We all know that as we reach season finale of Game of Thrones, we enter dangerously uncharted waters. The existential crisis of having no more episodes of your favourite show is maddening. So we’ve assembled a few series you may like to check out while waiting for winter, Azor Ahai and season 7 to arrive and chill out a bit.
Da Vinci’s Demons
This has got to be one of the most underrated historical fiction shows ever made. The sheer genius of this show comes from the mind of David S Goyer, co-author of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. The show explores a young polymath Leonardo da Vinci’s life in the republic of Florence as he tries to fight his inner demons and nightmarish memories. Despite being the greatest genius in Italy, Leonardo struggles to make sense of his life thrown apart by conflicts between a secret religion called the Sons of Mithras and their nemesis, the Labyrinth.
Da Vinci’s Demons shows a Leonardo who has a part of James Bond and Sherlock Holmes in him. Although the show has taken liberties in historical accuracy, many references to history and to Leonardo’s work have worked their way into the show, making it all the more enthralling. With three seasons, the show was cancelled with an epic finale; but Goyer wishes to bring it back after a few years, with a jump in the timeline.
Available at: https://www.starz.com/series/davincisdemons/episodes
Ratings : 8.1 on IMDb; 81% on Rotten Tomatoes
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The Tudors
The Tudors is an American-British-Irish-Canadian historical fiction television series set primarily in sixteenth-century England, created by Michael Hirst and produced for the American premium cable television channel Showtime.
The series, although named after the Tudor dynasty as a whole, is based specifically upon the reign of King Henry VIII of England. Plus, it has Jonathan Rhys Meyers in riding pants.
Just like Game of Thrones, The Tudors is all about political power. The show has a huge ensemble cast with faces you’re sure to recognize. Henry Cavill, who plays Henry VIII’s bestie, and you’ll also recognize Natalie Dormer (YES, Margaery Tyrell in Game of Thrones), who plays the infamous Anne Boleyn. The series looks at Henry’s famous female companions like Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn and delves into his relationships with important figures like Sir Thomas More, Cardinal Wolsey and Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, who was Henry’s best friend and unofficial adviser. The Tudors might not be historically accurate, but it still is a lot of fun to watch all the 4 seasons. You’re here for some serious, grim action, and The Tudors has plenty of that in its store. Also, did I mention Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and his techniques of seduction? Swoon.
Available at: All four seasons of the The Tudors are available to stream on Netflix and Amazon on Demand.
Ratings : 71% on Rotten Tomatoes; 8.1 on IMDb
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The Borgias
The Borgias is basically The Tudors, but set in Italy instead of England. The Borgias is based on the real life Borgias family, who are brought to power after the death of Pope Innocent VIII. The series is all about corruption, power, and family.
If you think the Lannisters from Game of Thrones are bad, you haven’t met The Borgias. Seriously, there’s even an incestuous storyline. The series is full of bribery, extortion, and torture. This is the family that inspired Mario Puzo to write The Godfather. Despite a few hiccups, “The Borgias” is otherwise a pretty fascinating piece of TV entertainment. One word to sum it up – Beautiful. Everything from costumes, houses to hair styles is perfect in line with the time. Nothing is out of place. Plotline and pacing, on the other hand, is impeccable. I’d say it’s more similar to shows like “Vikings” and “Rome”. Everything is perfectly executed. You have to experience the exquisite craft first hand.
Available at: All three seasons are available to stream on Netflix.
Ratings: 7.9 on IMDb ; 71% on Rotten Tomatoes
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Vikings
Vikings follows the story of Ragnar Lothbrok, a farmer who ultimately becomes the king of Denmark, terrorizing France and England with his relentless raids. His troubled brother Rollo, his first wife Lagertha, and the ship builder Floki join him in his quest. The series is a pretty kick ass depiction of medieval Scandinavia.
If you love Game of Thrones, but the violence and sex is just too much for you, then you’ll love Vikings. Although it’s a lot tamer than Game of Thrones, one would still love the tight storyline that manages to stay captivating for the better part of its 3 seasons. Over the course of 3 seasons, you’d find yourself pulling for guys you loathed in the first season and vice versa. Overall, the plot and character development is pretty smooth.
Available at: Available to stream on Amazon on Demand.
Ratings: 8.6 on IMDb; 93% on Rotten Tomatoes.
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Black Sails
Starz’s prequel to Treasure Island is about the pirating adventures of Captain Flint, the most notorious pirate of the Golden Age. The plot follows the adventure of one of the most feared and infamous pirates of golden age – Captain Flint. In the series, Flint is fighting to maintain control of his island, which is overrun with pirates, thieves, and prostitutes.
If you are looking for some good action TV shows like Game of Thrones, Black Sails might just be what you’re looking for. The Michael Bay-produced Black Sails is one new offering, ready to suck you into its dangerous and beautiful world.
There are a ton of crazy storylines, and, of course, it wouldn’t be a show about pirates without a ton of gore and sex. Vikings and Black Sails have a lot in common. They both involve relentless marauders, who come out of nowhere, rob and murder people, and disappear quickly.
Throughout the first 2 seasons, the show has stayed remarkably well online, never derailing from an overarching storyline. As far as looks go, Black Sails is as gorgeous as they come.
Available at: Black Sails is available to watch on Amazon Instant Video.
Ratings: 8.2 on IMDb; 82% on Rotten Tomatoes.
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Penny Dreadful
What it is about ?
Victorian London – a place where demonic creatures roam around the streets in disguise. A place where you need people like Ethan Chandler, Sir Malcolm Murray and Vanessa to keep supernatural threats at bay.
The series draws upon many public domain characters from 19th-century British and Irish fiction, including Dorian Gray from Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, Mina Harker, Abraham Van Helsing, Dr. Seward, Renfield and Count Dracula from Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Victor Frankenstein and his monster from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and Dr. Henry Jekyll from Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
It looks gorgeous all the way through. We have had other shows and movies set in Victorian era, but nothing comes close to the beauty “Penny Dreadful” displays on screen.
I’m afraid that blood-soaked action sequences are going to put some of people off. If you can stomach some ultra-gore, go for this show.
Available on : http://www.sho.com/penny-dreadful
Ratings: 8.3 on IMDb and 93% on Rotten Tomatoes
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The Last Kingdom
The Last Kingdom is based upon a series of novels called ‘The Saxon Stories’. Set during 10th century AD in the England – at the time when Viking invasions were at its peak, The Last Kingdom is a story about Uhtred, an orphan protagonist born in Northumbria, who must choose between the people who raised him or his native country.
Eye-gouging, beheading, stabbing, crucifixion amongst other things – everything is there for your pleasure. As with Game of Thrones, there are a lot of bone-crunching battles with ever so satisfying clings of swords. The only thing lacking is explicit nude scenes, something we’ve grown accustomed to in TV shows like Game of Thrones. The Last Kingdom is one of the few historical shows that actually get most of the fact correct. It’s on BBC after all – a network that’s usually quite picky about being accurate. There is a lot of drama and action here. It just started airing, so you have only a few episodes to catch up to.
Available on: BBC
Ratings: 8.3 on IMDb; 92% on Rotten Tomatoes.
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So there’s more to life (and TV) than Game of Thrones after all! Give your comments and let us know if you love any of these other shows!
– by Muthu Kumar and Sga Thomas.
