From Wuthering Heights to Bridgerton, how did period dramas get so sexed-up?

by

Emerald Fennell’s new film adaptation of Wuthering Heights is expected to be highly sensual. Reports from test screenings last August described graphic scenes, including a public execution with sexual elements and a scene involving bondage and sexual activity with a horse.

Fennell, who wrote and directed the film, described it as a raw and sensual reimagining of Emily Brontë’s classic novel. The trailer, released in December and featuring unusual imagery like suggestive baking and a hand exploring the mouth of a dead fish, quickly earned the movie the nickname “50 Shades of Brontë”.

This show isn’t the first period drama to grab attention for its steamy scenes. Shows like Harlots, The Great, and Bridgerton have all recently offered similarly sensual takes on historical settings.

Compared to earlier adaptations like the BBC’s Sense and Sensibility (2008) and Pride and Prejudice (1995) – where a wet-shirted Colin Firth was considered the height of romance – period dramas today have become much more explicit. What caused this shift towards more sexual content?

According to Dr. Faye Woods, a Film and Television professor at the University of Reading, historical dramas have always included elements of passion and sensuality, even if those elements were considered shocking for the time. She notes that films like those produced by Gainsborough in the 1940s and the 1983 miniseries The Thorn Birds – famous for its scandalous romance involving a priest – were considered quite daring when they first came out.

She explains that there’s been a recent surge in depictions of sensuality – particularly from female and LGBTQ+ perspectives – on television, and historical dramas are now starting to reflect this trend.

As a fan, I was really intrigued to hear the director, Julie Ann Robinson, talk about wanting to show desire through a woman’s eyes. She explained that with Daphne, the main character in the first season, they really tried to explore her awakening and how she felt about the Duke. She told Deadline that it’s hard to talk about the ‘female gaze’ without also looking at power dynamics, and she wanted to tell Daphne’s story from her perspective, instead of just how he saw things. It was a really interesting approach!

Both the historical drama Harlots and the comedy The Great feature nudity and sexual themes, but they offer a unique perspective by focusing on the experiences of women. Harlots, created by an all-female team, aimed to portray events entirely from the perspective of the sex workers. Similarly, The Great, starring Elle Fanning as Catherine the Great, explores the young queen’s sexual and intellectual development within a prejudiced Russian court. Fanning has explained that sex is central to Catherine’s journey, representing her awakening as a woman.

Recently, shows like Gentleman Jack (2019-2022), based on the diaries of the real Anne Lister, and the film Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019), a romance set in the 1700s about a painter and her subject, have prominently featured the romantic lives and desires of queer women. The film even offers a clever look at how women are often depicted in art.

Although opinions on the movie are varied, one reviewer noted that this version of ‘Wuthering Heights’ focuses more on emotional impact than sensationalism. They also highlighted that the film clearly centers on female perspectives and desires, which is a refreshing approach.

According to Woods, the increasing sensuality in historical dramas is likely due to the growing trend of adapting romance novels for the screen. A recent example is ‘Heated Rivalry,’ based on the second book in Rachel Reid’s ‘Game Changers’ series, which showcases a different side of romance by focusing on a gay relationship.

As a huge fan of period dramas, I’ve noticed a trend: shows like Bridgerton, Outlander, and Poldark all started as romance novels. These aren’t exactly accurate historical accounts, though! They’re more like fantastical, heightened versions of the past, and definitely include a lot more passion and intimacy than you’d find in books actually from those time periods. The creator of Bridgerton, Chris Van Dusen, has even said they intentionally embraced the steamy side of Julia Quinn’s Regency-era novels. They were excited to really explore the sensuality and sexuality from the very beginning, and honestly, that’s part of what makes them so enjoyable!

Why are movie and TV adaptations of classic books often filled with more sexual content than the original stories? Jeremy Strong, a professor of Literature and Film at the University of West London, explains that these adaptations aren’t just changed once – they’re constantly reinterpreted. This happens roughly every generation, or about every 20 to 25 years.

Each new version of a story needs to strike a balance: it should give us elements we recognize – like familiar scenes or plot points – while also offering something fresh. This freshness can come from things like exciting casting choices, such as announcing Margot Robbie will play Cathy, or by adding more mature themes.

He points to the 1995 film Pride and Prejudice as a good example, noting it mostly stays true to Austen’s book except for the well-known lake scene, which added some romantic tension to appeal to its contemporary audience.

He explains that with classic stories, we can develop new perspectives by comparing different adaptations and discussing their themes. These adaptations often reflect the issues and anxieties of the time they were made, sometimes even more than the original story’s historical context.

When romance novels are adapted for the screen, like in Bridgerton, the sex scenes often don’t cause much controversy, even if they aren’t historically accurate. According to Woods, this is because the genre isn’t meant to perfectly recreate the past. The same generally applies to adaptations of neo-Victorian novels or period dramas that aren’t based on specific books, but rather on general historical periods and people.

Conversely, adaptations of literary texts are more likely to make audiences “twitchy”, Strong says.

This is especially true with Fennell’s adaptation of Wuthering Heights, which has been criticized for being overly sexual and for reimagining Brontë’s novel with a strong emphasis on sex. Brontë’s original, written during the Victorian era, was more of a tragic story about ill-fated love and didn’t include any explicit sexual content.

When Wuthering Heights was first published in 1847, it shocked many critics, who considered it disturbing and immoral. As Strong explains, the character of Heathcliff was particularly shocking for readers of the time, and it’s hard for us now to fully understand that initial reaction.

Emerald Fennell has explained her choices in adapting the story, saying she aimed to capture the original book’s shocking and unsettling qualities. In an interview with the BBC, she said she wanted to recreate the strong emotional impact she felt when she first read it. She also pointed out the book contains significant elements of sadomasochism and that its initial publication caused a strong reaction for a reason.

According to Strong, reimagining a classic isn’t destructive. He explains that Fennell’s version of Wuthering Heights is exactly what we should anticipate and can be genuinely enjoyable—it’s her interpretation. It’s a Wuthering Heights, but not the definitive one, much like the 1996 stage musical starring Cliff Richard, which also took liberties with the original story to add new details about Heathcliff.

As a movie lover, I always feel like if a film isn’t bringing something new or exciting to the table, what’s the point of making it? It’s gotta have a reason to exist, you know? Otherwise, why bother?

Want to see this content?

We can’t display this content because of a security check from Google reCAPTCHA. To see it, please sign out of your Contentpass account.

Wuthering Heights will be released in cinemas on Friday 13 February 2026.

Authors

Molly MossTrends Writer

As a total movie and TV buff, I always keep an eye on who’s writing about the stuff I love, and I recently came across Molly Moss. She’s a Trends Writer at TopMob, which basically means she’s on top of everything new and exciting in the world of entertainment. She’s clearly a pro – she’s got a Master’s degree in journalism and has written for some really big names like The Guardian, The Times, and The Sun Online. It’s good to know someone with that kind of background is covering the things we’re all watching!

  • Visit us on Twitter

Read More

2026-02-13 10:06