For fans of period dramas, the wait between major releases can feel endless. But Belgravia: The Next Chapter offers a stylish alternative, combining forbidden romance, family secrets and the rigid social rules of Victorian London.
The MGM+ historical drama premiered on January 14, 2024, with new episodes released weekly on Sundays. Set in 1871, the eight-episode series is a sequel to the 2020 limited series Belgravia, continuing the story of the Trenchard family several decades after the events of the original.
The original Belgravia was based on Julian Fellowes’ novel, while The Next Chapter was created by Helen Edmundson and executive produced by Fellowes. The new story introduces a younger generation while retaining the franchise’s fascination with class, reputation, hidden family histories and social ambition.
A new generation, a familiar world of secrets
The original series explored the rise of the Trenchard family from the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars through the development of the fashionable Belgravia district in London.
The Next Chapter moves the story forward by roughly three decades.
At its center is Lord Frederick Trenchard, played by Benjamin Wainwright, a young aristocrat carrying a deeply troubling secret about his birth. Frederick has grown up believing he is part of the Trenchard family, unaware that his true parentage is connected to an affair between his mother Susan and John Bellasis.
That hidden history becomes particularly important because Frederick’s difficult childhood has left him insecure and emotionally vulnerable.
Then he meets Clara Dunn, played by Harriet Slater, a newcomer to London’s upper-class society.
Their attraction is immediate, and what begins as a passionate courtship quickly develops into marriage. But the couple’s happiness is tested by Frederick’s unresolved past and the secrets surrounding his family.
Clara enters London’s elite
Clara arrives in Belgravia from a very different social position.
She and her mother, Mrs. Dunn, find themselves entering a world dominated by wealth, status and strict expectations. Clara’s introduction to high society brings her into contact with people whose fortunes and reputations can determine the course of her future.
Her relationship with Frederick therefore carries more weight than a conventional period-drama romance.
They may fall in love quickly, but marriage places Clara directly inside the complicated world that Frederick has spent years trying to navigate.
The result is a relationship where romance and social pressure are constantly intertwined.
Harriet Slater and Benjamin Wainwright lead the cast
Slater and Wainwright carry the central romance as Clara and Frederick.
Their performances give the series an emotional center, particularly as the seemingly perfect courtship begins to encounter problems after marriage. Reviews have highlighted the chemistry between the two leads as one of the show’s strongest elements.
The supporting cast includes Edward Bluemel, Toby Regbo and Sophie Thompson, while Sophie Winkleman, also known as Lady Frederick Windsor, appears as the Duchess of Rochester.
Sophie Thompson plays Mrs. Dunn, adding another layer to Clara’s family story as the Dunns attempt to navigate London’s rigid social hierarchy.
More than a romance
Although Frederick and Clara’s relationship provides the emotional foundation, Belgravia: The Next Chapter is built around much more than courtship.
The series continues to explore the tensions created by class and wealth, while introducing new secrets and conflicts within the families surrounding the Trenchards.
Frederick’s concealed parentage is particularly important. His knowledge of — and eventual confrontation with — his family history helps explain some of the insecurity and emotional difficulties that affect his marriage.
The series therefore uses romance as an entry point into a larger story about identity, family expectations and the consequences of secrets that have been protected for years.
A Victorian world made for period-drama fans
Visually, the series embraces the pleasures that audiences expect from a lavish costume drama.
Elegant homes, formal gatherings, elaborate clothing and the carefully controlled manners of Victorian society provide the backdrop for relationships that are considerably less orderly beneath the surface.
That contrast is central to the appeal.
Behind the polished surroundings are unhappy marriages, family tensions, financial concerns and secrets capable of threatening carefully constructed reputations.
One review described the series as a “mild, pretty diversion,” while other critics have praised its production design, performances and traditional period-drama atmosphere.
You don’t need to remember everything from the original
For viewers who missed the 2020 Belgravia, the sequel is still relatively accessible.
The story moves into a new generation, with Frederick and Clara becoming the central figures rather than simply continuing the original characters’ storylines. The shift in time and cast allows the series to function as its own drama while retaining the world and family history established previously.
That makes it a potentially easy entry point for viewers who enjoy Victorian romances, aristocratic family dramas and stories built around long-buried secrets.
Is it worth watching?
If your ideal period drama involves elegant costumes, complicated families, forbidden secrets and a romance that quickly becomes much messier than expected, Belgravia: The Next Chapter offers plenty of familiar pleasures.
It is not trying to reinvent the genre. Instead, it leans into the elements that have made Julian Fellowes’ period dramas so recognizable: social hierarchy, family intrigue, romance, wealth and the consequences of protecting appearances.
The result is a polished Victorian drama with an emotionally complicated central marriage and enough secrets to keep the story moving.
For viewers waiting for the next big period-drama obsession, it provides an inviting escape into 1871 London, where falling in love may be easy — but keeping a family secret hidden is considerably harder.
