Sort by Popularity - Most Popular Movies and TV Shows tagged with keyword "contemporary-historical-setting"
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1. Chernobyl (2019)
TV-MA | 41 min | Drama, History, Thriller
In April 1986, the city of Chernobyl in the Soviet Union suffers one of the worst nuclear disasters in the history of mankind. Consequently, many heroes put their lives on the line in the following days, weeks and months.
Stars: Jessie Buckley, Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgård, Adam Nagaitis
Votes: 867,087
2. Life on Mars (2006–2007)
TV-14 | 959 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
After a near-fatal car accident, smart, savvy, sharp-suited detective Sam is mysteriously transported back to 1973. Confused by his new surroundings, Sam tries to return to the present, but the police force of long ago needs his help.
Stars: John Simm, Philip Glenister, Liz White, Dean Andrews
Votes: 32,479
3. Grantchester (2014–2025)
TV-14 | 45 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A Cambridgeshire clergyman finds himself investigating a series of mysterious wrongdoings in his small village of Grantchester.
Stars: Robson Green, Tessa Peake-Jones, Al Weaver, Kacey Ainsworth
Votes: 17,214
4. Masters of Sex (2013–2016)
TV-MA | 60 min | Drama, Romance
Drama about the pioneers of the science of human sexuality whose research touched off the sexual revolution.
Stars: Michael Sheen, Lizzy Caplan, Caitlin FitzGerald, Teddy Sears
Votes: 38,541
5. Dark Winds (2022– )
TV-MA | 49 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Follows Leaphorn and Chee, two Navajo police officers in the 1970s Southwest that are forced to challenge their own spiritual beliefs when they search for clues in a double murder case.
Stars: Zahn McClarnon, Kiowa Gordon, Jessica Matten, Deanna Allison
Votes: 16,338
6. The Bletchley Circle (2012–2014)
TV-14 | 314 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
In 1952, four women who worked at the wartime code-breaking centre, Bletchley Park, reunite to track down a serial killer.
Stars: Rachael Stirling, Julie Graham, Sophie Rundle, Anna Maxwell Martin
Votes: 14,069
7. Pan Am (2011–2012)
TV-PG | 583 min | Drama, History, Romance
Period drama about the pilots and flight attendants who once made Pan Am the most glamorous way to fly.
Stars: Christina Ricci, Margot Robbie, Michael Mosley, Karine Vanasse
Votes: 21,253
8. Ratched (2020)
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama, History
In 1947, Mildred Ratched begins working as a nurse at a leading psychiatric hospital. But beneath her stylish exterior lurks a growing darkness.
Stars: Sarah Paulson, Finn Wittrock, Cynthia Nixon, Jon Jon Briones
Votes: 70,656
9. This Is England (2006)
Not Rated | 101 min | Crime, Drama
A young boy becomes friends with a gang of skinheads. Friends soon become like family, and relationships will be pushed to the very limit.
Director: Shane Meadows | Stars: Thomas Turgoose, Stephen Graham, Jo Hartley, Andrew Shim
Votes: 128,797 | Gross: $0.33M
10. Ashes to Ashes (2008–2010)
TV-MA | 1,320 min | Crime, Drama, Fantasy
After being shot in 2008 while investigating DCI Sam Tyler, DI Alex Drake wakes up in 1981.
Stars: Philip Glenister, Keeley Hawes, Dean Andrews, Marshall Lancaster
Votes: 11,097
11. A Place to Call Home (2013–2018)
Not Rated | 60 min | Drama
Sarah Adams returns to Australia post World War II to start anew. She begins working in a hospital, much to the dismay of Elizabeth Bligh, a wealthy matriarch.
Stars: Marta Dusseldorp, Noni Hazlehurst, Brett Climo, Craig Hall
Votes: 6,298
12. Agent Carter (2015–2016)
TV-PG | 42 min | Action, Adventure, Crime
In 1946, Peggy Carter is relegated to secretarial duties in the Strategic Scientific Reserve (SSR). When Howard Stark is accused of treason, he secretly recruits Peggy to clear his name with the help of his butler, Edwin Jarvis.
Stars: Hayley Atwell, James D'Arcy, Enver Gjokaj, Chad Michael Murray
Votes: 89,228
13. Ms Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries (2019–2021)
TV-G | 86 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
In swinging 60's Melbourne, gorgeously reckless Peregrine Fisher inherits a windfall when the famous aunt she never knew goes missing over the highlands of New Guinea.
Stars: Geraldine Hakewill, Joel Jackson, Catherine McClements, Louisa Mignone
Votes: 3,000
14. The Hour (2011–2012)
TV-14 | 60 min | Drama
A behind-the-scenes drama and espionage thriller in Cold War-era England that centers on a journalist, a producer, and an anchorman for an investigative news programme.
Stars: Romola Garai, Ben Whishaw, Dominic West, Anna Chancellor
Votes: 11,064
15. Velvet (2013–2016)
TV-14 | 43 min | Drama, Romance
A feel-good, compelling Spanish story of a fashion house in Madrid in the late 50's, which is scene to money, fashion, drama, entanglements, love, jealousies, plots, counter-plots involving its owners, customers and residential employees.
Stars: Paula Echevarría, Miguel Ángel Silvestre, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, Manuela Velasco
Votes: 6,802
16. The Doctor Blake Mysteries (2013–2018)
TV-14 | 57 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Dr Lucien Blake left Ballarat as a young man. But now he finds himself returning, to take over not only his dead father's medical practice, but also his on-call role as the town's police surgeon.
Stars: Nadine Garner, Craig McLachlan, Charlie Cousins, Joel Tobeck
Votes: 5,111
17. Maigret (2016–2017)
90 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Cases of hard-working Parisian detective Chief Inspector Jules Maigret.
Stars: Rowan Atkinson, Shaun Dingwall, Leo Staar, Lucy Cohu
Votes: 2,015
18. Project Blue Book (2019–2020)
TV-14 | 45 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A tough US Air Force officer and a skeptical scientist investigate UFO and alien conspiracies as Cold War paranoia spreads.
Stars: Aidan Gillen, Michael Malarkey, Laura Mennell, Ksenia Solo
Votes: 14,454
19. The Ipcress File (2022)
Not Rated | 60 min | Drama, Thriller
As the Cold War rages, ex-smuggler turned reluctant spy Harry Palmer finds himself at the centre of a dangerous undercover mission, on which he must use his links to find a missing British nuclear scientist.
Stars: Joe Cole, Lucy Boynton, Tom Hollander, Ashley Thomas
Votes: 5,437
20. Fosse/Verdon (2019)
TV-MA | 50 min | Biography, Drama, Music
An inside look at the romantic and creative partnership between influential choreographer/director, Bob Fosse, and Gwen Verdon, one of the greatest Broadway dancers of all time.
Stars: Sam Rockwell, Michelle Williams, Norbert Leo Butz, Aya Cash
Votes: 7,395
21. Magic City (2012–2013)
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama
Centers on Miami mobsters and other characters from Miami Beach in the late 1950s.
Stars: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Olga Kurylenko, Steven Strait, Jessica Marais
Votes: 13,291
22. Good Girls Revolt (2015–2016)
TV-MA | 55 min | Drama
A look at the personal and professional lives of employees at an American news magazine in the late 1960s.
Stars: Genevieve Angelson, Anna Camp, Erin Darke, Hunter Parrish
Votes: 6,277
23. White Heat (2012)
Not Rated | 60 min | Drama
A story about a group of seven London-based students from 1965 to the present day.
Stars: MyAnna Buring, Sam Claflin, Lindsay Duncan, Claire Foy
Votes: 728
24. The Right Stuff (2020)
TV-14 | 45 min | Drama, History
U.S. fighter pilots are recruited to test experimental aircraft and rockets to become first Mercury astronauts. TV adaptation of Tom Wolfe's book, 'The Right Stuff'.
Stars: Patrick J. Adams, Jake McDorman, Colin O'Donoghue, Patrick Fischler
Votes: 4,213
25. Rocket Boys (2022– )
45 min | Drama, History
The story of two extraordinary men, Dr. Homi Jehangir Bhabha and Dr. Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai, who created history while building India's future.
Stars: Jim Sarbh, Saba Azad, Regina Cassandra, Mark Bennington
Votes: 18,006
26. This Is England '86 (2010)
TV-MA | 47 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Shaun has just finished his final exams and he realizes he is no longer a kid. It's mid 80's England, and the gang are back, looking for a laugh, a job and something that resembles a future.
Stars: Andrew Ellis, Andrew Shim, Chanel Cresswell, Danielle Watson
Votes: 14,511
27. Crisis in Six Scenes (2016)
TV-PG | 23 min | Comedy
Crisis in Six Scenes is a comedy that takes place in the 1960's during turbulent times in the United States and a middle class suburban family is visited by a among us who turns their household completely upside down.
Stars: Woody Allen, Miley Cyrus, Elaine May, John Magaro
Votes: 7,180
28. The Club (2021–2023)
TV-14 | 45 min | Drama
In cosmopolitan 1950s Istanbul, a mother with a troubled past works at a nightclub to reconnect with and help the rebellious daughter she couldn't raise.
Stars: Gökçe Bahadir, Baris Arduç, Asude Kalebek, Salih Bademci
Votes: 11,668
29. The Collection (2016)
TV-MA | 60 min | Drama, History, Romance
A gripping family drama and entrepreneurial fable, set in a post-war Paris fashion house. It exposes the grit behind the glamour of a rising business, spearheaded by two clashing brothers.
Stars: Richard Coyle, Mamie Gummer, Tom Riley, Alix Poisson
Votes: 2,425
30. The Playboy Club (2011)
TV-14 | 60 min | Crime, Drama
Centers on the Bunnies and patrons of the original Playboy Club in 1960s Chicago.
Stars: Randy Steinmeyer, Eddie Cibrian, David Krumholtz, Laura Benanti
Votes: 6,039
31. Vegas (2012–2013)
914 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Ralph Lamb, a former MP for the US Army, becomes sheriff. His brother, Jack, and his son, Dixon, are deputized. Meanwhile, Vincent Savino comes from Chicago to Vegas to run The Savoy hotel and casino.
Stars: Dennis Quaid, Michael Chiklis, Carrie-Anne Moss, Taylor Handley
Votes: 7,564
32. The Great Train Robbery (2013)
Not Rated | 90 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
A two-part drama which portrays The Great Train Robbery of 8 August 1963, firstly from the point of view of the robbers and then from the point of view of the police who set out to identify and catch the robbers.
Stars: Robert Glenister, Jack Roth, Luke Evans, Paul Anderson
Votes: 4,987
33. State of Happiness (2018–2022)
TV-MA | 45 min | Drama, History
The night before Christmas 1969, the gas flare at the Ocean Viking is lit. Phillips has found the largest sub sea oil basin in history. And everything is about to change.
Stars: Anne Regine Ellingsæter, Malene Wadel, Mads Sjøgård Pettersen, Pia Tjelta
Votes: 3,259
34. Rillington Place (2016)
TV-MA | 58 min | Crime, Drama, History
A three-part drama about serial killer John Christie and the murders at 10 Rillington Place in the 1940s and early 1950s.
Stars: Tim Roth, Nico Mirallegro, Samantha Morton, Jodie Comer
Votes: 4,239
35. The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco (2018)
TV-14 | 45 min | Crime, Drama, History
Two female British code breakers team with American cryptographers to solve a series of murders in San Francisco.
Stars: Crystal Balint, Rachael Stirling, Chanelle Harquail-Ivsak, Julie Graham
Votes: 3,072
36. Velvet Colección (2017–2019)
TV-14 | 54 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Barcelona 1967. Ana Rivera returns from New York to launch her last dream: to make the leap from the exclusive business of haute couture in Madrid to a boutique in Barcelona with aspirations to become a global franchise.
Stars: Marta Hazas, Asier Etxeandia, Adrián Lastra, Diego Martín
Votes: 1,630
37. A Suitable Boy (2020)
TV-14 | 60 min | Drama, Romance
A vast, panoramic tale charting the fortunes of four large families and exploring India and its rich and varied culture at a crucial point in its history.
Stars: Tanya Maniktala, Ishaan Khattar, Mahira Kakkar, Danesh Razvi
Votes: 5,691
38. Our Friends in the North (1996)
TV-MA | 69 min | Drama, History
Drama examining the politics and change across Britain from the Sixties to the Nineties seen through the varying fortunes of four friends.
Stars: Christopher Eccleston, Mark Strong, Gina McKee, Daniel Craig
Votes: 2,376
39. Shahrzad (2015–2018)
60 min | Drama, History, Romance
In Iran, Tehran, 1953, Shahrzad and Farhad love each other and intend to get married, but the great mafia Bozorg Agha has decided another fate for them.
Stars: Taraneh Alidoosti, Mahsa Nasiri, Mostafa Zamani, Shahab Hosseini
Votes: 11,524
40. Mob City (2013)
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
1947, Los Angeles. Cop Joe Teague walks the line between the LAPD, led by William Parker, and the mob, led by Bugsy Siegel.
Stars: Jon Bernthal, Milo Ventimiglia, Neal McDonough, Alexa Davalos
Votes: 7,704
41. Swingtown (2008)
TV-PG | 547 min | Drama
As America celebrates its 200th birthday, two generations of friends and neighbors in a Chicago suburb explore new freedoms and seek connections with each other in the midst of the socio/sexual revolution.
Stars: Molly Parker, Jack Davenport, Grant Show, Lana Parrilla
Votes: 2,859
42. Luna Park (2021)
TV-MA | Drama, Romance
In 1960s Rome, a free-spirited young woman who's grown up at her family's circus unexpectedly discovers she belongs to two very different worlds.
Stars: Lia Grieco, Guglielmo Poggi, Simona Tabasco, Alessio Lapice
Votes: 1,023
43. Someone Has to Die (2020)
TV-MA | 149 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
The story begins with a young boy being asked by his parents to return to Spain to meet his fiance. He returns accompanied by Lazaro, a mysterious ballet dancer.
Stars: Cecilia Suárez, Ernesto Alterio, Alejandro Speitzer, Isaac Hernández
Votes: 5,664
44. The Trial of Christine Keeler (2019–2020)
352 min | Drama, History
Story of Christine Keeler, who found herself at the heart of a political sex scandal that rocked British government in the 1960s.
Stars: Sophie Cookson, James Norton, Ellie Bamber, Emilia Fox
Votes: 2,071
45. Dead Mountain (2020)
54 min | Drama, History, Mystery
In the Ural Mountains, nine students go on a ski hike, but never return. Local investigators must piece together what happened to them when their bodies are found a month later.
Stars: Andrey Dobrovolskiy, Andrey Arzyaev, Polina Chernyshova, Georgiy Bessonov
Votes: 3,204
46. Man in an Orange Shirt (2017)
TV-14 | 60 min | Drama, Romance
Tales of love across two films highlighting the very different challenges that face the couples, With Michael and Thomas just after WWII, and Adam and Steve in the present day.
Stars: Julian Morris, Vanessa Redgrave, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Charlie Wernham
Votes: 4,604
47. Hache (2019–2021)
TV-MA | 50 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Inspired by real events, Hache is the story of Helena, a woman catapulted to the heroin trafficking business in the Barcelona of the 60s.
Stars: Adriana Ugarte, Eduardo Noriega, Marc Martínez, Pep Ambròs
Votes: 1,910
48. Il paradiso delle signore (2015– )
50 min | Drama, Romance
A poor girl from the South of Italy comes to Milan to escape an unfaithful fiancé and finds a job as a salesperson for a department store. She soon gets noticed by the boss.
Stars: Alessandro Tersigni, Emanuel Caserio, Roberto Farnesi, Vanessa Gravina
Votes: 648
49. The Kennedys (2011)
TV-14 | 43 min | Drama, History, Romance
The triumphs and tragedies of the most popular political family in American history.
Stars: Greg Kinnear, Barry Pepper, Katie Holmes, Tom Wilkinson
Votes: 7,695
50. This Is England '88 (2011)
TV-MA | 48 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Christmas 1988. Soulmates Woody and Lol find themselves in exile from each other and the gang. Trying to understand the definition 'growing up', Shaun begins a course at College, that quickly takes a wrong turn.
Stars: Andrew Ellis, Andrew Shim, Chanel Cresswell, Charlotte Tyree
Votes: 11,567