7 Shows to Watch After Finishing Downton Abbey

If you haven't already binge-watched your way through the sixth season of Downton Abbey on iTunes, you're well aware we're in the homestretch to the finale of the show this side of the pond. PBS was clear and this is the last season for the Crawley/Grantham gang, and it is over.

That's right; I paid cash money to watch the whole damn thing in one afternoon and now I am left with an affected British accent I cannot shake. Also spoiler alert: everyone is eaten by vampires.

If you enjoy speaking in upper-crust tones and aren't quite ready to face anything before 1960, here are some great British period shows to watch after Downton Abbey says Cheerio!

The Paradise

Era: 1875

It's 1875 and Walmart is a lifetime and an ocean away. What's a girl to do? Easy — she moves to big city London and gets a job at the nation's one and only brand-new department store. Anyone who's ever worked retail will love this show because it shows us how people — and customers — are the same no matter the century. The show ends its run after two short seasons but it has great production values and an interesting cast, with catchy dialogue to keep you pressing "Next" through all 16 50-minute episodes.

Watch it on: PBS, Netflix

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North and South

Era: 1855

Margaret Hale is a Parson's daughter (isn't this how 65% of "Dear Penthouse" letters start?) She lives in southern England, and has a pretty good life (all things considered). But after her father leaves the clergy and moves the entire family to a small industrial town in Northern England, the few hours of geographic travel distance seems a world away from what she knew in the south. Here Margaret learns some hard lessons about gender and socio-economic status in a rapidly-changing Britain. It's the late 19th century so expect lots of coughing, dimly lit musty rooms, and death. Good times!

Watch it on: BBC, Netflix, iTunes

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Ripper Street

Era: 1889

Ripper Street stars David Matthew Macfadyen, who you may recognize as Fitzwilliam Darcy from Pride & Prejudice. Macfadyen is Detective Inspector Edmund Reid, working in London's east end. When the series begins it has been only six months since the last Jack the Ripper killing, and Reid sets course with an American ex-pat/army surgeon to find the killer terrorizing the poorest section of London. Reid and his wife have known their own set of troubles as well, after having lost a daughter to an accident shrouded in mystery.

The first three seasons are available on Netflix Canada, but it has been renewed for a fourth and fifth season by the BBC.

Think CSI London but set in Ye Oldey Times, and with substantially less "The Who" soundtrack.

Watch it on: BBC, Netflix, iTunes (you'll have to wait for fifth season)

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Mr. Selfridge

Era: 1910

Look! It's Ari Gold in a top hat!

Jeremy Piven — fresh from the Entourage set — plays an upscale department store owner in London. Wait; didn't I say that already in the slide about The Paradise? Yep; apparently department stores are fodder for tons o' fun in a TV show, especially when you get to fill clothing sections with bloomers that are actually, you know, real bloomers. Hijinks ensue as "brash American" Selfridge runs his fancy-pants storefront amongst the British upper-classes. A fish-out-of-water, stranger-in-a-strange-land story but with gorgeous sets and costumes.

Watch it on: PBS, Netflix

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Dancing on the Edge

Era: 1930

The shortest run of all shows here, Dancing on the Edge is comprised of only six episodes.

Pro: It's an easy weekend binge "lite."

Con: It's only six episodes.

You may need to get more binge-meat by watching a few extra Downton Abbey scenes from season five to satisfy your craving. Dancing on the Edge follows black jazz "Louis Lester Band" during its rise in 1930s London. It's an amazing cast, including band leader Chiwetel Ejiofor, Wunmi Mosaku, John Goodman, and Jacqueline Bisset. Music, politics, lots of drama surrounding all the crappy social "isms" of the day, and music. More of a mini-series than a full season, but award-nominated (Golden Globes), and worth tuning in for.

Watch it on: BBC, Netflix

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Land Girls

Era: 1940

The "Land Girls" are members of the Women's Land Army in Britain during World War Two. The three seasons chronicle the lives and adventures of four women who have all joined the army for different but equally as compelling reasons. They come together at Pasture Farm, a gorgeous British manor and estate presided over by Lord and Lady Hoxley. Land Girls was a daytime BBC venture, so it's soapy, but addictive.

Watch it on: BBC, Netlfix, iTunes

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Call the Midwife

Era: 1950

This one is gathering steam and gaining a cult following, likely due to a.) its awesomeness; b.) the fact that it's still in production.

Whereas as some of the other shows mentioned have run their course, Call the Midwife is currently available for three seasons on Netflix and the BBC is still filming (check iTunes for newer episodes.) The series is based on a best-selling novel of the same name and traces the 1950s to early 1960s experiences of a home-delivery midwife and her colleagues (nuns.) They work in a destitute and rough area of London's East End so think "stained blankets and 'sin'" moreso than "hearth-warmed delivery in a marital bed." It's eye-opening for midwife Jenny Lee (and us, the viewer) and often hard to imagine that this all takes place less than 60 years ago.

Watch it on: BBC, Netflix

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