11 Best Shows Like Alias Grace That You Need Watching Update 04/2024

Shows Like Alias Grace

If you enjoyed Alias Grace, here are  more shows to check out (According To Reddit & More)

This list of recommended series is perfect for fans of historical dramas like Alias Grace who enjoy similar themes and/or plots.

The Netflix mini-series, Alias Grace, is a must-see for fans of period pieces, social issues, and psychology. An Irish immigrant girl convicted of killing her boss and his housekeeper, Grace Marks, is put away. In order to prevent her execution, Dr. Simon Jordan, a young psychiatrist, is assigned to evaluate her. As Jordan deconstructs Mark’s version of events leading up to the murders, the lines between fact and fiction start to blur.

Doctor Jordan tries to prove that Grace isn’t a murderer in this series based on Margaret Atwood’s novel, which explores trauma, scandal, and unnatural psychology. If you enjoyed the mini-series, there are a slew of other options on the internet (including Reddit).

1. The Handmaid’s Tale

The Handmaid's Tale

A young woman named Offred lives in the totalitarian society of Gilead in Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel. This series is based on her story. Fertile women are forced to bear children for those who can’t because of environmental catastrophes and a low birth rate.

It was recommended by Reddit user katr0328 as a “obvious” choice for people looking for shows like Alias Grace or The 100-style drama. Both films are inspired by Margaret Atwood’s work and deal with issues related to women in a culture that devalues them.

2. Murdoch Mysteries

During the late 19th and early 20th century, the adventures of Detective William Murdoch in Ontario are chronicled in this popular Canadian mystery series. He’s well-known for cracking cases with cutting-edge technology. After 12 seasons, Redditor Truthisnotallowed says the show is still going strong (now 14).

Like Alias Grace, this is a period drama set in the 1930s or 1940s. They also feature characters who use methods to solve a problem that were not known at the time (advanced psychology and science).

3. The Bletchley Circle

The Bletchley Circle

In World War II, four female codebreakers work at the British military’s Bletchley Park complex. They begin their own investigations after becoming dissatisfied with the way the local police handle crimes.

According to Reddit userTruthisnotallowed, the series is “slightly more serious – and disturbing – but excellent.” It’s a period piece, like Alias Grace, but set in the mid-20th century, and it follows women as they prove their intelligence and depth in a deeply patriarchal society.

4. Foyle’s War

The “best of the best” and a “must-see […] for all murdery mystery fans,” this is the crowning achievement of Reddit userTruthisnotallowed’s picks. For much of WWII and the Cold War, the show follows Scotland Yard’s Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle as he works to solve crimes. He’s up against a lot of things, like the British army and intelligence.

In bothFoyle’s War andAlias Grace, historical fiction is used to educate the audience about the eras they are reading about. Additionally, they revolve around ideas of fairness and equity.

5. Bomb Girls

Bomb Girls

The lives of four women who worked in a Canadian munitions factory during World War II are chronicled in Bomb Girls. The show focuses on their daily lives in the factory as well as the challenges they face as women during the war.

This period piece, which Reddit user KayBay17 calls “underrated,” provides historical context as well as insight into the courage and tenacity of women in the face of societal obstacles.

6. Harlots

Redditor KayBay17 proposed the idea of a show called Harlots, which chronicles the lives of brothel workers in mid-18th century London as they battle both evangelical Christianity and competition among brothels.

Both this series and Alias Grace are historical dramas that focus on the struggles of women trying to make a name for themselves in their respective patriarchal societies. Both shows are also based on current scandals and how they affect the women involved, both in the past and present.

7. Call The Midwife

Call The Midwife

Call The Midwife chronicles the struggles of post-World War II London midwives. It addresses a wide range of issues affecting women, such as reproductive health, abortion, and pregnancy, as well as poverty and incarceration.

Alias Grace also touches on the controversy and mistrust surrounding abortion and sexuality, contributing to the broader discussion of women and their place in society that both shows engage in. Everyone in the small town is forever changed as a result of the uproar.

8. Murder On The Homefront

During the London Blitz, a pathologist races to find a serial killer after several women are killed in this short British crime drama. To catch the criminal, he uses cutting-edge forensics and science (which were groundbreaking at the time). According to some reviews, it’s “sort of a cross between Foyle’s War and Silent Witness.”

As a time capsule from a turbulent era in history, this novel provides valuable context.

For the same reason as Alias Grace, it introduces concepts that are different from what was previously accepted for the time period, and it begs the question of whether or not these new concepts have a price attached to them.

9. Picnic At Hanging Rock

Call The Midwife

Following the disappearance and aftermath of three young students from an elite private school in Australia in 1900, this mini-series is based on a novel and film. It delves into the concepts of deception, fear, and loss.

Another theme explored in Alias Grace is that of conspiracy and suspicion, particularly in relation to young Grace Marks and her motivations for becoming a serial killer. Dr. Jordan’s struggle with Grace’s case is also an opportunity to explore grief in Dr. Jordan’s life.

10. The Red Tent

The Red Tent, based on the life of Leah and Jacob’s daughter Dinah in the Old Testament, is one of Taste Dive’s recommended reads, along with Alias Grace. Her tribe has a long-standing custom known as “the Red Tent” for menstruating women who want to keep their pagan beliefs hidden from their Israeli forefathers.

This is a period piece that also deals with women’s issues and scandals involving beliefs that defy the established order. This is similar to Dr. Jordan’s research in psychiatry.

11. Alias Grace (2017)

Alias Grace (2017)

Based on the true story of Grace Marks, an Irish immigrant and housemaid who was wrongly accused of the murder of her employer Thomas Kinnear in 1843 and spent the rest of her life in prison. Grace denies knowing whodunit, but the evidence points to her as the prime suspect. Dr. Simon Jordan tries to help Grace remember her past ten years later.