Television series

The White Princess

Name: The White Princess
Genre: Drama, History
Released: 2017
Cast: Michelle Fairley, Jodie Comer, Jacob Collins-Levy, Rebecca Benson, Richard Dillane

Period drama

A sharply-told drama of the Wars of the Roses' aftermath, seen through the eyes of Elizabeth of York and her formidable mother-in-law Margaret Beaufort. Starz's 2017 series treats history as intimate power play rather than pageantry—women scheming, surviving, and reshaping a fractured kingdom. Gorgeously mounted, propulsive, made for people who loved The Crown's ruthlessness but prefer their politics closer to home.

TVMaze rating

3.7

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like court intrigue seen from the back rooms, where marriages and alliances are negotiated by women with more at stake than their titles suggest.

Skip it if you want fast plotting or swordplay; this is talky, slow-burning palace politics where scheming happens in whispered conversations and long rooms, so patience is required.

What it asks of you: Eight hour-long episodes, a single season, and a pace that lingers in rooms rather than rushing between set pieces; attention is steady rather than constant.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

The Crown2016

Royal women navigating power, duty, and marriage across decades. The Crown shares The White Princess's fascination with how women shape history from behind the throne, with comparable production values and narrative ambition.

But It's ten seasons long and the character recasting can feel disorienting. Also moves much more slowly in places than The White Princess's propulsive first season.

Wolf Hall2015

Another BBC-backed adaptation of Tudor politics, equally sophisticated about court intrigue and loyalty. If you loved the dark plotting and moral ambiguity of The White Princess, Wolf Hall's three-episode run is essential.

But It's quite dense and assumes some historical knowledge. The pacing is deliberate, sometimes austere. Only three episodes might leave you hungry for more.

The Tudors2007

Bigger, broader, and considerably more scandalous take on the Tudor period. Same era, same family obsessions, but played as high melodrama with fewer restraints than The White Princess allows itself.

But It's campy and sexual in ways that sometimes tip into soap opera. The later seasons especially prioritize spectacle over substance. Also quite long if you commit.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The White Princess

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Nightingale2018

Both explore women's agency in impossible circumstances—not through grand gestures but through shrewd survival, small acts of defiance, and the weight of impossible choices.

Kristin Scott Thomas and Camille Rutherford in a visceral WWII drama about women's survival and moral compromise. Not history-drama in the Tudors sense, but built on identical questions: What would you do to protect those you love? How much of yourself do you sacrifice?

But It's harrowing and full of sexual violence. The brutality is relentless. Not escapist, and the ending offers little comfort.

The Last Kingdom2015

Historical drama that treats complex political allegiances and personal loyalty as the engine of the story, not the backdrop. Shares The White Princess's interest in what people will sacrifice for power and family.

But The tone can be surprisingly grim and brutal. Battle scenes are frequent and intense, which some find exhausting. Runs five seasons, so commitment required.

The Other Boleyn Girl2008

Another woman-centered Tudor drama focused on ambition, family loyalty, and the cost of power-play. Lurid and fast-paced in ways that match The White Princess's narrative velocity.

But It's considerably lighter on historical accuracy and heavier on the soap opera elements. Some find it thin compared to more serious period dramas. Also quite well-trodden ground.

Pennyworth: The Origin of Batman's Butler2019

Prequel series with period-drama credentials and a taste for intricate plotting. A good fit if you want character-driven drama with similar production ambitions but don't need it to be historical.

But It's set in 1950s London not Tudor times, so tonally quite different. Some find the stylization overwrought. Gets complicated and uneven as it progresses.

Pennyworth: The Origin of Batman's Butler poster

Gunpowder2017

Kit Harington in a tight three-part drama about conspiracy and survival in early-modern England. Similar era feel, similar stakes, considerably more compressed. Economical and gripping.

But Only three episodes means minimal character development. The historical liberties are significant. Some find the action-thriller tone at odds with the period setting.

Ripper Street2012

Victorian-era procedural with the same eye for period detail and complex moral questions. A good option if you want the sensibility of The White Princess in a different historical moment.

But The period is Victorian, not medieval, so the visual landscape is entirely different. Quality is uneven across five seasons. Some plot threads feel unresolved.

Harlots2017

Both see women's economic and political powerlessness as the real drama. Neither one romanticizes history. Both understand that survival requires you to play the game better than anyone else.

Isobel Harding and Samantha Morton lead a BBC/Hulu series about 18th-century London sex work as a business and a form of power. Shares The White Princess's fascination with women weaponizing their position in a rigged system.

But It's sexually explicit and sometimes uncomfortable. The violence is casual and frequent. Not historical in the prestige way—it's grittier and meaner than The White Princess.

I, Claudius1976

Both treat power succession as a blood sport conducted by people who love each other, told with Shakespearean tragic weight. Same fascination with how loyalty and ambition destroy individuals and dynasties alike.

Ancient Rome filtered through Derek Jacobi's mournful genius. John Lithgow makes you understand the Byzantine cruelty of succession politics. It's slower than The White Princess, but it goes deeper into how power corrodes everyone it touches.

But Made in 1976, it looks it. Very theatrical, very British in register. Some find the pacing glacial. Requires patience and attention, but repays both lavishly.