Netflix's My Brilliant Career debuted this August as a six-episode miniseries set in rural Australia during the early 1900s. The show follows Sybylla, a young woman who rejects a life of marriage to a wealthy farmer in favor of a literary career.
From Jo March to Sybylla: The rise of the writer-protagonist
Modern period dramas are increasingly centering on women who view creative expression as more vital than social standing. As reported in a recent review of the genre, this trend is exemplified by the 2017 BBC miniseries Little Women, where the character Jo March prioritizes her writing over traditional marriage. This thematic thread connects directly to Netflix's My Brilliant Career, which explores the tension between personal ambition and the expectations of a rural Australian community.
The landscape of these stories is diverse in tone, ranging from the black comedy of Hulu's The Great to the warmer, slow-burn romance found in the Australian setting of Sybylla's journey. This variety suggests that the apppetite for female-led historical narratives is not limited to a single stylistic approach, but rather a broader interest in how women navigate restrictive eras.
Wiz Khalifa and John Mulaney redefine Emily Dickinson
Apple TV+ has taken a more expeirmental approach to historical storytelling with its series Dickinson. Spanning 30 episodes across three seasons between 2019 and 2021, the show reimagines the famous poet through a lens of magical realism and modern anachronisms. the production utilizes contemporary music and slang to bridge the gap between the 19th century and today, even casting comedic figures like Wiz Khalifa as Death and John Mulaney as a vain version of Henry David Thoreau.
This stylistic choice aims to make the internal frustrations of Emily Dickinson—including her battles with an overbearing father and her secret romantic life—feel immediate to a modern viewership. By blending historical biography with surrealist elements, the series moves away from the stuffy tropes often associated with the genre.
Five American women and the 1870s London social scene
The Apple TV+ series The Buccaneers offers a different perspective on female agency, focusing on five affluent American women arriving in 1870s London. Starring Kristine Froseth and Christina Hendricks, the series begins as a comedic "fish-out-of-water" tale before transitioning into a drama about the realities of marriage. According to the report, the show serves as a parallel to My Brilliant Career by examining the friction between the glamorouus allure of high society and the potential "cages" of domestic life .
By juxtaposing glamorous ballrooms with poignant friendships, the series highlights the social pressures placed on women to secure aristocratic husbands. This narrative arc emphasizes that even for the wealthy , the path to personal desire is often obstructed by societal expectations.
The missing voices in the current period drama roster
While the current landscape of period dramas is robust, several questions remain regarding the breadth of this movement. The source highlights a variety of tones, but it does not address whether this trend will expand into more diverse or intersectional historical settings beyond the specific contexts of Australia, London, or 18th-century Russia. Furthermore, while the shows focus on women's ambitions, it remains to be seen if future productions will delve deeper into the specific economic barriers faced by women of different social classes beyond the affluent characters seen in The Buccaneers.
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