20 Best History TV Shows on Freevee 2026
Discover Freevee’s top historical series, from The Odyssey and Versailles to Des and Manhattan, with drama, adventure, biography, and fantasy picks.
If you’re looking for period pieces that mix real events, rich settings, and strong storytelling, this roundup is built for you. We’ve pulled together a mix of the best history TV shows on Freevee, from the sweeping adventure of The Odyssey (1997) to the court intrigue of Versailles (2015) and the sharp drama of Des (2020). You’ll also find inventive takes like Da Vinci’s Demons (2013), My Lady Jane (2024), and Z: The Beginning of Everything (2015), alongside modern favorites such as Manhattan (2014) and Dark Angel (2016). With 20 titles on the page, there’s plenty here for anyone who wants history with drama, biography, fantasy, and a little surprise.
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01
Underbelly
action · crime · drama · history · mystery
Underbelly is an Australian television true crime-drama series, each series is a stand alone story based on real-life events.
Directed by Tony Tilse, Shawn Seet, David Caesar, Grant Brown, Peter AndrikidisCast Caroline Craig, Paul Tassone, Dieter Brummer, Daniel Roberts, Khan ChittendenAmazon Prime VideoFreevee -
02
The Odyssey
adventure · drama · fantasy · history
In this adaptation of Homer's timeless epic, Armand Assante stars as Odysseus, the warrior King of the mythical island of Ithaca, who must endure a decade long quest to reach home after the Trojan war, overcoming savage monsters, powerful forces of nature, and seductive nymphs, and he must outsmart them all, with all the guile and intellect he can muster.
Directed by Andrei KonchalovskyCast Armand Assante, Greta Scacchi, Geraldine Chaplin, Jeroen Krabbé, Christopher LeeAmazon Prime VideoFreevee -
03
The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek
history · documentary
Chronicles rare and fascinating details of how "Star Trek" began, where it's been, and how it's going where no television series has gone before.
Directed by Brian Volk-WeissCast Gates McFadden, Robin Curtis, Catherine Hicks, Brooke Breton, Dominic KeatingAmazon Prime VideoPeacock PremiumFreevee -
04
War & Peace
drama · history · romance · war
The love story of young Countess Natasha Rostova and Count Pierre Bezukhov is interwoven with the Great Patriotic War of 1812 against Napoleon's invading army.
Directed by Tom HarperCast Paul Dano, James Norton, Lily James, Adrian Edmondson, Aisling LoftusAmazon Prime VideoPeacock PremiumFreevee -
05
Des
biography · crime · drama · history · thriller
The story of one of the most infamous cases in UK criminal history, that of serial killer Dennis Nilsen. Told through the prism of three men, the series explores the personal and professional consequences of coming into contact with a man like Nilsen.
Directed by Lewis ArnoldCast David Tennant, Daniel Mays, Jason Watkins, Ron Cook, Barry WardAmazon Prime VideoAMC+Freevee -
06
Manhattan
drama · history · war
Set against the backdrop of the greatest clandestine race against time in the history of science with the mission to build the world's first atomic bomb in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Flawed scientists and their families attempt to co-exist in a world where secrets and lies infiltrate every aspect of their lives.
Directed by Thomas Schlamme, Daniel Attias, Andrew Bernstein, Christopher Misiano, Julie Anne RobinsonCast Rachel Brosnahan, Michael Chernus, Christopher Denham, Katja Herbers, John Benjamin HickeyAmazon Prime VideoFreevee -
07
Da Vinci's Demons
adventure · biography · drama · fantasy · history · mystery · romance
The series follows the "untold" story of Leonardo Da Vinci: the genius during his early years in Renaissance Florence. As a 25-year old artist, inventor, swordsman, lover, dreamer and idealist, he struggles to live within the confines of his own reality and time as he begins to not only see the future, but invent it.
Directed by Peter Hoar, MJ Bassett, David S. Goyer, Jamie Payne, Paul WilmshurstCast Tom Riley, Gregg Chilingirian, Eros V, Laura Haddock, Blake RitsonAmazon Prime VideoStarzPeacock PremiumFreevee -
08
Dark Angel
crime · drama · history · mystery & thriller · made in europe
The story of Victorian serial killer Mary Ann Cotton, a poisoner whose methods leave no visible scars, allowing her tally of victims to mount, unsuspected by a Victorian society unable to conceive of a woman capable of such terrible crimes. Traveling around the North East, she insinuates herself into unsuspecting families, marrying and creating new families of her own - before killing them, taking their money and moving on.
Directed by Brian PercivalCast Joanne Froggatt, Alun Armstrong, Isla McMonigle, Laura Morgan, George KentAmazon Prime VideoFreevee -
09
My Lady Jane
comedy · drama · history
Gird your loins for the tragic tale of Lady Jane Grey, the young Tudor noblewoman who was Queen of England for nine days and then beheaded, back in good ol’ 1553. Actually... f*ck that. We’re retelling history the way it should have happened: the damsel in distress saves herself. This is an epic tale of true love and high adventure set in an alt-universe of action, history, fantasy, comedy, romance, and rompy-pompy. Buckle up.
Directed by Jamie Babbit, Stefan SchwartzCast Emily Bader, Edward Bluemel, Anna Chancellor, Rob Brydon, Kate O'FlynnAmazon Prime VideoFreevee -
10
Z: The Beginning of Everything
drama · history
A biography series based on the life of Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald, the brilliant, beautiful and talented Southern Belle who becomes the original flapper and icon of the wild, flamboyant Jazz Age in the 20s. Z starts before Zelda Fitzgerald meets the unpublished writer F. Scott Fitzgerald and moves through their passionate, turbulent love affair and their marriage-made in heaven, lived out in hell as the celebrity couple of their time.
Directed by Mike Barker, Neasa Hardiman, Minkie Spiro, Wash Westmoreland, Tim Blake NelsonCast Christina Ricci, David Hoflin, Kristine Nielsen, David Strathairn, Jim True-FrostAmazon Prime VideoFreevee -
11
Versailles
biography · drama · history · romance · war
The story of a young Louis XIV on his journey to become the most powerful monarch in Europe, from his battles with the fronde through his development into the Sun King. Historical and fictional characters guide us in a world of betrayal and political maneuvering, revealing Versailles in all its glory and brutality.
Directed by Christian Langlois, Thomas Vincent, Richard Clark, Daniel Roby, Christoph SchreweCast George Blagden, Alexander Vlahos, Tygh Runyan, Stuart Bowman, Evan WilliamsAmazon Prime VideoFreevee -
12
The Book of Negroes
drama · history · war
Kidnapped in Africa and subsequently enslaved in South Carolina, Aminata must navigate a revolution in New York, isolation in Nova Scotia and treacherous jungles of Sierra Leone, in an attempt to secure her freedom in the 19th century.
Directed by Clement VirgoCast Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Lyriq Bent, Ben Chaplin, Allan Hawco, Greg BrykAmazon Prime VideoFreevee -
13
Hitler's Bodyguard
documentary · history · war
Adolf Hitler caused the deaths of fifty million people. An entire nation followed him to ruin. Over a tumultuous 12 years Adolf Hitler went from being a minor rabble-rousing politician, to supreme leader of Nazi Germany. He was hated by those he persecuted, and even by some of his own commanders - yet in twenty-five years no one managed to kill him. This program shows how Hitler's bodyguards helped him cheat death on many occasions. They expanded from a handful of thugs recruited to protect political meetings and fight opponents on the streets, to many thousands - including some of the most fearsome secret police and paramilitary forces the world has ever known.
Directed by Jonathan Martin, Philip NugusCast Stephan GrothgarAmazon Prime VideoFreevee -
14
Medici
biography · drama · history · mystery · romance · thriller
The story of the Medici family of Florence, their ascent from simple merchants to power brokers sparking an economic and cultural revolution. Along the way, they also accrue a long list of powerful enemies.
Directed by Christian Duguay, Sergio Mimica-Gezzan, Jon Cassar, Jan MicheliniCast Daniel Sharman, Alessandra Mastronardi, Synnove Karlsen, Sebastian De Souza, Pietro RagusaAmazon Prime VideoFreevee -
15
The Celts: Blood, Iron and Sacrifice
documentary · history
Three-part documentary series in which anthropologist professor Alice Roberts and archaeologist Neil Oliver go in search of the Celts - one of the world's most mysterious ancient civilisations.
Directed by Jeremy Hall, Michael LachmannCast Alexander GeorgievAmazon Prime VideoFreevee -
16
Cocaine Trade Exposed (The Invisibles)
documentary · crime · history
The true story of the rise of a shadowy new generation of cocaine kingpins and of law enforcement's desperate efforts to bring them down.
Cast Jean-Pierre Yerma, Cristian Lavin, Will Rodriguez, Eric SoAmazon Prime VideoFreevee -
17
The Secrets of Quantum Physics
documentary · history
Professor of physics Jim Al-Khalili investigates the most accurate and yet perplexing scientific theory ever - quantum physics.
Directed by Kenny Scott, Tim Usborne, Stephen CooterCast Eliza SheaAmazon Prime VideoFreevee -
18
Labyrinth
adventure · drama · fantasy · history
Jumping back and forth between modern and medieval France, the lives of two women separated by centuries, are united in their search for an ancient artifact.
Directed by Christopher SmithCast John Hurt, Tom Felton, Jessica Brown Findlay, Tony Curran, Vanessa KirbyAmazon Prime VideoFreevee -
19
Tales of Little Women
animation · drama · family · history · romance
Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy are four loving March sisters living with their mother in the USA during the Civil War. Their father is a military doctor fighting in the Union Army. After a terrible battle in a neighbour town, the Confederates pass through their town and burn it. Over the ruins of their house the March family also learn that the factory in which their father invested all his money has been burnt too. Homeless and pennyless, the family heads towards Newcord, where the father's aunt lives, hoping for the old lady to help them. The girls try to adjust to their new life, face many hardships, meet new friends and wish to the war to be over at last.
Directed by Fumio KurokawaCast Keiko Han, Eiko Yamada, Mayumi Shô, Rei Sakuma, Taeko NakanishiAmazon Prime VideoFreevee -
20
Abandoned Railways from Above
documentary · history
Docuseries exploring lost railway lines, each with their own unique history revealing the vibrant industries that were once dotted along their routes and the ingenious engineering involved
Directed by Steven PerringAmazon Prime VideoFreevee
Wrapping Up
Whether you want political intrigue, true-crime tension, or a more playful spin on the past, these Freevee picks make it easy to find something worth starting next. From the elegance of Versailles to the wit of My Lady Jane and the moody energy of Dark Angel, the list offers a wide range of eras and styles without losing its historical pull. Bookmark this page and come back whenever you need a new period drama, because the lineup is updated regularly to keep pace with what’s available. It’s a simple way to stay current without missing the shows that belong on your watchlist.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often is this list updated?
We refresh this list regularly as titles are added or removed from streaming catalogs, so rankings and availability stay current.
Do I need a Freevee subscription to watch these?
Yes — every title on this list is currently available on Freevee. Availability can change, so we recommend checking the streaming link on each title before you start watching.
How are these history shows ranked?
We rank by a combination of audience rating and current popularity, so you're seeing the history titles people are actually watching right now, not just an old fixed list.
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Last updated: September 11, 2026