Earlier this month, I introduced another friend to one of my favorite BBC miniseries. In the seven or eight years since I found this miniseries, I’ve probably introduced a similar number of people to it; and I’ve really enjoyed everyone’s reactions, critiques and insights about it.
And because watching something like this often prompts me to revisit similar things, I started skimming through a few of my other favorite BBC miniseries. And, yes, all of them are period dramas — I’m sure that comes as a great surprise.
So, in the wake of that, I thought I’d put together a quick list of my favorite BBC miniseries. (And yes, the plural of “miniseries” is miniseries. I made sure to double-check that.)
The British Broadcasting Corporation has been making these types of miniseries for decades — adapting popular and/or well-respected works of (British) literature into several episodes that air over several weeks or months. I’ve seen some from the 70s and 80s, and while they have their merits, they definitely feel older and lack the better production values that these newer ones benefit from. Many of the older ones are clearly shot on sound-stages with lackluster lighting and makeup. Thus, you won’t see anything on here from before 1995.
Of note: I listed them NOT in order of how much I like them nor in the order that I was introduced to them, but rather in chronological order by release date. Boring, I know, but this was honestly the easiest way to do it.
I’ve also included a “starring” section for each, wherein I (in alphabetical order) list actors whose names are the most recognizable. This isn’t to say that there aren’t other actors in these shows you might know, because there likely are, but I’m just going by who I think are the most famous right now.
And, I’ve included short plot descriptions for each, but they are spoiler-free!
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Pride & Prejudice (1995)
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Starring: Jennifer Ehle, Colin Firth
Plot: This six-episode miniseries is adapted from the beloved Jane Austen novel, as Pride & Prejudice depicts a family of five daughters navigating the world of love and wealth (or lack thereof) after a few eligible bachelors come to the area.
Details: This was the one that started it all for me. I remember sophomore year of high school, my English teacher was diagnosed with MS, and we watched a lot of movies and miniseries that year. While I’m sad that she was sick, I guess some good ultimately came out of it, because Mrs. Fox had us watch this miniseries during class. I loved it so much that after the first or second episode, I had to know what happened and ended up checking the book out of the library and “reading ahead,” as it were.
I love both the book and the miniseries; and of all the P&P adaptations out there — and I’ve seen a lot — this one comes the closest to capturing the length. breadth, tone and spirit of the novel.
Also, this was my first major introduction to Colin Firth, so…
Rebecca (1997)
Starring: Charles Dance, Diana Rigg (and Ian McDiarmid has a small role)
Plot: Based on the famous book by Daphne Du Maurier, this two-part miniseries tells the story of a young woman who falls in love and marries a widower rather quickly, and ends up discovering how much of a shadow his late wife casts on her world.
Details: If anything good came out of Game Of Thrones, it’s how many talented actors it introduced me to, namely Charles Dance. I don’t know how he’s flown under my radar for so long, given how talented he is! Here, he plays opposite Emilia Fox (the narrator/second Mrs. de Winter), who incidentally has a small role in Pride & Prejudice (1995).
While I haven’t seen Hitchcock’s Rebecca all the way through nor have I read the original novel, I understand that this BBC adaptation is a very faithful one. Overall, I think Dance captures Maxim’s complexity as equal parts sympathetic and villainous, and Fox is perfectly cast as the naive narrator.
Wives & Daughters (1999)
Starring: Michael Gambon, Iain Glen, Tom Hollander, Rosamund Pike, Penelope Wilton
Plot: Based on the novel by Elizabeth Gaskell, this four-part miniseries focuses on a teenage girl as she comes into adulthood and has to deal with unwanted affection, a new step-family, obligations to her friends, and the damaging power of gossip and lies.
Details: I have to admit that I remember seeing the above picture and ones similar to it for this show, and it really doesn’t do it justice. It makes it out to be like The Buccaneers or something, but in reality, it’s much more of an Dickens novel. Sure, it definitely touches on a woman’s role in that society, what was expected of her, what her limitations were, etc.; but there’s definitely a lot of actual plot-related drama going on as well. It discusses fathers and sons more frequently than it does mothers and daughters, to be honest.
Anyway, it’s a fantastic miniseries featuring a lot of people who went on to do more notable things later — definitely a hidden gem in their filmographies!
North & South (2004)
Starring: Richard Armitage, Brendan Coyle, Sinead Cusack, Tim Pigott-Smith
Plot: This four-hour show, adapted from the Gaskell novel of the same name, tells the story of a young woman and her family who move from England’s rural South to a Northern industrial town. As they try to adapt to this new way of life, they find themselves in the midst of an ongoing social war between the town’s manufacturers and workers.
Details: Much like Wives & Daughters, the Gaskell novel is almost a perfect blend of Austen and Dickens, and this miniseries adaptation perfectly captures that. Like much of Dickens’ work, which we’ll talk about in a second, it looks at people across the social strata and the various challenges they face; and like Austen, we follow a female protagonist and her male counterpart who both become self-aware of their own failings during the story. There are other parallels, too, but I don’t want to give anything away.
Also of note, THIS is the miniseries I was talking about in the intro — the one I’ve introduced like seven or eight people to. I remember watching it for the first time on Netflix in 2013 or thereabouts. I was house-sitting for my parents, watching period dramas on their Netflix, and this was recommended to me. I decided to check it out and ended up watching all four hours in one sitting, which is really the only way to do it, IMO. While P&P is definitely my favorite BBC miniseries on this list, I think this one is probably second.
Bleak House (2005)
Starring: Gillian Anderson, Charles Dance, Burn Gorman, Denis Lawson, Carey Mulligan
Plot: Based on the Charles Dickens “novel” (I’ve seen a copy — it’s the size of three dictionaries combined), this fifteen-part miniseries is about several interconnected individuals across all walks of society as everyone awaits the outcome of a decades-long court case.
Details: Personally, I think a miniseries like this is the best way to experience Dickens. For many of his works, he was paid by the word or by the chapter, and they really drag on because of that. I’ve never read Nicholas Nickleby, Little Dorrit or Bleak House, but I have seen their miniseries adaptations, all of which I greatly enjoy. So with Bleak House, I can’t speak as to whether it’s faithful to the original text, but it’s a well-made miniseries in its own right.
Along with a phenomenal cast — not all of whom are listed above — this show has great production value. The costumes, the sets/locations, and the cinematography all delineate the stark differences among the characters who live in total poverty, those who are extremely well-off, and those who are in-between.
It also features one of the first literary detectives in Inspector Bucket. Although, unlike his more famous contemporaries, Bucket is a police detective rather than an amateur, consultant or private eye.
And while it is 15 episodes, unlike all of these other miniseries, the episodes are about 23 minutes long, rather than 50-ish. Thus, it’s total runtime is closer to six hours, which isn’t that much longer than Pride & Prejudice (1995). It’s biggest drawback, though, is how many moving parts there are. There are so many characters and everyone ends up being connected to everyone else, so that the family trees and personal relationships look like a spiderweb.
But, at the same time, all the complexity is arguably the miniseries’ greatest strength as well. There’s plenty of drama going on: secrets, scandals, murder, falls from grace, acts of redemption, death, birth, and so on. Again, I have no idea how the book tackles it; but, I think the miniseries does a great job of focusing on certain characters and deciding when to bring minor ones in and when to return them to the background.
On the whole, it’s so well-paced in its reveals, cliffhangers and overall plot, that it really doesn’t feel like six hours.
Jane Eyre (2006)
Starring: Toby Stephens, Ruth Wilson
Plot: Based on the famous Charlotte Bronte novel, this four-episode miniseries depicts an orphan who had a very harsh upbringing coming into her own as a young woman. After leaving school, she finds work as a governess at an almost eerie estate with unexplained phenomena and a very intriguing owner, and she ultimately must find her way through the midst of mystery, growing attachments and heartache.
Details: While Pride & Prejudice (1995) is the first miniseries on this list I watched, Jane Eyre was the first property on this list that I encountered. I read the book in 8th grade and — like P&P — watched the 1995 movie version simultaneously.
Since then, I’ve seen a LOT of adaptations of this story, whether movie or miniseries. And, honestly, it’s really hard to pick a favorite version, because each brings something different to the table. Maybe one captures the atmosphere better, one has a stronger support cast, another’s two leads perfectly capture Jane and Rochester’s looks and demeanor, one has a better production value, while another is more faithful to the novel’s original dialogue.
This particular version has great production value, a talented supporting cast, and serviceable atmosphere; but it definitely takes a few liberties in adapting the original text. And while I think Toby Stephens and Ruth Wilson are both too attractive to play Rochester and Jane, and while the personalities they portray aren’t quite on-point with their book counterparts, I think these two have more on-screen chemistry than any other version.
Again, I can’t say that this is my favorite adaptation of the novel Jane Eyre, but then again, I can’t say that I have a favorite one, period. But, I CAN say that it is an incredibly well-done miniseries!
Sense & Sensibility (2008)
Starring: Dominic Cooper, Mark Gatiss, Hattie Morahan, David Morrissey, Dan Stevens, Mark Williams
Plot: Based on the Austen novel, this three-part adaptation shows a mother and three daughters being uprooted from their stately home to live in relative poverty. As they navigate their new situation, they make plenty of friends, including some eligible bachelors who may have lost their hearts to the two eldest sisters.
Details: While I love the 1995 movie version with Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet, Emma Thompson and Hugh Grant, I also really enjoy this version as well. In fact, I can’t decide which I like more.
This one certainly has more time with all the characters, and the younger cast captures more of the youthful energy that comes across in the original text. And while the 1995 actors are a little too old for their respective roles, they definitely bring the star power and captivating performances you’d expect from those names. For instance, while I think David Morrissey’s take on Brandon is a good one, it doesn’t really hold a candle to Alan Rickman’s performance, IMO.
Then again, this younger cast maybe doesn’t bring the same level of experience, but they definitely look and act more like these characters should given how young they are in the novel. The sisters, at least, are supposed to be 18 and 16, if I recall correctly.
Anyway, it’s a great adaptation of the story, and admittedly, does include a few aspects of the novel that the 1995 movie version excludes. Also, I do like Dominic Cooper’s take on Willoughby much more than… whoever that guy is in the 1995 version. It’s also very well-paced, as it’s neither too fast nor too slow with its plot developments, and the cliffhangers leave you wanting more at the end of each episode.
And Then There Were None (2015)
Starring: Charles Dance, Burn Gorman, Sam Neill, Toby Stephens
Plot: Based on Agatha Christie’s novel that originally had a VERY racist name, this three-episode miniseries is about 10 strangers who are all brought to a remote island under false pretenses, and soon discover they are being murdered one-by-one in the same style as the famous poem.
Details: Hey, an entry that ISN’T a romance! Who would’ve thought.
This miniseries is so unbelievably well-done. The tone, the atmosphere, the performances, the pacing — they are all perfectly executed.
Of all the entries on here, this is the one that I’d argue is objectively the best. Sure, the other ones are all great and mean more to me personally, but I can point out some flaws among them, whether it’s in adapting the original work or something else. Now, granted, I’ve never read the original Christie novel nor have I watched another adaptation; but, from what I’ve researched, this miniseries is very faithful, especially in its ending. The outcome is the same as in the novel, but admittedly, the reveal does have to unfold slightly differently.
I think the reason it’s so good is because it’s so distinct from the others on this list. This miniseries is straight-up horror, with some dramatic and mystery elements thrown in as well.
Plus, this really is an all-star cast, most of whom — as you might’ve noticed — are veterans of these BBC miniseries. Charles Dance, Burn Gorman and Toby Stephens all bring it in this show, as do all the main cast members.
So, while I would certainly recommend any and all of these miniseries to anyone, I’m not sure whether period dramas like these are the Nerds’ cup of tea, so to speak. But, I definitely I need to get them to watch this, because I know they’d all enjoy it.