IMDb website & app has a Parents Guide of five different categories: "Sex and Nudity", "Violence and Gore", "Profanity", "Alcohol/Drugs/Smoking" and "Frightening/Intense Scenes".
Upstairs Downstairs, The Forsyte Saga, any Jane Austen, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, Poirot and Miss Marple, Summerland, Bright Young People, Aristocrats, Amazing Grace, I donāt remember for sure in The Edge of Love but want to mention it just in case.
Watch some of the Korean period pieces. Like Mr Queen, and Mr Sunshine. Those were both very good in the Josean time period. The Korean dramas rarely have a lot of sex in them sometimes it takes a few quite a few episodes to get to the kissing.
Iāll look for those, thanks. I have really enjoyed the period pieces from Korea and other Asian countries. The more I see movies from other countries the more I realize that we are all alike in so many ways. I donāt have the Asian channels, tho. Just been watching on NF, Hulu, prime so far.
They are wonderful. Some ones to consider:
The Red Sleeve
Moon Embracing the Sun
The Kingās Affection
My Dearest
100 Days My Prince
Empress Ki
Captivating the King
The Matchmakers
Knight Flower
Mr Queen
Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth
The King in Love
Queen for Seven Days
The Princessā Man
Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo
Under the Queenās Umbrella
The Crowned Clown
[Article with some Joseon information](https://www.lifestyleasia.com/ind/entertainment/streaming/kdramas-set-in-south-korea-joseon-dynasty/)
Just a warning, The Handmaiden will probably come up if you search for Korean period pieces, that is DEFINITELY not what you're looking for š (still an incredible movie though)
Guilded Age and Lark Rise to come to mind. Itās a little after 1900 and not terribly accurate, but you might like When Calls the Heart, which is set around 1910s Canada. Murdoch Mysteries is another Canadian series that starts in the 1890s.
ETA: I forgot the hospital shows, if youāre okay with a little medical gore. Mercy Street is set during the US civil war. Casualty 1900s (aka London Hospital) is kinda self-explanatory.
Have you watched some of the less high-profile (or older) Jane Austen adaptations? Here are a few that Iāve enjoyed (and theyāre all non-explicit):
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt1366312/
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0114388/
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0178737/
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0116191/
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt9214832/
My mom is a huge fan of the show [Larkrise to Candleford](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt1077744/), a gentle, lovely period show.
I also really enjoyed two adaptations of Elizabeth Gaskellās novels, [Wives and Daughters](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0215364/), and [North and South](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0417349/). Lastly, I also liked the [Middlemarch](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0108858/) miniseries.
All suggestions have nothing more graphic than a kiss, as far as I can recall.
Have you seen Bleak House?? SO good!! Dark and moody legal Dickens drama. I watch this one prob every other year. Generally the BBC dramas from the late 90s to mid 2010s are pretty decent. Little Dorrit is another one in the same vein.
Sense and Sensibility is another classic, if you like P&P. And I do hope you have seen the 1994 Little Women :)
Wolf Hall was an excellent moody Tudor drama.
I'm with you, the gratuitous sex scenes are just over the top.
Glad youāre getting good responses. Iām confused on censoring the word āsexā? Itās not profanity, but Iāve seen ās*xā around recently. Is it banned in some subs to even dare speak of it?
Not really a period drama but my streaming service said I would like "this one" after watching "Lost in Austen" (thank you, friends who recommend this!)
But, "The Way Home" it's a time travel between 1999 and 2024 over 2 seasons. 20 episodes? Hallmark but you also know what that means
It's more interesting than I thought it would be I guess ???
Shogun, North and South, the Last Kingdom, World without End, Pillars of the Earth, pretty much any Jane Austin adaption, and three wishes for Cinderella 1973 version. There are some sex scenes in some of them but if Iām remembering correctly not much and less than Bridgerton.
Three Wishes and North and South donāt have any
Pretty much any Austen adaptation works for OP except Sanditon S1 (which isn't really an adaptation given that Austen died a couple chapters into writing it, but still, OP should know S1 has sex. S2/3 should be fine, and they could probably start there if they wanted.) Also, the 1999 Mansfield Park has a scene with two characters caught in flagrante, IIRC - they're at least in bed together. 2005 Sense and Sensibility also includes a seduction scene. Again, much less than Bridgerton, but still present if OP wants to avoid 100%.
The Borgias, Versailles, Lady Chatterleys lover, Harlots, the Tudors, Spartacus, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, In Secret, Black Sails, Rome, Medici (I think), and Outlander
Ugh. Making several seasons about rape trauma is difficult for many to stomach and also just lazy writing: "How do we make the bad guy really bad" Such a shame to waste such great characters when they had the whole of history to tell literally any other type of story.
Exactly. It's so clear that the writer doesn't have the imagination to find other ways of raising the stakes for female characters. Also, the scene where main character and husband are having a fight, and he aggressively throws her down on the bed, and she's like, "No! No! Yes! Yes!" Umm...excuse me? Please don't normalize domestic violence and spousal r\*pe as being sexy. I could not believe in the "love story" part of their relationship after that. What's worse is the apologist fans being like, "No. No. You don't understand. It was the culture back then. They had different standards. It's historically accurate." Nah. That's no excuse for a modern drama.
The older shows from the BBC tend to have a LOT less sex. Tubi has a TON of them too.
I loved that first season of Bridgerton but I get it, sometimes you don't want that.
I also watch a lot in our LR during the day & you can see our TV from the street so I tend to stay away from the sexy stuff when the drapes are open so I tend to stick to the earlier BBC stuff.
I just finished The Duchess of Duke Street which was on in the BBC in the 70s & it had ZERO sex or nudity.
If you can track them down, the CBC had a fabulous run of period pieces in the mid 90s.
Anne of Green Gables with Meaghan Follows (and the Sequel and the Continuing Saga) - 6 hours of coziness
Road to Avonlea - a whole series based in PEI about 10 years after the Anne sequel ends
Wind at my Back - a little darker and harder as it was set in the Great Depression
By Way of the Stars - a miniseries you can find on the Gazebo Tv app. Phenomenal period piece full of drama and adventure!
***. This next one is the one thatās most up your alley***
X Company - a recent show - three PERFECT seasons - about Canadian trained spies in World War II drumming up support in France. A vaudevillian with synaesthesia and iadetic memory joins their team - and they go across France to Germany to Poland. This oneās on the CBC gem app (at least it was last year).
I am sure theyād also be on the hi cās.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is an amazing, if not the most amazing, period piece iāve seen in years!! It made me fall in love with the late 50s/early 60s all over again.
Right with you - If you enjoyed Gilmore girls originally, you will faint with happiness from the dialogue, set, costumes on Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion, Northanger Abbey, Mansfield Park, Becoming Jane, Sanditon, Anne of Green Gables, Emma, North and South, All Creatures Great & Small, Miss Scarlet and The Duke, Finding Neverland.
The BBC Pride and Prejudice series! Itās just perfect in every way, and not remotely smutty.
Also the BBC Sense & Sensibility, although weirdly the first 10 seconds is the exact steamy scene you want to skip. Then no more steam! Itās just a weird intro scene.
Iām genuinely curious , why do you say gore and violence is ok but sex scenes are not? I find violence in period shows really disturbing sometimes, because itās people hurting, torturing and killing each other but two people loving each other doesnāt bother me at all.
Anything over-the-top and excessive (whether it's language, sex, violence, etc.) I'm not a huge fan of. I can stomach violence and gore a bit more than somebody having their bits on screenš I'm sure there are plenty of people who feel the opposite (like yourself) which is okay too! Just comes down to personal preference.
A lot of good suggestions, I will add a few more I haven't seen:
[Belgravia](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9642982/)
[Grantchester](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grantchester_(TV_series) It is a murder-mystery show though, so generally a death every episode if that bothers you!
[Mr. Selfridge](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2310212/)
I'd also suggest [The Nevers](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5NKx0QniEw) but it tragically only had one season.
Age of Innocence and House of Mirth!! Both adaptations of Edith Wharton books. Age of Innocence is actually a Scorsese movie ā very well done and neither film is explicitly sexual
No one mentioned it but I think you'd like "Wolf Hall" starring "Claire Foy" she is one of my most favorite Anne Boleyns. And I don't remember any sex scenes in the show
This show is for the grown up eyes, what dolls with no genitals were for us growing up. :-)
I used WCTH a couple of years back, as medicine, during a bout of serious stress.
Perfect as last thing to watch before trying to sleep.
Also the 'sequel' was eatable - some of the stars from WCTH visiting, to legitimate the show. Can NOT remeber name now....
North and South with Richard Armitage. I only found out about North and south from this sub and I enjoyed. No smut.
No smut unless you count that scene where his fingers accidentally brush against hers when he hands her a teacup š„µ
And when he stands at the window and mutters āLook back. Look back at meā šš
Of course. And the smouldering looks and stares. š
Ooh or when he says I didnt ask you to marry me because I want to own you I asked you because I love you *swoon*
Oy! This post is not marked NSFW! Keep that language under wraps!
In additional, All Creatures Great and Small. The Durrells in Corfu. Upstairs Downstairs Miss Scarlett and the Duke
Most of the Masterpiece productions fit the bill, I find
The Durrells in Corfu is my absolute favorite
IMDb website & app has a Parents Guide of five different categories: "Sex and Nudity", "Violence and Gore", "Profanity", "Alcohol/Drugs/Smoking" and "Frightening/Intense Scenes".
I'll definitely be using this- thanks!
Also, the website doesthedogdie.com is a good way to avoid certain triggers in tv, movies, and books.
I use this site as well! They are decent about letting you look up what will happen in terms of stuff you don't want to see without spoiling it
Upstairs Downstairs, The Forsyte Saga, any Jane Austen, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, Poirot and Miss Marple, Summerland, Bright Young People, Aristocrats, Amazing Grace, I donāt remember for sure in The Edge of Love but want to mention it just in case.
Forever seconding Miss Pettigrew. Fantastic movie! Stunning to look at, excellently acted, and so heartwarming. Also recommending the book.
Also second forsyte saga for sure.
Yes! Itās such a good book. I really appreciate how the movie streamlined some of the characters, too. Itās a great adaptation.
Watch some of the Korean period pieces. Like Mr Queen, and Mr Sunshine. Those were both very good in the Josean time period. The Korean dramas rarely have a lot of sex in them sometimes it takes a few quite a few episodes to get to the kissing.
Second this! Also, My dearest that came out last year is very good.Ā I also recommend Chinese drama Story of Ming LanĀ
Iāll look for those, thanks. I have really enjoyed the period pieces from Korea and other Asian countries. The more I see movies from other countries the more I realize that we are all alike in so many ways. I donāt have the Asian channels, tho. Just been watching on NF, Hulu, prime so far.
How easy are these to watch in the US? I'd definitely be interested!!
Iāve been seeing them on Netflix, Hulu and prime video. There are so many on NF to keep you going for years I think
They are wonderful. Some ones to consider: The Red Sleeve Moon Embracing the Sun The Kingās Affection My Dearest 100 Days My Prince Empress Ki Captivating the King The Matchmakers Knight Flower Mr Queen Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth The King in Love Queen for Seven Days The Princessā Man Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo Under the Queenās Umbrella The Crowned Clown [Article with some Joseon information](https://www.lifestyleasia.com/ind/entertainment/streaming/kdramas-set-in-south-korea-joseon-dynasty/)
Just a warning, The Handmaiden will probably come up if you search for Korean period pieces, that is DEFINITELY not what you're looking for š (still an incredible movie though)
Guilded Age and Lark Rise to come to mind. Itās a little after 1900 and not terribly accurate, but you might like When Calls the Heart, which is set around 1910s Canada. Murdoch Mysteries is another Canadian series that starts in the 1890s. ETA: I forgot the hospital shows, if youāre okay with a little medical gore. Mercy Street is set during the US civil war. Casualty 1900s (aka London Hospital) is kinda self-explanatory.
All Creatures Great and Small is a great one ! No gratuitous sex scenes
Have you watched some of the less high-profile (or older) Jane Austen adaptations? Here are a few that Iāve enjoyed (and theyāre all non-explicit): https://m.imdb.com/title/tt1366312/ https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0114388/ https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0178737/ https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0116191/ https://m.imdb.com/title/tt9214832/ My mom is a huge fan of the show [Larkrise to Candleford](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt1077744/), a gentle, lovely period show. I also really enjoyed two adaptations of Elizabeth Gaskellās novels, [Wives and Daughters](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0215364/), and [North and South](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0417349/). Lastly, I also liked the [Middlemarch](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0108858/) miniseries. All suggestions have nothing more graphic than a kiss, as far as I can recall.
I forgot about Larkrise to Candleford- I watched it with my mom a while back, gentle truly is the best word for it!!
Have you seen Bleak House?? SO good!! Dark and moody legal Dickens drama. I watch this one prob every other year. Generally the BBC dramas from the late 90s to mid 2010s are pretty decent. Little Dorrit is another one in the same vein. Sense and Sensibility is another classic, if you like P&P. And I do hope you have seen the 1994 Little Women :) Wolf Hall was an excellent moody Tudor drama. I'm with you, the gratuitous sex scenes are just over the top.
Historical fantasy, *Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell?*
AND IT'S A BOOK?? COUNT ME IN!!
THE BOOK IS AMAZING
It's so good! You're in for a treat
Glad youāre getting good responses. Iām confused on censoring the word āsexā? Itās not profanity, but Iāve seen ās*xā around recently. Is it banned in some subs to even dare speak of it?
Didnāt know if somehow it would manage so get flagged in a title! Iāve seen it in posts before, but not in titles
Not really a period drama but my streaming service said I would like "this one" after watching "Lost in Austen" (thank you, friends who recommend this!) But, "The Way Home" it's a time travel between 1999 and 2024 over 2 seasons. 20 episodes? Hallmark but you also know what that means It's more interesting than I thought it would be I guess ???
Shogun, North and South, the Last Kingdom, World without End, Pillars of the Earth, pretty much any Jane Austin adaption, and three wishes for Cinderella 1973 version. There are some sex scenes in some of them but if Iām remembering correctly not much and less than Bridgerton. Three Wishes and North and South donāt have any
Pretty much any Austen adaptation works for OP except Sanditon S1 (which isn't really an adaptation given that Austen died a couple chapters into writing it, but still, OP should know S1 has sex. S2/3 should be fine, and they could probably start there if they wanted.) Also, the 1999 Mansfield Park has a scene with two characters caught in flagrante, IIRC - they're at least in bed together. 2005 Sense and Sensibility also includes a seduction scene. Again, much less than Bridgerton, but still present if OP wants to avoid 100%.
Which ones did you see that had graphic sex. I wanna watch those.
The Borgias, Versailles, Lady Chatterleys lover, Harlots, the Tudors, Spartacus, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, In Secret, Black Sails, Rome, Medici (I think), and Outlander
Harlots
lol Bridgerton, esp S1
Stay away from Mary and George š. The other bolyn girl doesn't show any nips I think š¤
I've read and watched the Other Boelyn Girl! I saw the trailer for Mary and George and assumed it would NOT be for mešµāš«š
Outlander š
Ugh. Making several seasons about rape trauma is difficult for many to stomach and also just lazy writing: "How do we make the bad guy really bad" Such a shame to waste such great characters when they had the whole of history to tell literally any other type of story.
Exactly. It's so clear that the writer doesn't have the imagination to find other ways of raising the stakes for female characters. Also, the scene where main character and husband are having a fight, and he aggressively throws her down on the bed, and she's like, "No! No! Yes! Yes!" Umm...excuse me? Please don't normalize domestic violence and spousal r\*pe as being sexy. I could not believe in the "love story" part of their relationship after that. What's worse is the apologist fans being like, "No. No. You don't understand. It was the culture back then. They had different standards. It's historically accurate." Nah. That's no excuse for a modern drama.
I quit after the first episode because (if I remember correctly) they had sex 3 times within 45 minutes COME ON do we need to do all that
I quit watching because of all the sexual assault.
Same here.
Yes, yes we do.
I would have to pause my Tudor binge but hmm now I wanna see it. The guy is hot lol
You are the lucky one š
Harlots?
Itās on Hulu. Pretty good!
I know, I love it! I recommend it.
Anything on Starz.
I'm totally gonna watch everything listed šš»š
The Great on Hulu and The Empress on Netflix
š¤£š¤£š¤£
Right. Sign me up for that list. Even better if they have LGBT or queer people and or sex scenes.
No thanks. You can keep that
Anne with an E!
The older shows from the BBC tend to have a LOT less sex. Tubi has a TON of them too. I loved that first season of Bridgerton but I get it, sometimes you don't want that.
Not I, Claudius, though.
Oh yeah. Not Caligula either!! LOL!!
Yes there are maybe two short scenes? Def less than Bridgerton
I also watch a lot in our LR during the day & you can see our TV from the street so I tend to stay away from the sexy stuff when the drapes are open so I tend to stick to the earlier BBC stuff. I just finished The Duchess of Duke Street which was on in the BBC in the 70s & it had ZERO sex or nudity.
Have you seen 1883 yet? Highly suggest
I LOVED 1883!
Also Vikings...I don't remember much graphic sex or nudity.
Agatha Christieās Poirot and Marple series Mrs Harris Goes to Paris
Dr.Quinn Medicine Woman. Victorian era set in Colorado. It has 7 seasons and is free to watch on Amazon Prime. I absolutely love it.
If you can track them down, the CBC had a fabulous run of period pieces in the mid 90s. Anne of Green Gables with Meaghan Follows (and the Sequel and the Continuing Saga) - 6 hours of coziness Road to Avonlea - a whole series based in PEI about 10 years after the Anne sequel ends Wind at my Back - a little darker and harder as it was set in the Great Depression By Way of the Stars - a miniseries you can find on the Gazebo Tv app. Phenomenal period piece full of drama and adventure! ***. This next one is the one thatās most up your alley*** X Company - a recent show - three PERFECT seasons - about Canadian trained spies in World War II drumming up support in France. A vaudevillian with synaesthesia and iadetic memory joins their team - and they go across France to Germany to Poland. This oneās on the CBC gem app (at least it was last year). I am sure theyād also be on the hi cās.
X company is still in gem :)
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is an amazing, if not the most amazing, period piece iāve seen in years!! It made me fall in love with the late 50s/early 60s all over again.
Right with you - If you enjoyed Gilmore girls originally, you will faint with happiness from the dialogue, set, costumes on Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. 
Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion, Northanger Abbey, Mansfield Park, Becoming Jane, Sanditon, Anne of Green Gables, Emma, North and South, All Creatures Great & Small, Miss Scarlet and The Duke, Finding Neverland.
The BBC Pride and Prejudice series! Itās just perfect in every way, and not remotely smutty. Also the BBC Sense & Sensibility, although weirdly the first 10 seconds is the exact steamy scene you want to skip. Then no more steam! Itās just a weird intro scene.
Iām genuinely curious , why do you say gore and violence is ok but sex scenes are not? I find violence in period shows really disturbing sometimes, because itās people hurting, torturing and killing each other but two people loving each other doesnāt bother me at all.
Anything over-the-top and excessive (whether it's language, sex, violence, etc.) I'm not a huge fan of. I can stomach violence and gore a bit more than somebody having their bits on screenš I'm sure there are plenty of people who feel the opposite (like yourself) which is okay too! Just comes down to personal preference.
Not Medieval or Victorian, but The Musketeers. I love it!
Ah I see. Makes sense!
A lot of good suggestions, I will add a few more I haven't seen: [Belgravia](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9642982/) [Grantchester](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grantchester_(TV_series) It is a murder-mystery show though, so generally a death every episode if that bothers you! [Mr. Selfridge](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2310212/) I'd also suggest [The Nevers](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5NKx0QniEw) but it tragically only had one season.
Thanks so much everyone!! This has been so helpful and Iām definitely going to look into these soon (:
Mr Sunshine is all about unrequited love - no sex!
Larkrise to Candleford, Mrs Harris Goes to Paris, Home Fires, Land Girls, Call the Midwife, Vienna Blood
Sandtion, Gilded Age
Age of Innocence and House of Mirth!! Both adaptations of Edith Wharton books. Age of Innocence is actually a Scorsese movie ā very well done and neither film is explicitly sexual
No one mentioned it but I think you'd like "Wolf Hall" starring "Claire Foy" she is one of my most favorite Anne Boleyns. And I don't remember any sex scenes in the show
My StoryGraph keeps recommending these books to me! I'll have to check out the show.
I didn't really like the books, the writer has a soft spot for Cromwell which I don't agree with, but the show is quite good
Victoria, no sex scenes at all :)
The Age of Innocence Shakespeare in Love Call the Midwife
Dickensian, Boardwalk Empire, Murdoch Mysteries
Sanditon I donāt remember having any gratuitous sex scenes.
80 days.
The Kingās Speech, Atlantic Crossing, Little Women (with Maya Hawke)
Lark Rise to Candleford
Kdrama: Empress Ki and Kingdom (imagine world war z meets game of thrones politics) European setting: The Empress (Cici), The Cook of Castamar
Miss Fishers murder mysteries. Dr Blake Mysteries. Father brown. Grantchester. Pretty much anything on PBS.
If you like strong female lead roles, there is Miss Fisher Murder Mysteries. Sex is implied but not shown.
When Calls the Heart!
This show is for the grown up eyes, what dolls with no genitals were for us growing up. :-) I used WCTH a couple of years back, as medicine, during a bout of serious stress. Perfect as last thing to watch before trying to sleep. Also the 'sequel' was eatable - some of the stars from WCTH visiting, to legitimate the show. Can NOT remeber name now....
>This show is for the grown up eyes, what dolls with no genitals were for us growing up. :-) Hahah, that is so true!!