Best History Shows (Ranked)

All genres Action Adventure Romance Animation Crime Drama Comedy Mystery Thriller Fantasy Reality-TV Sci-Fi Family Documentary Horror History Music

All time Still airing 2020s 2010s

Band of Brothers

★9.4Ended

#1Score 9.39609.5k IMDb votes

The story of Easy Company of the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division and their mission in World War II Europe, from Operation Overlord to V-J Day.

Chernobyl

★9.3Ended

#2Score 9.301.1M IMDb votes

In April 1986, an explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics becomes one of the world's worst man-made catastrophes.

The World at War

★9.2Ended

#3Score 9.1038.3k IMDb votes

A groundbreaking 26-part documentary series narrated by the actor Laurence Olivier about the deadliest conflict in history, World War II.

The Vietnam War

★9.1Ended

#4Score 9.0037.5k IMDb votes

A comprehensive history of the United States' involvement in the bitterly divisive armed conflict in Southeast Asia.

The Last Dance

★9.0Ended

#5Score 8.98185.2k IMDb votes

Charting the rise of the 1990s Chicago Bulls, led by Michael Jordan, one of the most notable dynasties in sports history.

Vinland Saga

★8.9Ended

#6Score 8.88153.3k IMDb votes

A team of mutant superheroes fight for justice and human acceptance in the Marvel Comics universe.

Mahabharat

★8.9Ended

#7Score 8.7928k IMDb votes

When a dynastic struggle between the collateral branches of the Kuru clan, the Kauravas and Pandavas lead them to the threshold of war, Lord Krishna decides to step in and take control of the situation.

When They See Us

★8.8Ended

#8Score 8.78162.4k IMDb votes

Five teens from Harlem become trapped in a nightmare when they're falsely accused of a brutal attack in Central Park. Based on the true story.

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

New

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

★8.8Ongoing(2014– )

#9Score 8.77106.2k IMDb votes

Former Daily Show host and correspondent John Oliver brings his persona to this weekly news satire program.

Matador

★9.2Ended

#10Score 8.736.4k IMDb votes

A man comes to KorsbÃ¦k, Denmark, in 1929, opens a women's clothing store in competition with an established one - bringing him up against the conservative establishment including the bank manager. We follow the families until afte...

Rome

★8.7Ended(2005–2007)

#11Score 8.69207.9k IMDb votes

A down-to-earth account of the lives of both illustrious and ordinary Romans set in the last days of the Roman Republic.

I Claudius

★8.8Ended

#12Score 8.6722.5k IMDb votes

The personal and governmental affairs of the Julio-Claudian dynasty at the beginning of the Roman Empire, as recalled by one of its rulers.

Shogun 2024

★8.6Ongoing

#13Score 8.59254.1k IMDb votes

When a mysterious European ship is found marooned in a nearby fishing village, Lord Yoshii Toranaga discovers secrets that could tip the scales of power and devastate his enemies.

The Crown

★8.6Ended(2016– )

#14Score 8.59285.7k IMDb votes

Follows the political rivalries and romance of Queen Elizabeth II's reign and the events that shaped the second half of the twentieth century.

Deadwood

★8.6Ended

#15Score 8.58130.7k IMDb votes

A show set in the late 1800s, revolving around the characters of Deadwood, South Dakota; a town of deep corruption and crime.

Its a Sin

★8.6Ended

#16Score 8.5441.5k IMDb votes

A chronicle of four friends during a decade in which everything changed, including the rise of AIDS.

Call the Midwife

★8.6Ongoing(2012– )

#17Score 8.5336.3k IMDb votes

Chronicles the lives of a group of midwives living in East London in the late 1950s to late 1960s.

Vikings

★8.5Ended(2013– )

#18Score 8.50651.8k IMDb votes

Vikings transports us to the brutal and mysterious world of Ragnar Lothbrok, a Viking warrior and farmer who yearns to explore--and raid--the distant shores across the ocean.

Boardwalk Empire

★8.5Ended(2010–2014)

#19Score 8.49220.8k IMDb votes

An Atlantic City politician plays both sides of the law by conspiring with gangsters during the Prohibition era.

The Last Kingdom

★8.5Ended(2015– )

#20Score 8.49193.7k IMDb votes

As Alfred the Great defends his kingdom from Norse invaders, Uhtred--born a Saxon but raised by Vikings--seeks to claim his ancestral birthright.

Air Crash Investigation 2003

★8.8Ongoing

#21Score 8.456.9k IMDb votes

Dramatized reconstruction of real-life air disasters, along with interviews with aviation experts and eyewitnesses.

Spartacus

★8.4Ended

#22Score 8.39298.7k IMDb votes

An anthology series of stand-alone episodes delving into horror myths, legends and lore.

Warrior 2019

★8.4Ended

#23Score 8.3654.6k IMDb votes

During the Tong Wars in the late 1800s, Ah Sahm, a martial arts prodigy from China, immigrates to San Francisco and becomes a hatchet man for the most powerful tong in Chinatown.

The Knick

★8.4Ended(2014–2015)

#24Score 8.3657.8k IMDb votes

A look at the professional and personal lives of the staff at New York's Knickerbocker Hospital during the early part of the twentieth century.

From the Earth to the Moon

★8.5Ended

#25Score 8.3514.6k IMDb votes

Dramatized portrayal of the Apollo manned space program.

Babylon Berlin

★8.4Ongoing

#26Score 8.3434.5k IMDb votes

Colognian commissioner Gereon Rath moves to Berlin, the epicenter of political and social changes in the Golden Twenties.

John Adams

★8.4Ended

#27Score 8.3440.7k IMDb votes

The life of one of the USA's Founding Fathers, its second President, and his role in the nation's first 50 years.

Roots

★8.4Ended

#28Score 8.2920.3k IMDb votes

A dramatization of author Alex Haley's family line from ancestor Kunta Kinte's enslavement to his descendants' liberation.

Pachinko

★8.4Ended

#29Score 8.2918.7k IMDb votes

Based on the New York Times bestseller, this sweeping saga chronicles the hopes and dreams of a Korean immigrant family across four generations as they leave their homeland in an indomitable quest to survive and thrive.

The Pacific

★8.3Ended

#30Score 8.29146.4k IMDb votes

The Pacific Theatre of World War II, as seen through the eyes of several young Marines.

A Small Light

★8.4Ended

#31Score 8.2715.6k IMDb votes

Follows the remarkable story of Miep Gies, a Dutch woman who risked her life to shelter Anne Frank's family from the Nazis for more than two years during World War II.

Dark Side of the Ring

★8.7Ongoing(2019– )

#32Score 8.264.8k IMDb votes

From backstage controversies to mysterious deaths and unsolved homicides, this series explores the darkest stories from the golden age of professional wrestling, and tries to find truth at the intersection of fantasy and reality.

Prehistoric Planet 2022

★8.4Ended

#33Score 8.2413k IMDb votes

Travel back 66 million years to when majestic dinosaurs and extraordinary creatures roamed the lands, seas and skies.

Black Sails

★8.2Ended(2014–2017)

#34Score 8.18127.6k IMDb votes

Follows Captain Flint and his pirates twenty years prior to Robert Louis Stevenson's classic novel "Treasure Island."

Poldark

★8.2Ended

#35Score 8.1641.7k IMDb votes

Ross Poldark returns home after American Revolutionary War and rebuilds his life with a new business venture, making new enemies and finding a new love where he least expects it.

Victoria

★8.2Ended

#36Score 8.1535.6k IMDb votes

The early life of Queen Victoria, from her ascension to the throne at the tender age of 18 to her courtship and marriage to Prince Albert.

Genius 2017

★8.2Ended

#37Score 8.1221.3k IMDb votes

The life stories of history's greatest minds. From their days as young adults to their final years we see their discoveries, loves, relationships, causes, flaws and genius.

Wolf Hall

★8.2Ended

#38Score 8.1119k IMDb votes

After the downfall of Cardinal Wolsey, his secretary, Thomas Cromwell, finds himself amongst the treachery and intrigue of King Henry VIII's court and soon becomes a close advisor to the King, a role fraught with danger.

Say Nothing

★8.2Ended

#39Score 8.1018.1k IMDb votes

Spanning four tumultuous decades during The Troubles in Northern Ireland.

The Tudors

★8.1Ended(2007–2010)

#40Score 8.0888.8k IMDb votes

A dramatic series about the reign and marriages of King Henry VIII.

The Great

★8.1Ended

#41Score 8.0766.7k IMDb votes

A royal woman living in rural Russia during the 18th century is forced to choose between her own personal happiness and the future of Russia, when she marries an Emperor.

All Creatures Great and Small 1978

★8.4Ended

#42Score 8.075.1k IMDb votes

The trials and misadventures of the staff of a country veterinary office in Yorkshire from the 1930s to the 1950s.

War and Peace

★8.1Ended

#43Score 8.0530.3k IMDb votes

As the Russian conflict with Napoleon reaches its peak, five aristocratic families face the possibility of their lives being changed forever.

Turn

★8.1Ended

#44Score 8.0426.3k IMDb votes

A Long Island farmer bands together a group of childhood friends to form an unlikely group of spies who turn the tide in America's fight for independence.

Gentleman Jack

★8.1Ended(2019– )

#45Score 8.0118k IMDb votes

A dramatization of the life of lesbian trailblazer, voracious learner, and cryptic diarist Anne Lister.

The Hollow Crown

★8.2Ended

#46Score 8.018.1k IMDb votes

A mini-series of adaptations of Shakespeare's history plays: Richard II, Henry IV: Parts 1 and 2, and Henry V.

Upstairs Downstairs

★8.4Ended

#47Score 8.014.1k IMDb votes

The trials of the British aristocratic Bellamy family and their household staff.

American Experience

★8.6Ongoing(1988– )

#48Score 8.002.6k IMDb votes

A series showcasing documentaries on American history.

The U.S. and the Holocaust

★8.7Ended

#49Score 7.972.1k IMDb votes

Explores America's response to the Holocaust, and how it challenged the ideals of democracy.

The Pillars of the Earth

★8.0Ended

#50Score 7.9635.7k IMDb votes

Set against a backdrop of war, religious strife and power struggles which tears lives and families apart.

Score = IMDb rating weighted by vote count (Bayesian average). Shows need at least 1,000 votes to be ranked.

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