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What to Watch After Downton Abbey

Here are six shows to watch after you've finished Downton Abbey.

The beloved upstairs-downstairs period drama Downton Abbey is the most-watched television series on both ITV and PBS, replacing the 1981 TV serial Brideshead Revisited as the most successful British costume drama, and in 2011, it was recognized by Guinness World Records as the most critically acclaimed English-language series. And all of these accolades make sense to us, as the series has it all. Sexy people? Check. Sexy costumes? Check. Sexy, well-plotted storylines? Check. Sexy filming locations? Check. Check. CHECK! Yes, those beautiful British filming locations are worth three checks for their impact on the U.K.'s tourism market alone.

But after six seasons and three movies, Downton Abbey is coming to an end. The September 12th release of the third and final film, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, marks the end of the critically acclaimed series. With the series finally over, what can fans watch after Downton Abbey to get their fix for an upstairs-downstairs costume drama?

What to Watch After Downton Abbey: The Gilded Age

The Gilded Age has all the historical sexiness of Downton Abbey. And in case you don't know, now you know, that the reason for the show's similarities makes sense since both come from the mind of Downton creator/co-writer Julian Fellowes, who initially conceived of Gilded Age as a prequel to his hit TV series about the Crawley family.

Set in New York City in the 19th century, a period of unprecedented economic growth and political corruption, it follows Marian Brook (Louisa Jacobson), a Sybil Crawley-esque character who finds herself caught between the rivalry between her aristocratic relatives, the van Rhijn-Brook family, and the family that lives near them on the Upper East Side, the ambitious Russell family. And this dual family focus is used to bring in the elements that distinguish the Gilded Age from Downton, its exploration of the U.S.-centric class dynamics. Each of the families is representative of opposing sides of a rapidly changing society, with the show exploring the tensions between new money (gained wealth through industry) and old money (inherited fortunes).

What to Watch After Downton Abbey: Harlots

If you love Downton's strong female characters and how they break through the glass ceilings of their time, Harlots is the perfect next watch for you. A British period drama TV series created by Alison Newman and Moira Buffini and inspired by historian Hallie Rubenhold's book The Covent Garden Ladies (btdubs, this is worth a read if you like historical nonfiction about women's work), Harlots follows London brothel owner Margaret Wells (Samantha Morton) as she struggles to secure a better future for her two daughters, Lucy (Eloise Smyth) and Charlotte (Jessica Brown Findlay), in an unpredictable, ever-changing environment. Deliciously campy and delectably binge-worthy, Harlots offers a pragmatic and bold look at 18th-century sex work that holds up a mirror to the modern world, reflecting ongoing struggles with gender-based oppression and inequality.

What to Watch After Downton Abbey: Another Period

From Drunk History co-creator Jeremy Konner, Comedy Central's mockumentary-style satirical comedy series Another Period parodies Downton Abbey and the docu-soap Keeping Up with the Kardashians, according to series co-creator Natasha Leggero. Set roughly during the same period as Downton, the series follows the Bellacourts, the first family of Newport, Rhode Island, a town historically known as the summer playground of the wealthy. Leggero and Riki Lindhome play the Bellacourt sisters, tacky heiresses who are trying to climb the social ladder and become famous, which is hard in 1902 because there's no TV or social media. 

While the antics of the Bellacourt sisters provide endless laugh-out-loud entertainment, the true highlight of the series is the family matron, Dorothea "Dodo" Bellacourt, played by our long-time celebrity crush Paget Brewster, who gets another chance to show her Community comedic chops after years of playing the overly serious Special Agent Prentiss on Criminal Minds. Upon learning about her husband's infidelities and desire to institutionalize her to keep her from the family's wealth, Dodo delves deeper into her morphine addiction to cope, eventually landing her in a nunnery before she can plan a hostile takeover of the Bellacourt estate.

What to Watch After Downton Abbey: Upstairs, Downstairs

This is the series that started the upstairs-downstairs genre. Ranked by the Writers Guild of America as one of the 101 best written TV shows of all-time, Upstairs, Downstairs is the 1970s series that pioneered the upstairs-downstairs genre and put the show's US broadcaster PBS's Masterpiece Theater on the map. Set between 1903 and 1930, it follows the lives of the wealthy Bellamy family ('upstairs'), who reside in a large townhouse in one of London's most fashionable districts, and their servants ('downstairs'), and how they're impacted by the decline of the British aristocracy in the post-Edwardian era. If that premise sounds similar to you as a Downton fan, that's not a coincidence. Executive producer Gareth Neame told Forbes that he was inspired by Upstairs, Downstairs.

What to Watch After Downton Abbey: Gentleman Jack

BBC One and HBO's historical drama Gentleman Jack, created by Renegade Nell creator Sally Wainwright, is based on the real diaries of 19th-century Yorkshire (where Downton is set!) landowner Anne Lister, played masterfully by Suranne Jones, who falls in love with another female landowner, Ann Walker, played by Sophie Rundle. Appearing in the series as Lister's inner dialogue when she speaks directly to the camera, the diaries were partially written in secret code and documented Lister's life as "the first modern lesbian,” as she has been called by historians. Like Downton Abbey, Gentlemen Jack is a smart, character-driven series that blends historical setting, feminism, wit, and a groundbreaking queer romance. If you love Downton's queer storyline, it's the perfect next watch.

While the show was cancelled too soon (like all the best shows), a ballet inspired by the series will be touring England and Finland starting in 2026. Wainwright serves as a creative consultant on the Northern Ballet and Finnish National Opera and Ballet's co-production of Gentleman Jack.

What to Watch After Downton Abbey: Secrets of Great British Castles

As the most-watched series in the history of PBS, the very British upstairs-downstairs period drama Downton Abbey is directly responsible for creating a new generation of Anglophiles, many of whom are eager to travel to the UK to tour the show's iconic British filming locations that breathe life into the show's Edwardian era elegance. However, if a trip to the UK doesn’t fit into your budget, you can watch the documentary series Secrets of Great British Castles, hosted by historian Dan Jones, to learn more about the estates of the British aristocracy and their inhabitants. While not quite the same as visiting the Downton filming locations, Great British Castles will still give Anglophiles a glimpse at Britain's historic estates and the day-to-day lives of the people who occupied them. Unfortunately, however, the series ends before Jones tours Highclere Castle, which has starred as Downton Abbey in all six seasons of the show and both films.


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Avery Kaplan

Avery Kaplan: Avery lives and writes in Southern California. She is the co-author of Double Challenge: Being LGBTQ and a Minority with her spouse, Rebecca Oliver Kaplan. Avery is Features Editor at Comics Beat, and you can also find her writing on StarTrek.com, The Gutter Review, Geek Girl Authority, and in the margins of the books in her personal library.

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