Television series
The Crimson Field
A WWI field hospital drama centred on the nurses and volunteers keeping it running. Intimate rather than bombastic, it finds human stories in the daily triage and impossible choices of wartime medicine. For those who want character-driven period drama with real stakes and messy, complicated women at its heart.
If you liked this
Call the Midwife2012
Long-running ensemble about midwives in 1950s East London. Same DNA: devoted women doing essential work in unglamorous conditions, anchored by strong writing and genuine emotional weight rather than melodrama.
But Gentler in tone and covers more ground across seasons, so less focused intensity than The Crimson Field's claustrophobic wartime pressure.
The Knick2014
Set in an early 1900s teaching hospital, it captures surgical desperation, institutional power struggles, and the daily horror of pre-antibiotic medicine with unflinching style and propulsive energy.
But More visually experimental and graphically brutal than The Crimson Field, and considerably darker in its view of human nature.
Downton Abbey2010
Spans WWI with hospital sequences that echo the field setting, but its real strength is character layering across a large ensemble with competing loyalties, class tensions, and women quietly reshaping their world.
But Much broader in scope and lighter in touch overall; the war backdrop shares space with country house politics and romance.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Crimson Field
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
The Wages of Fear1953
Both are about ordinary people trapped in appalling conditions by forces beyond their control, making impossible choices to survive. Both trust atmosphere over explanation.
French thriller about truck drivers hauling explosives through a South American jungle. Unbearable tension built entirely from character and circumstance rather than action. A masterpiece of sustained dread and moral compromise.
But Shot in 1953 and feels it; deliberately paced for 1950s cinemas, so modern audiences might find it slow. Subtitled unless you speak French.
More like this (7)
The Crown2016
Period drama with immaculate production design and a cast performing at the highest level. Episodes centred on duty, consequence, and the private cost of public role will resonate with anyone who loved The Crimson Field's emotional precision.
But Sprawling across decades and focused on monarchy rather than ordinary people doing extraordinary work under pressure.
Poldark2015
Lush period romance with real war trauma at its core. Strong female characters navigate medicine, class, and the aftermath of conflict with intelligence and nuance. Beautifully shot and genuinely moving.
But Romance is central to the plot and tone; more sweep and spectacle than intimate wartime drama.
Wolf Hall2015
BBC historical drama of immense intelligence and craft. Period detail that never feels like costume; performances that convey emotional complexity through glance and silence. Justifies every moment of its runtime.
But Set 500 years earlier and centred on court politics rather than medicine; deliberately austere in its presentation.
Tenko1981
Earlier BBC ensemble drama about women enduring together in a Japanese POW camp. Absolutely unsentimental about female solidarity and trauma; raw, brave writing that builds through quiet moments.
But Grainier production values and some dated elements; covers five years so character arcs sprawl and intensities shift.
The Hour2011
BBC drama about newsroom women in the 1950s fighting to be taken seriously. Snappy writing, sharp performances, and a real feel for how institutions exclude and how individuals push back.
But Cancelled after two seasons and ends on unresolved threads; lighter in tone and more plot-driven than character-focused.
Page Eight2011
David Hare spy thriller starring Bill Nighy as an MI5 officer wrestling with institutional loyalty and personal conscience. Intelligent, tense, and deeply human—no bombast, all consequences.
But Self-contained film rather than series, and focused on male perspective; spy thriller rather than medical or domestic drama.
Carry On Doctor1967
Both centre female and male nurses navigating a dysfunctional medical system together. Carry On finds the absurdity and gallows humour in exactly the situations The Crimson Field treats as tragedy—same world, opposite tones.
The Carry On gang tackles hospital chaos with their trademark irreverence. Genuinely silly and crude, but also surprisingly knowing about how hospitals actually work and the people who staff them.
But Broad comedy with sexual innuendo throughout; essentially a different register entirely—slapstick rather than drama. Can feel dated.
