The History Man

The History Man

Adapted from the novel by Malcolm Bradbury

Limited Series 1981 · 4 eps · ★ 4.1 · Drama

Ended

The History Man is a four-part 1981 British television drama miniseries written by Christopher Hampton, based on Malcolm Bradbury's 1975 novel of the same title. Ardently left-wing, or so it seems, Howard Kirk subtly extends his power over students and colleagues alike at a redbrick university.

Created by Christopher Hampton

Network: BBC Two

Your Rating

Cast

Antony Sher Professor Howard Kirk
Geraldine James Barbara Kirk
Jonathan Bruton Martin Kirk
Charlotte Enderby Celia Kirk
Isla Blair Flora Beniform
Laura Davenport Annie Callendar
Paul Brooke Henry Beamish
Veronica Quilligan Felicity Phee
Maggie Steed Myra Beamish
Zienia Merton Miss Ho
Julia Swift Becky Pott
Lloyd Peters Michael Bernard

More from Christopher HamptonSee all →

Sunset Boulevard in Concert

Sunset Boulevard in Concert · 2020

Sunset Boulevard in Concert

MovieDramaRomance

Set over a turbulent New Year’s Eve in 1940s Hollywood, Sunset Boulevard is a compelling story of romance and obsession. Directed by Nikolai Foster, the performance features Ria Jones reprising her role as silent-screen goddess Norma Desmond, with Danny Mac returning as penniless screen writer Joe Gillis.

The Father

The Father · 2020

A man refuses all assistance from his daughter as he ages and, as he tries to make sense of his changing circumstances, he begins to doubt his loved ones, his own mind and even the fabric of his reality.

Atonement

Atonement · 2007

MovieDramaRomance

A young girl irrevocably changes the course of several lives when she accuses her older sister's lover of a crime he did not commit.

Dangerous Liaisons

Dangerous Liaisons · 1988

Dangerous Liaisons

MovieDramaRomance

In 18th century France, Marquise de Merteuil asks her ex-lover Vicomte de Valmont to seduce the future wife of another ex-lover of hers in return for one last night with her. Yet things don’t go as planned.

Screen Two

Screen Two · 1985

Series of single made-for-television dramas.

BBC2 Play of the Week

BBC2 Play of the Week · 1977

BBC2 Play of the Week

SeriesDramaComedy

An anthology of plays and novels adapted into feature length TV movies, broadcast on BBC2 from September 1977 to April 1979.

The Son

The Son · 2022

A successful lawyer, with a new wife and infant, agrees to care for his teenage son from a previous marriage after his ex-wife becomes concerned about the boy's wayward behavior.

The Quiet American

The Quiet American · 2002

The Quiet American

MovieRomanceThriller

Cynical British journalist Fowler falls in love with a young Vietnamese woman but is dismayed when a naïve U.S. official also begins vying for her attention. In retaliation, Fowler informs the communists that the American is selling arms to their enemy.

The Thirteenth Tale

The Thirteenth Tale · 2013

The Thirteenth Tale

MovieTV MovieDrama

Biographer Margaret Lea travels to the isolated rural mansion of the famous writer Vida Winter, who asks her to write her biography. Although initially she is reluctant, as Vida is known for constantly distorting the facts of her life, Margaret soon becomes fascinated with the story of a dark childhood, a disturbing tale that leads her to finally confront the traumas of her own past.

Ali and Nino

Ali and Nino · 2016

MovieDramaRomance

Muslim prince Ali and Georgian aristocrat Nino have grown up in the Russian province of Azerbaijan. Their tragic love story sees the outbreak of the First World War and the world’s struggle for Baku’s oil. Ultimately they must choose to fight for their country’s independence or for each other.

Total Eclipse

Total Eclipse · 1995

MovieDramaRomance

Young, wild poet Arthur Rimbaud and his mentor Paul Verlaine engage in a fierce, forbidden romance while feeling the effects of a hellish artistic lifestyle.

A Dangerous Method

A Dangerous Method · 2011

A Dangerous Method

Seduced by the challenge of an impossible case, the driven Dr. Carl Jung takes the unbalanced yet beautiful Sabina Spielrein as his patient. Jung’s weapon is the method of his master, the renowned Sigmund Freud. Both men fall under Sabina’s spell.

Performance

Performance · 1991

An anthology series of various plays and dramatic performances.

Carrington

Carrington · 1995

MovieHistoryDrama

Painter Dora Carrington develops an intimate but extremely complex bond with writer Lytton Strachey. Though Lytton is a homosexual, he is enchanted by the mysterious Dora and they begin a lifelong friendship that has strangely romantic undertones. Eventually, Lytton and Dora decide to live together, despite the fact that the latter has fallen in love with military man Ralph Partridge, whom she plans to marry.

Adoration

Adoration · 2013

Lil and Roz are two lifelong friends, having grown up together as neighbors in an idyllic beach town. As adults, their sons have developed a friendship as strong as that which binds their mothers. One summer, all four are confronted by simmering emotions that have been mounting between them, and each find unexpected happiness in relationships that cross the bounds of convention.

Chéri

MovieDramaComedy

The son of a courtesan retreats into a fantasy world after being forced to end his relationship with the older woman who educated him in the ways of love.

More Like This

Somos.

The lives of the people of Allende, a Mexican border town, are overtaken by a powerful cartel's operations, leading to tragedy. Inspired by true events.

Anne Boleyn

Anne Boleyn · 2021

The final months of Anne Boleyn's life, her struggle with Tudor England's patriarchal society, her desire to secure a future for her daughter, Elizabeth, and the brutal reality of her failure to provide Henry with a male heir.

Miss Austen

Miss Austen · 2025

Miss Austen takes a literary mystery – Cassandra Austen notoriously burning her famous sister Jane’s letters – and reimagines it as a fascinating, witty and heart-breaking story of sisterly love, while creating in Cassandra a character as captivating as any Austen heroine.

Nolly

Exploring the rise and fall of one of the most famous faces on British television in the 60s and 70s: Noele Gordon (or Nolly to her friends).

Perfect Love

Perfect Love · 2023

SeriesSoapDrama

A story about love and its different manifestations, told through the little boy Marcelino in search of his biggest dream: to meet his mother. Inspired by a famous book, the plot takes place in the 1940s.

M*A*S*H

M*A*S*H · 1972

SeriesWar & PoliticsDrama

The 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital is stuck in the middle of the Korean war. With little help from the circumstances they find themselves in, they are forced to make their own fun. Fond of practical jokes and revenge, the doctors, nurses, administrators, and soldiers often find ways of making wartime life bearable.

Space Race

Space Race · 2005

SeriesDocumentaryDrama

The untold true story behind the Cold War race to put man into space.

The Lost World

The Lost World · 1999

SeriesAction & AdventureDrama

Early 20th-century adventurers find themselves fighting for survival after their hot-air balloon crashes into a remote part of the Amazon, stranding them on a prehistoric plateau.

Restless

Restless · 2012

SeriesDramaWar & Politics

A young woman finds out that her mother worked as a spy for the British Secret Service during World War II and has been on the run ever since.

How is it so far?

Your ratings make Midnight smarter