Television series

Outlander

Name: Outlander
Genre: Adventure, Romance, Science Fiction
Released: 2014
Cast: Caitríona Balfe, Sam Heughan, Richard Rankin, Sophie Skelton, John Bell

A time-slip romance dressed as historical adventure: a 1940s nurse gets yanked into 1743 Scotland and has to choose between the husband she left behind and the Highland warrior she marries to survive. It's lush, violent, unapologetically horny, and takes its history (and its heroine's competence) seriously. Best for anyone who wants swoon and swordplay in equal measure, across many, many seasons.

TVMaze rating

7.9

If you liked this

Poldark2015

Same DNA: a fierce, capable woman, a brooding romantic lead, gorgeous coastal scenery standing in for hardship and passion, and class conflict simmering under every love scene.

But Cornwall isn't the Highlands, and the pace is slower — more brooding stares than sword fights.

The Last Kingdom2015

Warrior romance and clan loyalty with real grit — if you love Jamie's world of oaths and blades more than Claire's modern conscience, this leans hard into that.

But Much less romance, much more battlefield tactics and Saxon politics — a different balance of ingredients.

Vikings2013

Epic historical adventure with the same sweep of decades, shifting alliances, and characters who age and change across seasons the way Outlander's do.

But Brutal and myth-heavy rather than romance-driven — go in expecting sagas, not swooning.

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Brigadoon1954

This is Outlander's actual ancestor: the same premise of an outsider falling out of their century into a mystical, doomed Scotland for love, seventy years before Claire did it.

A wandering American stumbles into a Scottish village that only exists one day every hundred years, and falls in love with someone who isn't supposed to exist in his time.

But It's a full-on Technicolor musical — if singing shepherds and dance numbers aren't your thing, this will grate.

Reign2013

Young queen, forbidden love, court intrigue and costume drama turned up to eleven — pure pleasure if you want the romance without the history homework.

But Deliberately, gleefully inaccurate history and a much soapier, teen-skewing tone.

The Tudors2007

Court politics, sex, betrayal and real historical stakes, with the same appetite for putting bodies and beheadings on screen without flinching.

But No time travel, no Highlands — this is straight historical drama with fewer fantastical hooks.

TURN: Washington's Spies2014no page yet

Revolutionary War espionage with a slow-burn romance and divided loyalties — great if Outlander's spy and war seasons were your favourites.

But Quieter and more procedural, with less of the sweeping, fated-lovers romance at the centre.

Downton Abbey2010

If it's the texture of history and complicated households you love rather than the swordfights, this is meticulous, warm, beautifully acted period drama.

But Genteel and indoors — no adventure, no violence, no time travel, just very good manners and secrets.

Bridgerton2020

Big, unashamed period romance with steamy chemistry and lavish sets — the closest thing to Outlander's romantic engine in a lighter, frothier key.

But Regency ballroom glamour instead of Highland grit; almost no danger or hardship to speak of.

The Time Traveler's Wife2022no page yet

Literal time-slip romance between two people living love out of order — a tender, melancholy cousin to Claire and Jamie's story.

But Intimate and small-scale rather than epic; six episodes, not sixty, and a very different emotional register.

The Age of Innocence1993

Strip away the fantasy and Outlander is asking Claire's exact question: duty or desire, and what a woman's world will cost her for choosing. This tells it in a whisper instead of a shout.

A woman torn between the safe man she's promised to and the one she actually loves, set against a rigid society that will destroy her if she chooses wrong.

But No swords, no time travel, and almost no physical passion shown — everything is repressed, coded, and devastating instead.

Timeless2016no page yet

Same engine as Outlander — ordinary people flung into real historical events, changing and being changed by them — rebuilt as breezy weekly time-travel adventure instead of an epic romance.

A history professor, a soldier and an engineer chase a stolen time machine through the Alamo, the Hindenburg and the Kennedy assassination, saving history one week at a time.

But Network-procedural pacing and lower stakes per episode — this is comfort adventure, not a sprawling generational saga.