights to win acceptance from her future husband’s family. What makes the season highly anticipated is the return of a beloved cast, new rivalries, and a meticulously recreated setting, among mansions, gowns, and historical events. Building on a larger audience for season three, this installment promises to bring back all the charm, conflict, and splendor of America’s Gilded Age.
From November 2 on Sky Serie and streaming on NOW and HBO Max
A Window Overlooking the Lake
In the 1930s, on the shores of Lake Como, arrives Ernesto Maccadò, a young Carabinieri marshal from Calabria on his first assignment, accompanied by his wife Maristella. In the small town of Bellamo, a closed and wary community, the couple must earn their place among eccentric characters, secrets, gossip, and small mysteries. Based on Andrea Vitali’s literary universe, A Window Overlooking the Lake blends mystery, comedy, and a chorus‑like storytelling to recreate a portrait of provincial Italy suspended between tradition, prejudice, and change. Its atmosphere is highly captivating: a lakeside world reconstructed with care, filled with curious and unpredictable figures, where the investigation also becomes a way to tell a community and its contradictions.
From November 3 on Rai 1 and streaming on RaiPlay
Pride and Prejudice
One of the most famous love stories of all time returns with a new miniseries adapted from Jane Austen’s masterpiece. Set in Regency England, it follows Elizabeth Bennet and the proud Mr. Darcy, played by Emma Corrin and Jack Lowden, as they navigate attraction, misunderstandings, social conventions, and class differences. What makes this autumn’s most anticipated rendezvous is the involvement of Dolly Alderton, one of the most acclaimed and influential contemporary British writers, supported by director Euros Lyn, and a prestigious cast that includes Olivia Colman, Rufus Sewell, and Fiona Shaw. The aim is to offer a reinterpretation that preserves Austen’s irony, romance, and keen social observation, winning over both devoted Austen fans and those discovering Elizabeth and Darcy for the first time.
From December 3 streaming on Netflix
Babylon Berlin
The final chapter of the grand saga set in Weimar Berlin. It is January 1933: Hitler is named Chancellor and German democracy slides toward dictatorship. As the city experiences its last nights of euphoria before darkness, Charlotte Ritter investigates a string of murders of ex‑soldiers, uncovering a link to Gereon Rath’s past and to a mysterious, compromising document about Hitler. Gereon, meanwhile, disappears without a trace. Across Berlin, Cologne, and Paris, the eight episodes recount the weeks separating the Nazi seizure of power from the Reichstag fire, weaving noir, history, and political drama. The fifth season is a must‑watch because it brings to a close a decade‑long story and drives the fate of Gereon, Charlotte, and the Berlin that has accompanied them to a pivotal moment.
From December on Sky Atlantic and streaming on NOW
The Empress
Elizabeth of Austria returns for the final chapter of the popular period series devoted to the young Sissi and her marriage to Franz Joseph. The third season resumes after the devastating Sardinian War: the emperor returns to Vienna marked by conflict and guilt, while Elisabeth tries to save the marriage and defend her beliefs, once again clashing with the court’s resistance. The concluding act is expected to be an even more intense and dramatic phase of the story, in which personal relationships intertwine with political tensions and the strict balance of the monarchy. It is precisely the evolution of Elisabeth’s relationship with Franz, together with the fate of the young empress, that makes this one of the most awaited television events of the year.
By the end of the year streaming on Netflix
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