Five Netflix shows to watch if you miss ‘Outlander’
Time, they say, heals all wounds, but whoever coined that wisdom had the good fortune of never becoming attached to Outlander. Months have passed since the show bid us farewell to this series, but most fans are still grieving. You think eight seasons are enough to prepare us for its departure, but alas, Jamie Fraser has ruined our expectations beyond repair.
Honestly, can you blame us for being inconsolable? We watched Claire Randall travel from 1945 to 18th-century Scotland just to fall head over heels for a Highland warrior and her life fighting against history itself to be with him. Looking at these two makes your relationship troubles look like child’s play.
But Outlander was never just about romance! Between the Jacobite rebellions and the American Revolution, the series made falling in love look rather dangerous. And did we complain? Of course not! We sat through it, knowing full well that another heartbreak was waiting around the corner.
But that’s over, and while it felt like death in that moment, the difficult part came afterwards, which is finding something worth watching after all that drama. And let’s be fair, replacing Jamie and Claire is a tall order, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Luckily, Netflix has a few historical dramas to keep us entertained. So, wipe those tears, dear reader. We’ve got some rather good recommendations to get through.
Five Netflix shows to watch if you miss ‘Outlander’
The Cook of Castamar (2021)
Oh, the absolute scandal of a duke falling for a cook! You’d think the poor guy had committed some high treason once you watch the fuss everyone makes in The Cook of Castamar. Set in 18th-century Madrid, this Spanish period drama tells the tale of Clara Belmonte, a talented young cook who suffers from agoraphobia and takes a job in the household of Diego, the widowed Duke of Castamar, who has been wallowing in grief since his wife’s death.
But then Clara comes into his life and kitchen, and now the man has something to look forward to besides another miserable dinner. The problem is, a duke courting a servant is considered a disgrace, especially in that era, and the household’s scheming group have no intention of letting the romance flourish. Oh, the agony! Remember all the grief Jamie and Claire endured because society couldn’t mind its own business in Outlander? Well, you will feel right at home here.
Crash Landing on You (2019-2020)
Remember when Claire Fraser ended up in 18th-century Scotland through no fault of her own and found the love of her life… Well, Crash Landing on You gives us something very similar, except our leading lady ends up in North Korea. Yes, North Korea! Good God, how does one even manage that? Yoon Se-ri (Son Ye-jin), a wealthy South Korean businesswoman, goes paragliding and gets caught in a storm, and if that sounds dreadful to you, wait till you hear that she lands on the wrong side of one of the world’s most guarded borders.
And who comes to her rescue? Ri Jeong-hyeok, a North Korean army captain who decides to hide her rather than turn her over to the authorities. A rather risky decision, we must say, but wait, it gets worse, because the two start falling for each other. And that’s where the Outlander connection comes in, because watching two people fall head over heels when the whole world seems determined to keep them apart is the exact sort of romantic torture we’ve come to love. Yay, more heartbreak for the collection!
The Empress (2022-)
Ah, quite along the lines of Outlander, we land on The Empress. Marrying an emperor sounds like a dream. Gorgeous palaces, servants waiting on your hand and foot, an entire mansion – what more could a girl want? Well, The Empress is here to tell us that royal life isn’t all sunshine and roses, especially when everyone, and especially their mother, has an opinion about how you should behave. Set in 19th-century Austria, this German drama follows Elisabeth, a rebellious Bavarian duchess who catches the eye of Emperor Franz Joseph, except there is one tiny problem: he is supposed to marry her older sister Helene.
And things don’t get much better once Elisabeth arrives at the Viennese court, because waiting for her is her mother-in-law Sophie, a woman who seems to take independent thinking as a personal insult. Moreover, there is political unrest and a husband torn between his duties and his wife, and there is your Outlander replacement.
Vikings: Valhalla (2022-2024)
This show is for those who didn’t watch Outlander just for romance. Vikings: Valhalla is for the fans of the bloody battles and the political backstabbing. Set about a century after the original Vikings, the series follows Leif Eriksson, his sister Freydis and Harald Sigurdsson as tensions between the Vikings and the English reach boiling point.
Leif gets caught up in the battle for England while Freydis has her hands full dealing with her pagan beliefs and the growing influence of Christianity. And Harald has decided that becoming king of Norway is the only way to go. Quite ambitious, we must say! And yes, before you ask, there is romance too, especially between Harald and Freydis, but don’t expect the lovey-dovey kind. They’ve got kingdoms to conquer and enemies to fight. Pfft, they can do only so much.
Alchemy of Souls (2022-2023)
If the idea of Claire Fraser can touch a bunch of standing stones and end up 200 years in the past, then a bit of magic shouldn’t be too much for you. Alchemy of Souls takes us to the fictional Korean kingdom of Daeho, where people can transfer their souls into other bodies. Sounds like a recipe for disaster, eh? We enter the life of Naksu, a feared assassin who uses this forbidden magic to escape her enemies, only to find herself trapped in the body of Mu-deok, a young woman with very little physical strength.
Then along comes Jang Uk, a nobleman’s son desperate to unlock his magical powers, who discovers that Mu-deok might be able to help him. She agrees to train him while posing as his servant, and yes, the feelings do get involved. Much like Outlander, this series puts them through one ordeal after another, and just when you think they might get a moment of peace, another disaster is ready to present itself.