TV Shows for History Lovers

I am a self-professed history nerd. While history-based TV shows aren’t usually paragons of accuracy, they are great at inspiring me to do independent research. I devoured books about Henry VIII after watching The Tudors. Spent hours on the internet researching slave rebellions against Rome after Spartacus (let’s be real though, I googled the crazy hot guys on that show for a long time before doing any research). They say TV rots your brain? Wrong. Television taught me more than college ever did.*

TN writers have already given us great write ups of history shows like The Last Kingdom, White Queen and White Princess, all of which are fantastic. Here are a few more that I’ve enjoyed, and a few that I’m looking forward to watching!

*_{okay maybe that’s not accurate}

Knightfall

I chanced upon the trailer for Knightfall while scrolling through Facebook (thanks, sponsored ads!). Here’s a description from The History Channel’s website:

The Knights Templar were the most powerful, wealthy and mysterious military order of the Middle Ages, entrusted with protecting Christianity’s most prized relic—the Holy Grail—and harboring secrets capable of great destruction.

KNIGHTFALL goes deep into the clandestine world of this legendary brotherhood of warrior monks. From their battles in the Holy Land, to their complex relationship with the King of France, to the betrayal that would ultimately lead to their tragic dissolution, the story of the Knights Templar has never been fully told until now.

Sounds good, right? Or at least it sounds better than a story of a middle aged symbologist following ancient clues across Europe in the search for a “sacred chalice”, which was the last thing I watched involving the Holy Grail. And I can’t think of any Grail-related movies or TV that have come out since, so society is way overdue for some Knights Templar/Holy Grail conspiracy action. Knightfall premiers on The History Channel Dec 6th at 10/9c.

Borgia

_Source

The Borgias were a 15th century Italian noble family. Prominent in politics and the Roman Catholic Church, they were good at two things: producing popes and causing scandal. Netflix actually has two different shows about the House of Borgia, one from Showtime called The Borgias, which I haven’t watched, but reviews look pretty positive. The other was produced by a French company and is simply entitled Borgia. It follows Rodrigo Borgia as he bribes and threatens his way to the papacy, and his children as they also strive for power and prominence.

Guys, this family was ruthless AF. They were at various times accused of orgies (at the Vatican!), incest, nepotism, and poisoning their enemies…and that’s just a few of the scandals that history remembers them for. It makes for really juicy television, and while not 100% accurate you still get an accurate look at the political and religious climate of Renaissance Italy. And both shows feature Outlander actors; Lotte Verbeek stars in The Borgias, and our very favorite Stanley Weber is in Borgia. Both are available on Netflix.

Medici

_Source

The history of the Medici family was never high on my list of historical interests, but as it turns out, all it needed was a pretty face at the helm to convince me of its merit (shallow much? Yep). Enter Richard Madden, aka Robb Stark, aka King of the North, aka Hottie McSmolderPants, as Cosimo Medici. Cosimo has just become head of the Medici bank after the mysterious death of his father, as well as taken his father’s seat on the Florence city council. He’s kept pretty busy by small matters such as avoiding a war, overseeing the construction of a cathedral dome, and fleeing the plague, but still finds time to investigate his father’s death and give his hot wife the cold shoulder. We are also treated to frequent flashbacks of Cosimo’s youth, when he wanted nothing more than to be an artist and lounge around painting nudes of his first love Bianca. Awwwwwwww. Season one is available on Netflix and it has been renewed for a second season.

Hell on Wheels

_Source

This one I haven’t seen, but my best friend raves about it and it’s on my watchlist. Hell on Wheels tells the story of the construction of the First Transcontinental Railroad across the United States after the end of the Civil War. Cullen Bohannon is a former Confederate soldier who is looking for revenge after the murder of his wife and child. He takes a job as a foreman for the railroad company as he searches for the Union soldiers who killed his family. “Hell on Wheels” refers to the mobile encampments for the laborers, surveyors, prostitutes and mercenaries that lived (and died…a LOT of them died) on the path of the railroad.  It’s been ages since I’ve watched anything remotely resembling a “Western”, so I’m excited to try this show out. All five seasons are available on Netflix.

Reign

_Source

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA kidding. Just seeing if you’re paying attention.

Have you watched any of these? What good history shows did I miss?

_{Feature Image-Source, Source, Source}