A growing number of modern period dramas set in Europe are presenting royal courts and aristocratic families with multiracial casts. These productions are marketed as historical or historically inspired, yet they portray a version of Europe that never existed. This trend is misleading, especially for younger audiences who may not know the real history of European societies. Moreover, it is an attempt to degrade European (white) society and exalts interracial dating and marriage. But isn’t that the point – separate white people from their past, from their heritage?

Below is a list of the most prominent shows that use this approach, along with a description of what each show is and how it alters historical reality.

Bridgerton (Netflix)

Bridgerton is a Regency era drama set in the early 1800s among the English aristocracy. The show presents dukes, duchesses, and high ranking nobles as racially diverse, even though the historical British upper class of that period was not. The series is visually impressive, but it creates a fictional version of England that may cause viewers to believe that multiracial noble families were common in that era.

Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (Netflix)

This prequel expands the same alternate universe. It portrays the British royal court with racial diversity that did not exist in the historical record. The show claims to be inspired by real history, yet it presents a reimagined monarchy that contradicts documented facts about the period.

The Empress (Netflix)

The Empress tells the story of Elisabeth of Austria, one of the most famous royal figures of the nineteenth century. While the show is less extreme than Bridgerton, it still uses casting choices that do not match the ethnic makeup of the Austrian court. The result is a softened version of history that blends modern sensibilities with a real European monarchy.

Marie Antoinette (BBC and PBS, often streamed on Netflix internationally)

This series dramatizes the life of the French queen. It includes casting choices that depart from historical norms and presents a stylized version of the French court. Although the show is visually striking, it does not accurately reflect the people who lived in Versailles during the eighteenth century.

The Great (Hulu)

The Great is a satirical drama about Catherine the Great of Russia. It intentionally uses anachronistic casting and modern attitudes. Although the show is openly comedic, many viewers still take its imagery as historical, which can distort understanding of Russia’s past.

Anne Boleyn (Channel 5, UK)

This production cast a Black actress as Anne Boleyn, the English queen executed by Henry VIII. The show presents itself as a serious historical drama, yet it rewrites the appearance of one of the most documented figures in Tudor history. This is often cited as one of the clearest examples of modern ideological casting in a European royal story.

The Spanish Princess (Starz)

This Tudor era drama includes casting choices that do not strictly match historical ethnic backgrounds. While the story is based on real events, the casting creates a version of the English court that differs from the historical record. At least they don’t portray Catherine of Aragon as a mixed-race Mestiza.

These programs are historically inaccurate in the least, but more importantly blatantly anti-white

These shows are not simply creative reinterpretations. They are marketed as historical dramas, and they use real names, real monarchies, real locations, and real political events. When the casting does not match the historical population, it creates a false impression of what Europe looked like.

Young viewers often learn their first impressions of history from television. If they see multiracial royal families in eighteenth-century France or nineteenth-century Austria, they may assume that this was normal for the period. It was not. These shows present a version of Europe that is historically inaccurate and culturally misleading.

Hollywood has every right to create fantasy worlds. The problem arises when fantasy is presented as history. Europe’s royal courts were not multiracial. Rewriting them for modern woke political messaging misrepresents the past and risks confusing viewers who trust these productions to be accurate.