While you wait for Season 3 of Bridgerton, check out these 13 Similar Shows.

There will be no hurrying Lady Whistledown. Those of you who are sitting on the edge of your carriage waiting for Netflix's Bridgerton to return for Season 3 should know that the Regency-era romance has not yet announced a return date. Season 3 will skip ahead in Julia Quinn's book series, focusing on Penelope (Nicola Coughlan) and Colin's (Luke Newton) romance instead of the one that unfolded in Season 2 between Kate (Simone Ashley) and Anthony (Jonathan Bailey). It's going to be well worth the wait, but in the meantime, dear reader, you might be looking for more shows like Bridgerton to tide you over.

The frothy sexiness of the romance, the high society D-R-A-M-A, and the instrumental covers of Billie Eilish songs in Bridgerton hooked us. We've compiled a list of shows that, while not quite as good as the hit Netflix series, still have many of the same characteristics, such as lustful hookups, copious amounts of scandal and gossip, and surprising modern historical dramas reworked for today's audiences.  

Additional suggestions:

The scandalous and enduring 18th-century novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, which was the Bridgerton of its time, is here adapted. Starring Nicholas Denton and Alice Englert, the show follows the lives of starving Parisian lovers Pascal and Camille in the years leading up to the Revolution. To better their financial situation, Pascal has a plan that involves blackmailing his landlord, the elderly Madame Geneviève de Merteuil (Lesley Manville). Things, as you might expect, do not go as planned. It's a steamy period drama that looks and sounds like it was only made because of Bridgerton's fame. Starz had already renewed the show for a second season before the first one had even premiered in 2022, but then the network reversed course and cancelled the show. Even though there is only one season available, fans of historical dramas may enjoy it. "-Liam Mathews

Sanditon

After its initial release, the fact that Bridgerton was essentially a pulpier version of Sanditon was all anyone could talk about on the internet. The film, set in the Regency era and based on Jane Austen's last unfinished novel, follows Charlotte (Rose Williams) as she moves to the coastal village of Sanditon and meets Sidney (Theo James), with whom she immediately clashes in typical Austen fashion. Fans of Bridgerton will enjoy many aspects of this show, including the dramatic twists, the sexy romance, and James' charming yet brooding performance as Sidney. Fact: the post-Bridgerton increase in Sanditon's popularity played a significant role in keeping the PBS show from being canceled. - Allison Picurro

Harlots

Harlots is a great choice if you enjoy stories set in the Bridgerton era but are looking for something with more violence and sexual tension. Margaret Wells (Samantha Morton), a brothel owner and mother of two daughters, moves her establishment to an upscale part of London in an effort to attract more affluent customers. By doing so, she risks coming into conflict with Lydia Quigley (Lesley Manville), the madam of a high-end brothel that caters primarily to the wealthy. Despite all the drama, Harlots is worth reading because of how it portrays the normalcy of sex work.  

Seeking Compatibility

It turns out that Englishmen were still horny a century after the events of Bridgerton. Despite their obvious personality differences, cousins Lily James and Emily Beecham drool over boys together in the three-part Amazon Prime Video miniseries The Pursuit of Love, written and directed by Emily Mortimer. Like many recent period pieces, The Pursuit of Love features anachronistic elements such as a soundtrack featuring New Order, T. Rex, and more. (Andrew Scott's character is introduced like he's the second coming of David Bowie.) T. rex, and even more The Pursuit of Love has a lot more feelings than Bridgerton but not nearly as much lust because it focuses on crushes and friendship rather than romance.  

The Cook of Castmar, a Spanish television series that premiered on Netflix in July 2021 after airing in Spain earlier that year, is the show on this list that most closely resembles Bridgerton, at least on paper. Both Castamar (1720) and Bridgerton (1813) take place in the era of wigs and extravagant dress, and both feature incredibly sexy shows whose wealthy, privileged protagonists indulge in lust as their primary pastime. A duke who recently lost his wife finds comfort in the company of a new cook who has just been hired to work in the manor's kitchen. This story is told in The Cook of Castamar. She has a fear of open areas and the outdoors, so I hope they have their sex session indoors. Sex in The Cook of Castamar is abundant, but if you're looking for nudity, you may be disappointed.  

The Great

If you enjoyed Bridgerton on Hulu and found its unexpected sense of humor to be entertaining, you will enjoy The Great. Screenwriter Tony McNamara, whose script for the Oscar-nominated film The Favourite showed that period pieces could be entertaining, is responsible for the series. Catherine the Great follows a young Catherine (Elle Fanning) as she is taken to Russia to wed Tsar Peter III (Nicholas Hoult), and how she eventually overthrows Tsar Peter and becomes tsarina on her own. Although it lacks Bridgerton's sensuality, it makes up for it with its hilarity, thanks in large part to Hoult's performance as the spoiled, doofus bro emperor.

Outlander

When it comes to steamy romance, it's hard to beat Starz's Outlander, especially if the thought of corsets and puffy shirts (and the process of lustfully tearing them off in a fit of horniness) gets your blood pumping. Fans of Diana Gabaldon's books went crazy for the 2014 TV show adaptation, which starred Sam Heughan as the dashing Jamie Fraser, a Scottish Highlander living in the 1740s. swoon over Claire Randall (Caitriona Balfe), a World War II nurse, and carry her around like a prop from an airport romance novel cover. You say you're a nurse from the 1740s who served in World War II. Since Claire and Jamie's love transcends the bounds of time and space, the science fiction elements in Outlander include time travel. Starz currently airs the entire series, while Netflix has some of the earlier seasons.

The voiceover from the anonymous Lady Whistledown (Julie Andrews) is what keeps the sex, scandal, and social climbing in Bridgerton moving along. who amps up the snobbery by publishing a newsletter detailing the lascivious doings and whereabouts of high society Like the Nosy Parker from The CW's Gossip Girl, she has the power to sway the on-screen characters' actions. Parker was a tattle-tale who wrote a blog about the lives of Manhattan's privileged high school students, known as "the snobs." It was astute of Bridgerton to imitate the Gossip Girl device, which not only provides a dash of mystery as to who the narrator is but also puts constant pressure on the characters to impress or fail spectacularly in the attempt. Worth watching as well is Gossip Girl, which launched the careers of a new generation of actors like Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Penn Badgley, Chace Crawford, Ed Westwick, and many more.  

The May Issue of Vanity Fair

Not only can you see Jane Austen's influence in Bridgerton, but also that of other authors. Amazon Prime Video adapted William Makepeace Thackeray's 1847 serial Vanity Fair into a delightful seven-episode series of the same name in 2018. Less about the sex and more about the efforts of advancing among the elite, Vanity Fair stars House of the Dragon's Olivia Cooke as Becky Sharp, an extremely cunning and charming young woman who upends every idea of what a lady should be at the time as she elbows her way to the top In addition, Cooke is priceless in the part. Becky's plans get derailed when her feelings for leading man Tom Bateman get in the way.  

Dickinson

Check out Apple TV's Dickinson, which is like a wormhole between today's millennials and 19th century author Emily Dickinson, if Bridgerton was your first binge of a period piece that had been unstuffed from the rigid stuffiness of the typical old-timey drama. The brilliant Hailee Steinfeld plays Emily, who wants to be a writer despite the wishes of her conservative parents (Toby Huss and Jane Krakowski). Modern elements such as music (full on blasting tracks, not the undercover string quartet covers that Bridgerton did) and dialogue (pretty sure they didn't say "stoked" back then) are infused into the otherwise classic story and period clothing and sets. revitalizing an age-old form of expression Not to be forgotten is Wiz Khalifa, who plays Emily's fetish, Death.

HBO's Gentleman Jack, another period drama set in 1800s England, is refreshing in that it offers a heterosexual romance and sexuality alternative to the shows on this list that focus primarily on the heteronormative. Anne Lister, a prominent landowner and industrialist in her day, is brought to life by Suranne Jones in a stirring performance. She is also a lesbian who records her courtship of fellow landowner Ann Walker (Sophie Rundle) in a series of coded messages that only she can decipher. The premiere of the first season occurred in 2019, and the second and final season premiered in 2022 on HBO.  

Poldark

Poldark on PBS, with its endless sunsets, waves crashing on many rocky shores, and horseback rides along countless beaches, is the show for you if you're in the mood for sweeping romance with British accents. You can also get a ridiculously handsome man with ripped abs walking shirtless out of the ocean in Poldark. Aidan Quinn plays Captain Ross Poldark, a Revolutionary War veteran who, after being presumed dead in battle, returns to Cornwall to find his father dead and his girlfriend engaged to his cousin (oops). The series has aired for five seasons so far. The series, based on the novels by Winston Graham, has a rapid pace as Poldark rebuilds his life, falls in love, and finds more opportunities to strip.  

Scandal

Although Shonda Rhimes' previous television efforts include Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, and How to Get Away with Murder, you should definitely check out Scandal instead. Scandal, starring Kerry Washington as a crisis manager with her own firm and an affair with a governor played by Tony Goldwyn that only heats up and becomes more scandalous after he becomes president, was Shonda's sexiest broadcast show. All the twists and turns you could want, plus some extra murder and political maneuverings.