Best movies & TV Shows like Ken Follett's Journey Into the Dark Ages

A look at thrillers from all sides, including different types of thrillers and the stylistic tools filmmakers use to give their audiences a shot of adrenaline.

A sweeping epic of good and evil, treachery and intrigue, violence and beauty, a sensuous, spirited story set against a backdrop of war, religious strife and power struggles in 12th Century England.

Dramatic documentary about the birth of the American Republic and the struggle of a loosely connected group of states to become a nation.

Secret History was a long-running British television documentary series. Shown on Channel 4, the Secret History brandname was used as a banner title in the UK, but many of the individual documentaries can still be found on US cable channels without the branding. It can be seen as Channel 4's answer to the BBC's Timewatch.

Cowboys and Outlaws is a documentary series on The History Channel that details key figures and events in the history of the American West in the latter half of the 19th century. It uses dramatic reenactments, historian interviews and forensic evidence to highlight famous figures such as Billy the Kid, Wyatt Earp and Tom Horn. It also covers historical events such as the first drive along the Goodnight-Loving Trail and the transformation of Abilene, Kansas from a small settlement into a major cattle town. As of February, 2010, only six episodes have aired. A DVD collection was released on January 26, 2010.

A heart-wrenching journey through Titanic's last moments, featuring both fictional and historical characters, ranging from steerage passengers and crew to upper class guests and staff.

Privates is a 2013 BBC One drama television series set in 1960 which follows the stories of eight privates who are part of the last intake of National Service, and their relationships with their officers and non-commissioned officers, civilian staff and families. The series was written by Damian Wayling, directed by Bryn Higgins and produced by Nick Pitt. The setting is the fictional North Yorkshire Regiment, although for dramatic effect the characters are from a variety of backgrounds including London, Liverpool, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Filmed in Northern Ireland, extras were provided by soldiers, wives and families of 2nd Battalion, The Rifles. Locations were Ballykinler Army Base, Tyrella Beach, South Promenade Newcastle.

The Bible is both a religious and historical work, but how much is myth and how much is history?

The series covers the life and work of leading science fiction authors of the last couple of centuries. It depicts how they predicted and, accordingly, influenced the development of scientific advancements by inspiring many readers to assist in transforming those futuristic visions into everyday reality.

The best known and most notorious PoW camp in history is Colditz, an 18th century castle in eastern Germany. With its imposing walls, steep cliffs, and rigorous policing, it was seen as the ultimate prison, home to the worst troublemakers from allied PoW camps all over Europe. Using archive material and dramatic reconstruction, and the personal testimony of Colditz veterans, this series documents the creative and often spectacular attempts to go over, under, around or through the walls. A specially commissioned archaeologist, working with the veterans, also uncovers the secret rooms, hidden tunnels and concealed doors that were so important in securing each precious escape from Colditz. At the start of 1942, British prisoners were lagging behind the French and Dutch in terms of "home runs" but the British success rate was about to improve, as they were getting help from a new source.

The mini-series follows the construction and history of the famous Adlon hotel in Berlin, as seen through the eyes of Sonja Schadt, the youngest member of the wealthy fictional Schadt family who are friends with the Adlons.

Dan Snow examines how the Allied Forces planned and executed the D-Day landings, as surviving veterans tell the story of one of the most dramatic military operations in history.

Jamie Theakston uncovers the startling truth behind great myths, historical legends, conspiracy theories, ancient treasures, lost civilisations and war time secrets.

Investigates what happens when a series of natural and human events catastrophically coincide to change the course of history.

In this two part special, best-selling author Ben Macintyre explores Kim Philby, the most famous double agent in history.

Take a journey back in time and immerse yourself in a 150-year-old battle that nearly split our nation in two. This three-part series explores famous and little known aspects of the Civil War, from the perspectives of the Union, the Confederacy and the millions of enslaved people struggling for freedom. Hosted by Ashley Judd, Trace Adkins, and Dennis Haysbert, all of whom had ancestors greatly affected by the war, this series delivers fresh insights and untold tales, brought to life through dramatic recreations and the Smithsonian Institution's vast collection of artifacts.

72 Hours: True Crime focuses on crime, specifically on the first 72 hours after a crime is committed, a critical time period for solving it. Rather than focus on fictional crimes, as do Law & Order and other TV shows elsewhere, True Crime depicted actual crimes that occurred throughout Canada, using dramatic reenactments and documentary-style footage of crime scenes.

A docudrama telling the story of the events that unfolded when a Scottish army led by Robert Bruce tried to drive the English out of Ireland 700 years ago.

Three-part documentary about the sinking of the Spanish Armada, featuring dramatic reconstructions and information gleaned from recently recovered documents. Dan Snow takes to the sea to tell the story of how England came within a whisker of disaster in summer 1588.

The medieval period gave us some of the greatest, most enduring stories in history. Some are of them were real – some are altered into pure Legend. These legends usually had somebody doing villainous deeds. The even greater thing is that most of these were surrounded in mystery or conspiracy. Medieval Murder Mysteries uses modern thinking from historical police criminology combined with forensics and human osteologists blended with current historical ideas to try and solve what really happened all those years ago. Magnificent castles, chivalrous knights, powerful kings and queens? You’ll have them. Also require dark deeds, illicit lovers, greedy nobles, mad cardinals? Look no further. They’re all here.

From executive producers Kevin Spacey and Dana Brunetti, CNN Original Series "Race for the White House" captures the drama of how a high-stakes presidential election can turn on a single issue and so much more.

Adaptation of the novels written by Georges Simenon featuring his fictional French police commissioner Jules Maigret.

This stylish mix of documentary and historical epic chronicles the reign of Commodus, the emperor whose rule marked the beginning of Rome's fall.

In an ambitious and groundbreaking approach to drama and history featuring dramatic reconstruction, historian Lucy Worsley time travels back to the Tudor Court to witness some of the most dramatic moments in the lives of Henry VIII's six wives.

This documentary drama series tells the story of the Thirty Years War from the perspective of the people who experienced it: like the soldier Peter Hagendorf, the "Winter Queen" Elisabeth Stuart, the famous artist Peter Paul Rubens and the "Grey Eminence" Father Joseph. This visual memory of the 17th century forms the 'archive footage' in the series. Combined with vivid drama and contributions from international experts, the series builds a bridge between "now" and "then" enabling viewers to experience what it was like to live through the Thirty Years' War.

When social upheaval sweeps Russia in the early 20th century, Czar Nicholas II resists change, sparking a revolution and ending a dynasty.

The personal stories behind eight cases of wrongful conviction that the Innocence Project and organizations within the Innocence Network have worked to highlight and overturn.

Little animals embark on big adventures across the U.S. in a dramatic nature series that explores their hidden worlds and epic survival stories.

The visionary work and the turbulent life of Ernest Hemingway, one of the greatest and most influential writers America has ever produced. Interweaving his eventful biography with carefully selected excerpts from his iconic short stories, novels, and non-fiction, the series reveals the brilliant, ambitious, charismatic, and complicated man behind the myth, and the art he created.

In December 1985, Alison Day disappeared after getting off a train at Hackney Wick station. Over the next six months, two more women would be snatched at stations in the South East. Rumours began to circulate that a serial killer was stalking the railways, and that he was linked to a series of sex attacks across London, going back years. But who was he? And could there be any truth in the rumour that there was a team of killers, working together? It took another fourteen years for the police to close the case on the so-called ‘Railway Killers’. It was a case that completely rewrote our understanding of murderers, and how to catch them. Through dramatic reconstruction and testimony from police officers, and the victims’ friends, The Railway Killers reveals every twist and turn in the case. Across three episodes this landmark series explores the devastating impact of these crimes, as well as the shocking revelation of the killers’ identities.

Comedian Nick Helm narrates this bold new documentary series exploring the dramatic history of British cinema. Discover how cinema held a mirror up to society from 1960 through to the 00s.

Royal Autopsy investigates the cause of death of two of Britain’s most famous monarchs: Queen Elizabeth I and King Charles II, in an entirely new and realistic way. Professor Alice Roberts will bring together a blend of historical and medical expertise and by using contemporaneous accounts and documents piece together how and why these monarchs died.

This true-crime series details the fascination with Christina Boyer. Boyer became a household name for her telekinesis as a teenager and the alleged murder of her own infant daughter in Boyer’s early 20s, a crime she maintains she did not commit. The series details the unlikely band of amateur sleuths obsessed with setting her free.

Based on real events, this dramatic mini-series follows the experiences of the fictional Alvaro family who are a part of a Canadian community during World War Two that attempts to come to terms with events over which they have no control.