Travel through time and around the world with PBS historical dramas! In Part II, trace the course of history during the 20th century from the 1920s to 1960s. Stream our best recommendations with PBS KVIE Passport, a member benefit that unlocks even more shows to watch on the PBS App.
Check out Part I for dramas spanning the 1600s to the early 1900s.
1920s
Downton Abbey on Masterpiece
Spanning the 1910s to mid-1920s, this lavish drama follows the lives of the aristocratic Crawleys and their servants on a great English estate – Downton Abbey – which is on the cusp of a vanishing way of life. Follow the entourage of characters as they navigate scandals, love, heartbreak, and hope, set against changing cultural and political landscape of pre and post-war Great Britain. Beginning with the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, which sets off the series’ major conflict, historical events are woven into the fabric of the series, from the Great War to the influenza pandemic.
How to Watch: Stream all 6 seasons on the PBS App with PBS KVIE Passport.
Frankie Drake Mysteries
Set in 1920s Toronto, follow the riveting adventures of Frankie Drake (Lauren Lee Smith) and her partner Trudy Clarke (Chantel Riley) at Drake Private Detectives, the city’s only all-female detective agency. The team finds themselves fighting crime in the age of flyboys, gangsters, rumrunners, and speakeasies, as they investigate murders, kidnappings, heists, poisonings, and more.
How to Watch: Stream all 4 seasons on the PBS App with PBS KVIE Passport.
Hotel Portofino
Escape to the breathtakingly beautiful resort town of Portofino in this ensemble drama. Set in the 1920s on the Italian Riviera, Hotel Portofino tells the story of Bella Ainsworth (Natascha McElhone), the daughter of a wealthy industrialist, who sets up a quintessentially British Hotel in the picturesque town of Portofino. Yet amongst the sumptuous and romantic backdrop is a dark undercurrent: the traumatic aftermath of World War I, the financial crisis right around the corner, and growing global upheaval, including the rise of Mussolini’s fascism.
How to Watch: Stream all episodes on the PBS App with PBS KVIE Passport.
1930s
All Creatures Great and Small on Masterpiece
Transport yourself to 1930s Yorkshire, England, and a lovable cast of characters in this reimagined Masterpiece drama. Based on the beloved book series, follow recently qualified veterinarian James Herriot (Nicholas Ralph) as he makes a new life for himself at a rural practice after being reluctantly hired by the eccentric Siegfried Farnon (Samuel West). Encountering various obstacles and unexpectedly finding love and friendship, Herriot soon becomes the iconic veterinarian renowned for his inspiring humor, compassion, and love of life.
How to Watch: Stream both seasons on the PBS App with PBS KVIE Passport. Season 3 will premiere January 8!
Seaside Hotel
How to Watch: Stream all 8 seasons on the PBS App with PBS KVIE Passport.
1940s
Atlantic Crossing on Masterpiece
How to Watch: Stream all episodes on the PBS App with PBS KVIE Passport.
Land Girls
How to Watch: Stream all 3 seasons on the PBS App with PBS KVIE Passport.
The Windermere Children
How to Watch: Stream now on the PBS App with PBS KVIE Passport.
World on Fire on Masterpiece
How to Watch: Stream all episodes on the PBS App with PBS KVIE Passport. Season 2 is currently in production.
1950s
Grantchester on Masterpiece
How to Watch: Stream seasons 1-7 on the PBS App with PBS KVIE Passport.
The Hour
How to Watch: Stream both seasons on the PBS App with PBS KVIE Passport.
1960s
Endeavour on Masterpiece
How to Watch: Stream 8 seasons on the PBS App with PBS KVIE Passport.
The Indian Doctor
How to Watch: Stream all 3 seasons on the PBS App with PBS KVIE Passport.
Line of Separation
After the fall of the Third Reich, the small town of Tannbach is cruelly divided down the middle in the battle between East and West regimes, and the town’s inhabitants suffer the consequences. Line of Separation is a gripping historical drama exploring the devastating and sobering effects that decades of conflict had on the close-knit German communities after the second world war and into the Cold War in the 1960s. In German with English subtitles.
How to Watch:
Stream both seasons on the PBS App with PBS KVIE Passport.
Ridley Road on Masterpiece
Summer 1962: London is swinging with new music, mod fashions, and an irresistible hedonistic spirit. Yet despite the changing times, the legacy of World War II casts a long shadow. Neo-Nazism is alive and well in the United Kingdom in the heart of the Jewish community in London’s East End. Bomb sites still mark the streets of East London, and among the crowds, Cockney slang is peppered with Yiddish. The exhilarating 4-part series follows Vivien Epstein, a young Jewish hairdresser who goes undercover in the British neo-Nazi movement on behalf of Jewish anti-fascists.
How to Watch:
Stream all episodes on the PBS App with PBS KVIE Passport.
Looking for more historical drama, check out Part I for historical dramas from the 1600s through the early 1900s.