Five Netflix shows to watch if you loved ‘The Empress’
It’s so rage-baiting when, otherwise, the palace that looks dreamy turns into a discipline commander the moment a woman puts on a crown, and The Empress on Netflix makes that gilded nightmare impossible to look away from.
Netflix’s German period drama follows Elisabeth, who falls for Emperor Franz Joseph and marries into the Habsburg dynasty, only to find out she has to face a court obsessed with traditions and a mother-in-law with the warmth of a winter pavement.
And please, do not let those gorgeous costumes fool you, because the drama is Elisabeth fighting to hold on to herself while imperial duty takes a sledgehammer to her marriage. Season three marks the show’s final chapter on November 12th, saying goodbye to these bittersweet moments. Oof, someone passed the tissues.
If you’re not ready to give up palace scandals, these five Netflix shows should scratch that itch, and rather well.
Five Netflix shows to watch if you loved ‘The Empress’
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (2023)
Yes, we know that you’ve spent hours watching Elisabeth fight for her sanity in The Empress, but if you reckon she’s had the worst royal welcome in history, wait until you meet Charlotte, because this girl gets shipped off to England to marry King George without knowing the man, and his family expects her to behave like a perfect little queen. Oh, give the girl a break! Charlotte didn’t even get the time to settle into her marriage when George starts keeping his distance, leaving her wondering what on earth she’s done to deserve such treatment.
And just when you’re ready to grab the king by his collar and demand an explanation, the story takes an emotional turn as Charlotte discovers the painful truth behind his behaviour. Much like The Empress, this Bridgerton prequel shows you how marrying into royalty can become a nightmare when everyone expects you to sacrifice your happiness for the crown.
Victoria (2016–2019)
You’re eighteen, you’ve got a crown sitting on your head, and then the country seems convinced you’re incapable of making a decent decision without some pompous old man telling you what to do. Welcome to Queen Victoria’s life, love, because this young monarch inherits the British throne in 1837 and finds herself surrounded by politicians who seem determined to test her patience.
Played by Jenna Coleman, Victoria struggles to prove herself as queen while growing close to Lord Melbourne. But when Prince Albert comes along, her love life gets just as complicated as her royal duties. But that marriage to Albert? Man, love doesn’t make ruling a country any easier.
The Cook of Castamar (2021)
Oh, the audacity of falling in love with someone society considers beneath your station! You’d think having feelings for another person wouldn’t require permission from the aristocracy, but the people in The Cook of Castamar have other ideas, and they make life miserable for anyone who dares challenge their precious social rules.
Set in eighteenth-century Madrid, the Spanish drama follows Clara Belmonte, a gifted cook suffering from agoraphobia, who finds work in the household of Diego, the widowed Duke of Castamar. Their growing feelings set tongues wagging, and with meddlesome aristocrats plotting against them, the poor couple might be torn apart before their romance has even had a proper chance to blossom.
Elisabeth’s marriage in The Empress came with enough rules to drive anyone round the bend, and poor Clara finds herself in a similarly dreadful predicament. She’s a servant who has rather inconveniently fallen for a duke, and in a society where one’s social standing means everything, love hardly stands a fighting chance.
The Queen and the Conqueror (2020)
Some men deserve to spend the rest of their lives regretting their decisions, and Pedro de Heredia should be the first on the list because the Spanish conquistador falls for an Indigenous woman named Catalina before betraying her and her people. More so, the damage he leaves behind isn’t something a bunch of flowers and a pathetic apology can fix.
Eighteen years pass before Catalina returns to confront the man who destroyed her world, and you’d better believe she’s carrying so much heartbreak to make this reunion one hell of a confrontation. Much like Elisabeth in The Empress, Catalina has had quite enough of men deciding her fate. She’s spent years paying the price for someone else’s decisions, and now she’s determined to take back control of her own life. About bloody time, too!
The Princess Royal (2024)
If The Empress had you wishing Elisabeth and Franz could turn back time and save themselves a world of heartache, The Princess Royal takes that very idea and gives it a delicious twist. Two people, one disastrous marriage and another chance to get things right.
A second chance at life sounds rather lovely, until fate decides to reunite you with the husband you spent your first life despising. Poor Princess Li Rong and Pei Wenxuan have already endured a thoroughly miserable marriage, plagued by mistrust and political scheming, only for their lives to end in tragedy. You’d think death would at least grant them some peace… but apparently not!
Instead, both wake up at eighteen, remembering every dreadful moment of their marriage. And naturally, they’re determined not to make the same mistakes again. Easier said than done.