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We need to talk about historians for a moment.
Now, I’m a dweeb. That means I like reading big heavy books about 1920s politicians and watching history docs about ancient tomb recovery efforts. It’s my thing. It makes me happy. It’s what I do for fun. So believe me when I say that history presenters used to be really old professor types who wore three-piece suits and spoke in posh accents about Winston Churchill’s bravery.
Now, historians are suddenly “cool.” They’re handsome men with square jaws obsessed with the marvels of Roman engineering and beautiful ladies ecstatic to recount the gory details of Victorian murder scenes. This new wave of historians is fun, charming, and really, really good-looking.
So I want to shine a light on these historian hotties. By my measure there are at least seven stone cold foxes working in the high class historical docu-series genre today, and that number keeps growing. Some of these guys are buff dudes in love with leather jackets, and some of them are stylish vixens who can dress down any Plantagenet king with a thorough knowledge of primary source material. Oh, and one of them is Robocop. (I’m serious.)
Here are the 7 “hottest” history presenters on TV. (We’re not going to actually rank them, though, because attractiveness is a fluid concept predetermined by the societal values of a specific time period.)
Darius Arya, aka That Square-Jawed Dude Obsessed With Roman Architecture
The first time I saw Darius Arya was in History Channel’s Barbarians Rising. Arya was one of the few people interviewed who actually seemed to know something of the history he was there to talk about. (Why was a guy from Shark Tank talking about Spartacus? I still don’t know, and I shake my head.) But the first time I really *noticed* Darius Arya was in PBS’s new three-part series Ancient Invisible Cities. Arya uses a mix of modern tech and ancient primary sources to bring us back to places like the Acropolis and the Roman towers in Egyptian Babylon. Arya also gets in on the action, climbing through a tight Roman aqueduct in superhero-style. He is also, as you can see, a handsome dude.
Suzannah Lipscomb, aka That Pretty Lady Who Knows Exactly What Would Have Killed You In Any Given Time Period
Aesthetically speaking, Suzannah Lipscomb is an ethereal beauty with golden ringlets that remind you of a fairy princess. Intellectually speaking, Suzannah Lipscomb is a stone cold badass. Lipscomb broke into TV broadcasting as an expert on Tudor history, specifically the relationship between Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. She’s appeared on a bunch of different documentaries about the couple’s relationship, but the most swoon-worthy one is her own, Henry and Anne: The Lovers Who Changed History. However, lately, Lipscomb has been devoting her energies to something a little darker: she’s the host of an on-going series called Hidden Killers of the Edwardian and Victorian Home. It looks at all the secret dangers in historical houses that, uh, could kill you.
Watch Hidden Killers of the Edwardian and Victorian Home on Prime Video
Lucy Worsley, aka That Cool Chick Who Always Dresses Up Like Her Subjects
It’s hard to pinpoint what exactly Lucy Worsley’s area of expertise is because she seemingly can do it all. She’s hosted great series on the history of Russia, the wives of Henry VIII, Mozart’s early years in London, and how we became obsessed with true crime. The one thing Worsley is super known for is her “lewks.” Not only does Worsley have a distinct flare for fashion, but she is ready and willing to don historical costumes to help put you in the mindset of her subjects. (Personally, I just think she’s super rad and I have a big history nerd girl crush on her.)
Dan Jones, aka Leather Jacket Castle Man
Dan Jones is a heavily tattooed, leather jacket-wearing, Dunkirk survivor-hugging* hottie. Jones’s big historical hit stateside is probably the totally entertaining Secrets of Great British Castles, which boogied onto Netflix last year. The six-part series focuses on the history and architecture of some of the most important castles all over the British isles. Jones brings each era to life with passion and personality, always making sure to focus on the lives of the people who lived in each site.
*Yeah, he hugs a Dunkirk vet outside Dover Castle and gets verklempt. It’s awesome.
James Fox, aka The Elusive Art History Hottie
A couple years ago, a really cool BBC documentary series called Bright Lights, Brilliant Minds: A Tale of Three Cities popped onto Netflix and introduced me to dapper art historian James Fox. Instead of donning an Indiana Jones-like leather jacket, Fox wore trendy suits and focused on the artistic and intellectual revolutions that influenced world events. The series was great, but here’s my issue: I can no longer find it anywhere. Fox is like a hot historical ghost. I swear I’ve seen him, but now he’s nigh on impossible to pin down.
Keep your eyes peeled for this one…he may haunt us again with his riveting takes on the importance of Viennese coffee house culture.
Young Michael Wood, aka the Vintage Classic Hottie Historian
Years ago, a legend sauntered into history broadcasting. His name was Michael Wood and he hosted a series of documentaries for the BBC under the title of “In Search Of…” In many ways, Wood was the OG hot historian. He had an easy charming manner that made it easy to get excited about Erik the Red’s conquest of Britain. He’s also kept up with the times. In recent years, he’s looked at Chinese history and hunted down Shakespeare. Nevertheless, nothing can beat his vintage fare — where he kind of flirts with the camera — which you can find in bootleg form all over YouTube. (A personal fave is his epic In Search of Troy series, which is where I got that screenshot above.)
Peter Weller, aka Robocop
You might know Peter Weller as Robocop, but History Channel nerds like myself know him as the Engineering An Empire guy. A lot of docu-series like to pull in a celebrity presenter to give the subject matter some razzle dazzle, but Peter Weller is the real deal. He’s got a PhD in art history with a focus on Italian Renaissance Art History. (His masters covers Roman and Renaissance art.) You could almost say Robocop is a real Renaissance man…
Watch Engineering an Empire on the HISTORY Vault Amazon Channel
