History ArtisticLicenseHistory / LiveActionTV

* In ''Series/BabylonFive'' Captain Sheridan locates the UsefulNotes/JackTheRipper killings in London's West End instead of the East End. Creator/JMichaelStraczynski admits it was a typo and it was overdubbed in the DVD release.

* ''[[Series/Combat1962 Combat!]]'' (1962) was a television series depicting American G.I.'s fighting Germans in France during World War II. It lasted five seasons, although historically, after D-Day France was liberated in about four months, and Germany surrendered after less than a year. Total U.S. involvement in World War II was less than four years. Same goes for ''Series/{{MASH}}'' and ''Series/HogansHeroes'', both of which lasted longer than the wars they were set during.

* ''ArtisticLicense/{{Titanic|1996}}''

** The series used a ''very'' fringe theory that Queen Charlotte was black or at least multiracial as a jumping-off point for an AlternateHistory where black and brown people became accepted into Regency England's nobility (including the male lead in the first season, the Duke of Hastings), as a {{justified|Trope}} exampleof AdaptationalDiversity. The real Charlotte is well-known to have been an ethnic German from Mecklenburg, and although she was partly descended from ''North'' African nobility, it was almost certainly ethnic Berber or Arabic rather than sub-Saharan African -- and, moreover, was an ancestor she shared with a sizable number of other European royals!

* ''Series/{{Bridgerton}}'' used a ''very'' fringe theory that Queen Charlotte was black or at least multiracial as a jumping-off point for an AlternateHistory where black and brown people became accepted into Regency England's nobility (including the male lead in the first season, the Duke of Hastings). The real Charlotte is well-known to have been an ethnic German from Mecklenburg, and although she was partly descended from ''North'' African nobility, it was almost certainly ethnic Berber or Arabic rather than sub-Saharan African -- and, moreover, was an ancestor she shared with a sizable number of other European royals!

* ''Series/QuantumLeap'': Being a show all about history and time travel, the creators did their best to be accurate; however, there is one small slipup in the series finale "Mirror Image": while in a small west Pennsylvania town on August 8, 1953, Sam finds himself watching an episode of the kids' sci-fi TV series ''Captain Z-Ro''. While ''Captain Z-Ro'' did exist in 1953, it was not nationally syndicated until 1955, appearing only on a couple of West Coast TV stations before then.

* ''ArtisticLicense/TheCrown2016''

* ''Series/TheFirstLady'': The series acknowledges in a disclaimer before some episodes that artistic liberties have been taken. Probably the biggest examples was having Eleanor Roosevelt have an affair with Lorena "Hick" Hickok, a lesbian reporter friend of hers. Though many historians suspect they had a relationship, it's still not known with certainty what exactly happened (whether it was sexual at least-both had clear love for each other, as expressed in their many letters).

* ''Series/TheLastKingdom:''
** Unlike the books, the English weapons and tactics appear suspect since they carry rectangular shields instead of round ones like the Danes and Uhtred must explain shieldwall tactics to them. In reality, the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes came to England from roughly the same place as the Danes and had a very similar social and military culture. (In the novels, instead of teaching shieldwall tactics, Uhtred's Danish background gets him sent to Wessex's fledgling navy.)
*** In Season 4 in particular shield walls all but disappear on both sides in favour of the standard chaotic Hollywood melees, only being called on in the final battle as a means of ''halting'' the fighting.
** As in the books, Ubba is given the patronymic "Lothbroksson" as a son of the famous [[Literature/RagnarLothbrokAndHisSons Ragnar Lothbrok]] to [[OneSteveLimit avoid another]] "Ragnarsson".[[note]]Even though "Lothbrok" ("Shaggy Pants") is a personal epithet like "the Great" or "the Bald," rather than a proper name.[[/note]]
** [=Æ=]thelwold is a historical character, but he was only an infant when his father died, not the young man the series portrays him as.
** In Season 3, the final battle in which [[spoiler: [=Æ=]thelwold is killed is depicted as a great victory for Wessex. In reality, Edward retreated before the battle, the men of Kent disobeyed the order to follow, and in the ensuing fight the Danes were victorious but suffered heavy losses, including [=Æ=]thelwold, making it a PyrrhicVictory.]]
** The Cornish Britons receive an absolutely bizarre portrayal in Episode 1.6. They wear chalky face paint that seems to be styled after the Hindu tilaka. Their hairstyles and dress seem to be inspired by Central Asian peoples. Their soldiers wield Inuit fishing spears, Dacian falxes, Renaissance pikes, and crude wooden pitchforks. In terms of armour, they wear Early Roman ‘heart protector’ breastplates, which at this point would be nearly 1000 years out of date. Their shields are made of wicker, and have gigantic holes in the front of them, apart from some where the hole had been covered by a large bronze disc. In what seems to be a low-budget attempt at emulating scale armor, King Peredur wears a leather shirt sewn full of metal buttons, and also wields a late medieval longsword.
** Early in the series, nuns can be seen in the background of some scenes wearing giant ridiculous hats shaped like shoes, possibly a low-budget attempt at a bonnet. Later in the series when nuns show up in more prominent roles, their costumes are less egregious.
** In Season 4 we see Æthelred claiming to be the King of Mercia, whereas in RealLife he was only ever acknowledged as the Lord of the Mercians. In real life he was also older than his wife and appears to have submitted to Alfred's authority several years before he married his daughter.
** The Welsh in Season 4 also receive an odd treatment. They seem to be portrayed as faux Romans with red tunics and rectangular shields, but wear no Roman-like armor (this is likely based on the traditional belief that the Welsh preserved aspects of Roman culture long after the Romans left Britain). They also use the Saxon term ''Wēalas'' to refer to Wales, even among themselves, which they certainly wouldn't have called themselves. The closest Welsh terms they may have used would be ''Cymru'', ''Cymry'', or ''Kymry'', which are all modern names for Wales.
*** Uhtred also quips that they don't look like Christians because of their different apparence, as though Saxons were the only Christian people in Britain.
** Historically, Eahlswith died in 902, eight years before the Battle of Tettenhall, while in the series she's instrumental in the political maneuvering surrounding the campaign.
** Sitryggr is based on Sitric Cáech, a (possible) grandson of Ivar the Boneless who spent much of his life in Ireland (making him about as Irish as Finan), and later became King of Northumbria from 921 until his death in 927. However, while there's evidence that he didn't have a good relationship with Edward the Elder, there's no mention of him ever directly fighting a war against him like in the show (there is numismatic evidence of Sigtryggr having held territory south of the Humber, which would indicate a partial Norse reconquest of lands around 921 - 924 however), and he definitely did not capture Winchester. His reign in Northumbria was also immediately succeeded by another descendent of Ivar named Guthfrith, [[spoiler: whereas in the show Norse rule over Northumbria simply ceases to exist with his death.]]
** Some of the Scots in season 5 are shown wearing early kilts, a-la ''Braveheart'', which they wouldn't have for about 600 years.
** [[spoiler: There was no battle of Bebbanburg as shown in season 5, where Constantine II of Alba (Scotland) fights against Uhtred, Edward, and Stiorra's Jorvik Danes. The entire campaign primarily serves to finish Uhtred's story of finally reclaiming Bebbanburg. Constantine, however, ''did'' later ally with a Viking lord from Ireland and a Brittonic king to fight against Aethelstan.]]

* ''Series/QuantumLeap'': Being a show all about history and time travel, the creators did their best to be accurate; however, there is one small slipup in the series finale "Mirror Image": While in a small west Pennsylvania town on August 8, 1953, Sam finds himself watching an episode of the kids' sci-fi TV series ''Captain Z-Ro''. While ''Captain Z-Ro'' did exist in 1953, it was not nationally syndicated until 1955, appearing only on a couple of West Coast TV stations before then.

** "The Exile" features UsefulNotes/CharlesII attempting to assassinate UsefulNotes/OliverCromwell while the latter is attempting to sign a peace treaty with UsefulNotes/LouisXIV. The episode ends with [[spoiler:the main character convincing Louis to recognize Charles as the rightful King of England and reject Cromwell's treaty.]] In reality, Charles II and Louis XIV were cousins, and Charles spent most of his life in French courts due to the political problems in England, so there's no way they wouldn't have known each other.