Steamy Period Dramas to Watch After ‘Bridgerton’: ‘Outlander,’ ‘Harlots’ and More

Credit: Starz!/Kobal/Shutterstock

Steamy Period Dramas to Watch After 'Bridgerton': 'Outlander,' 'Harlots' and More

Never enough steam! Bridgerton is full of smoldering looks and stolen embraces, but the Netflix series is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to sexy period dramas. No one knows this better than Outlander fans or the show's two leads, Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan. The Belfast actress and the Scotland native play Claire and Jamie Fraser, respectively, on the hit Starz series about two time-crossed lovers living in the 18th century. Though the show is known for its racy sex scenes, filming those moments is not as glamorous as it looks. "They're always awkward," Balfe said during a February 2020 appearance on Good Morning America. "We've been doing [the show] for so long now, it's always this conversation of like, 'OK, so, what are we gonna do for this one that's different than everyone other one that we've done before?' We're gonna have to start getting love scene Twister or something." [jwplayer th1BTzPA-zhNYySv2] While intimacy coordinators are now common on film and TV sets, Outlander didn't have one until season 6, which premiered in March 2022. "Those things just weren't available," Balfe told Entertainment Weekly that same month, explaining why the show didn't have an intimacy specialist from season 1. "Or if it was available, it just wasn't commonplace." Heughan, for his part, thinks having an intimacy coordinator has taken a lot of weight off his and Balfe's shoulders. "I realized how much we were thrown into the deep end," he told EW. "There was a lot of pressure on us as less experienced actors to get it right. Each year as it went past or each season, I felt the pressure. It landed on us. [The coordinator] has given us the tools to explore those scenes, to take out the actor and take us out of it and approach it through a character way." A show doesn't have to have explicit love scenes to be steamy, though. Consider Poldark, which aired from 2015 to 2019 as part of PBS' comparatively chaste Masterpiece anthology. The series didn't include any nudity, but fans were still mesmerized by the sight of Ross Poldark (Aidan Turner) scything his fields on a hot day. The Hobbit actor admitted that keeping his Ross physique in peak form was a challenge, especially after vacation. “I showed up a few pounds too heavy and I think they had to split the back of the waistcoat," he told Radio Times in June 2017. Keep scrolling for a list of the steamiest shows and movies to stream after Bridgerton. [podcast_block]

Credit: Starz!/Kobal/Shutterstock

Steamy Period Dramas to Watch After 'Bridgerton': 'Outlander,' 'Harlots' and More

Never enough steam! Bridgerton is full of smoldering looks and stolen embraces, but the Netflix series is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to sexy period dramas. No one knows this better than Outlander fans or the show's two leads, Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan. The Belfast actress and the Scotland native play Claire and Jamie Fraser, respectively, on the hit Starz series about two time-crossed lovers living in the 18th century. Though the show is known for its racy sex scenes, filming those moments is not as glamorous as it looks. "They're always awkward," Balfe said during a February 2020 appearance on Good Morning America. "We've been doing [the show] for so long now, it's always this conversation of like, 'OK, so, what are we gonna do for this one that's different than everyone other one that we've done before?' We're gonna have to start getting love scene Twister or something." [jwplayer th1BTzPA-zhNYySv2] While intimacy coordinators are now common on film and TV sets, Outlander didn't have one until season 6, which premiered in March 2022. "Those things just weren't available," Balfe told Entertainment Weekly that same month, explaining why the show didn't have an intimacy specialist from season 1. "Or if it was available, it just wasn't commonplace." Heughan, for his part, thinks having an intimacy coordinator has taken a lot of weight off his and Balfe's shoulders. "I realized how much we were thrown into the deep end," he told EW. "There was a lot of pressure on us as less experienced actors to get it right. Each year as it went past or each season, I felt the pressure. It landed on us. [The coordinator] has given us the tools to explore those scenes, to take out the actor and take us out of it and approach it through a character way." A show doesn't have to have explicit love scenes to be steamy, though. Consider Poldark, which aired from 2015 to 2019 as part of PBS' comparatively chaste Masterpiece anthology. The series didn't include any nudity, but fans were still mesmerized by the sight of Ross Poldark (Aidan Turner) scything his fields on a hot day. The Hobbit actor admitted that keeping his Ross physique in peak form was a challenge, especially after vacation. “I showed up a few pounds too heavy and I think they had to split the back of the waistcoat," he told Radio Times in June 2017. Keep scrolling for a list of the steamiest shows and movies to stream after Bridgerton. [podcast_block]

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'Pride & Prejudice' (2005)

Jane Austen was arguably the inventor of the steamy romance, even if her characters waited till marriage to share even the chastest kiss. Joe Wright's 2005 film adaptation of Pride & Prejudice — starring Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet and Matthew Macfayden as Mr. Darcy — still managed to up the steam quotient with a passionate confession scene shot in the rain.

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'Pride & Prejudice' (1995)

True Austenheads know that nothing will ever top the 1995 BBC adaptation of the novel, which clocks in at five hours and stars a young Colin Firth as the meticulous Mr. Darcy. Elizabeth (Jennifer Ehle) and Darcy share only one kiss in the entire miniseries, but the lingering looks are numerous.

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'Miss Scarlet and the Duke'

This PBS series follows unmarried Eliza Scarlet (Kate Phillips) as she tries to make a name for herself as a lady detective in Victorian England. When she's not solving mysteries, she's needling — and sometimes flirting with — Scotland Yard inspector William Wellington (Stuart Martin), who grudgingly helps her hone her craft following the death of her father (Downton Abbey alum Kevin Doyle).

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'Poldark'

The aforementioned Poldark is based on a series of novels by Winston Graham. Ross Poldark has returned home to England after fighting in the American Revolution only to find out that his longtime love Elizabeth (Heida Reed) has married his enemy. He initially wants to win her back, but a new maid named Demelza (Eleanor Tomlinson) could change his mind.

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'Harlots'

This late lamented Hulu series drew its inspiration from British historian Hallie Rubenhold's 2006 book, The Covent Garden Ladies. Samantha Morton plays Margaret Wells, a no-nonsense madam trying to succeed against competition from Lydia Quigley (Lesley Manville), who owns the poshest brothel in 1760s London, England. The cast also includes Jessica Brown Findlay, Liv Tyler and Danny Sapani.

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'Outlander'

After finding herself sent back in time to 1740s Scotland, World War II nurse Claire Randall (Balfe) finds herself under the protection of Jamie Fraser (Heughan), a very handsome Scot. The show's creators take great pains with its historical accuracy, but they also don't skimp on love scenes. Samuel L. Jackson — whose wife, Latanya Richardson, is a huge Outlander fan — calls the series "Scottish porn."

Credit: Gareth Gatrell/Hulu

'The Great'

Elle Fanning plays a young Catherine the Great in this Hulu series very loosely based on the life of the infamous Russian empress. Nicholas Hoult appears as her husband, Peter III, but their romance is hampered by Catherine's attempts to have him killed.

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'Portrait of a Lady on Fire'

This 2019 film tells the story of 18th-century painter Marianne (Noémie Merlant) and her unwilling subject Héloïse (Adèle Haenel), who is supposed to wed a Milanese nobleman. Héloïse has so far avoided sitting for a portrait because she doesn't want to get married, but Marianne changes her mind — and their relationship becomes more than professional.

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'The Age of Innocence'

Based on Edith Wharton's 1920 novel of the same name, The Age of Innocence follows Newland Archer (Daniel Day-Lewis) through 1870s New York as he tries to accept his upcoming marriage to May Welland (Winona Ryder). Things get complicated after the arrival of her older cousin Ellen Olenska (Michelle Pfeiffer), who desperately wants to divorce her husband.

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'Stage Beauty'

There's Shakespeare in Love, and then there's Stage Beauty, which runs circles around the former in terms of steaminess. Billy Crudup stars as real-life actor Ned Kynaston, who in the late 17th century was one of the last men who played stage roles written for women. His dresser, Maria (Claire Danes), wants to become an actress, but since the law forbids it, she has to perform under a pseudonym at a local tavern. Ned's career, meanwhile, is on the wane — and sparks start to fly.

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'Belle'

This 2013 movie was inspired by a 1779 painting of Dido Elizabeth Belle, who was the illegitimate daughter of a high-ranking British naval officer. Her mother was an enslaved woman, and her father sent her to live with his relatives after he found her living in poverty. Gugu Mbatha-Raw stars as Belle, while Sam Reid plays John Davinier, who falls in love with her after apprenticing with her family.

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'Casanova'

The late Heath Ledger plays legendary ladies man Giacomo Casanova in this 2005 film, which also stars Sienna Miller and Jeremy Irons. Casanova also has a Bridgerton connection: Shondaland producer Betsy Beers, who's an executive producer on Bridgerton, coproduced the film.

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'Bright Star'

Before The Power of the Dog, Jane Campion directed Bright Star, which explores the relationship between poet John Keats (Ben Whishaw) and Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish). Bright Star doesn't have any love scenes, but John and Fanny's hand-holding is so steamy that it's hard to believe there's no nudity involved.