Wig Men
I had watched the first season of Wheel of Time and had liked it fine without being swept away (or induced to read the books); the second season, however, I find more and more compelling. Perhaps because it feels more unique and less generic in terms of epic quest fantasy? Also like now that the main characters are established, the narrative can delve into them and experiment more? Plus how can I not love that whoever did the casting managed to provide us with scenes where Rosamond Pike and the great Lindsay Duncan get to spark off one another.
Mind you: the part of the fantasy realm where Lindsay Duncan's character lives is clearly meant to evoke the 18th century pre-revolutionary Ancien Regime world (not exclusively France, but France being the one most people associate first), fashion and attitude wise.... for the women. Men are without make up and/or wigs once more, which reminds me of how Bridgerton: Queen Charlotte gave its male characters short hair, no wigs and of course not a powder box in sight. Now Bridgerton never marketed itself as concerned with historicity to begin with (putting an actual disclaimer to the contrary right at the start), and Wheel of Time is fantasy, but it did make me wonder which tv shows or movies which actually want to evoke the 18th century pre French Revolution in a manner that's supposed to feel authentic or at least plausible (thus The Great is right out) is ready to commit to at the very least wigs for the men, if not powder and make-up. Extra hard mode: for male characters not meant to be villains and/or unsympathetic.
(This means, for example, that The Favourite doesn't make the cut. I mean, I love the film, and it absolultely drown its male characters in wigs and make up, but The Favourite very consciously contrasts the hard coreness of its three female main characters with the pettiness and decadence of the men. The one male character who's not doing anything negative, Sarah's husband the Duke of Marlborough, is hardly around and just seen in glimpses at the end.)
Now, there is of course a very good reason why visual media tries to do without wigs, to wit, it's harder to tell characters apart if they wear them, and if this is an 18th century story, there's already the need for a lot of exposition. But still. There are some which manage. Even though I think one has to go back a few decades to find them. Amadeus, gloriously so not just but most definitely with Mozart himself. Seeing him without a wig is always a plot or characterisation point (he's composing, or finances are getting worse again, or he's sick), and in the scene where we see him try out different wigs, powder is liberally applied. Another 1980s movie, Dangerous Liasons directed by Stephen Frears, also provides wigs and powder for its male characters, though you could argue that the opening sequences with both Valmont and Merteuil put their game faces on (complete with powder) is part of the "decadent ancient regime" atmosphere - but that is part of the story, and there's no attempt to get the male characters out of wig duty. The John Adams tv series has its titular hero wear wigs in the 18th century pre revolutionary era when appropriate, and while the male characters are occasionally without wigs in that era (enough so that you can see Thomas Jefferson is a redhead, for example, though he wears a wig on enough occasions), and there is a noticable fashion difference between colonial America and Versailles (and the bit that takes place in London when Adams makes his famous post revolutionary visit to George III), there is no attempt to provide the sympathetic men with a pleasing-to-current-sensibilities short hair cut and wiglessness.
(Leaving the Anglosphere, the various movies and tv shows involving 18th century Prussian monarchs I've had the occasion to (re)watch these last few years usually do their wig duty, though the sympathetic males tend to wear what's supposed to be their natural hair (if bound in period approprite tails) which was indeed an option more often than they wear wigs, but none of these productions was made in the last decade or so.)
These two movies and the John Adams tv series are decades old, though, as mentioned. The very recent attempt at a Dangerous Liasons prequel did committ to wigs and make up for young Valmont and Merteuil in equal measure, but significantly so whenever they do something on the path to increasing ruthlessness, whereas when they're supposed to show their youthful capacity for true emotion, they're stylized more "naturally". It does work with their trajectories within the story, but since the male characters other than Valmont also can be spotted in their degree of sympatheticness from how much or little of 18th century wig-and-make-up they display, well, one can't help but conclude it's a concession to modern sensibilities again.
Outlier series: my beloved Black Sails. This one, with the exception of the flashbacks, takes place almost entirely in the Caribbean and colonial America, and most of its male characters are pirates at sea, meaning they really have an excuse, plus in the flashbacks set in late Stuart England, Thomas Hamilton (most definetely meant to be a sympathetic male character) is introduced to us not just with an 18th century style male wig but an old fashioned 17th century style periwig (which never shows up again, fair enough since it was really going out of fashion at that point), and our main (anti)hero Flint while he's still a Lieutenant with the Royal Navy does look the part. (There are also at least three meant as unsympathetic male characters wearing wigs, but I'm looking for meant as sympathetic ones.)
Conclusion: most current producers do fear the male 18th century wig (unless for characters meant to be unsympathetic and/or ridiculous).
Mind you: the part of the fantasy realm where Lindsay Duncan's character lives is clearly meant to evoke the 18th century pre-revolutionary Ancien Regime world (not exclusively France, but France being the one most people associate first), fashion and attitude wise.... for the women. Men are without make up and/or wigs once more, which reminds me of how Bridgerton: Queen Charlotte gave its male characters short hair, no wigs and of course not a powder box in sight. Now Bridgerton never marketed itself as concerned with historicity to begin with (putting an actual disclaimer to the contrary right at the start), and Wheel of Time is fantasy, but it did make me wonder which tv shows or movies which actually want to evoke the 18th century pre French Revolution in a manner that's supposed to feel authentic or at least plausible (thus The Great is right out) is ready to commit to at the very least wigs for the men, if not powder and make-up. Extra hard mode: for male characters not meant to be villains and/or unsympathetic.
(This means, for example, that The Favourite doesn't make the cut. I mean, I love the film, and it absolultely drown its male characters in wigs and make up, but The Favourite very consciously contrasts the hard coreness of its three female main characters with the pettiness and decadence of the men. The one male character who's not doing anything negative, Sarah's husband the Duke of Marlborough, is hardly around and just seen in glimpses at the end.)
Now, there is of course a very good reason why visual media tries to do without wigs, to wit, it's harder to tell characters apart if they wear them, and if this is an 18th century story, there's already the need for a lot of exposition. But still. There are some which manage. Even though I think one has to go back a few decades to find them. Amadeus, gloriously so not just but most definitely with Mozart himself. Seeing him without a wig is always a plot or characterisation point (he's composing, or finances are getting worse again, or he's sick), and in the scene where we see him try out different wigs, powder is liberally applied. Another 1980s movie, Dangerous Liasons directed by Stephen Frears, also provides wigs and powder for its male characters, though you could argue that the opening sequences with both Valmont and Merteuil put their game faces on (complete with powder) is part of the "decadent ancient regime" atmosphere - but that is part of the story, and there's no attempt to get the male characters out of wig duty. The John Adams tv series has its titular hero wear wigs in the 18th century pre revolutionary era when appropriate, and while the male characters are occasionally without wigs in that era (enough so that you can see Thomas Jefferson is a redhead, for example, though he wears a wig on enough occasions), and there is a noticable fashion difference between colonial America and Versailles (and the bit that takes place in London when Adams makes his famous post revolutionary visit to George III), there is no attempt to provide the sympathetic men with a pleasing-to-current-sensibilities short hair cut and wiglessness.
(Leaving the Anglosphere, the various movies and tv shows involving 18th century Prussian monarchs I've had the occasion to (re)watch these last few years usually do their wig duty, though the sympathetic males tend to wear what's supposed to be their natural hair (if bound in period approprite tails) which was indeed an option more often than they wear wigs, but none of these productions was made in the last decade or so.)
These two movies and the John Adams tv series are decades old, though, as mentioned. The very recent attempt at a Dangerous Liasons prequel did committ to wigs and make up for young Valmont and Merteuil in equal measure, but significantly so whenever they do something on the path to increasing ruthlessness, whereas when they're supposed to show their youthful capacity for true emotion, they're stylized more "naturally". It does work with their trajectories within the story, but since the male characters other than Valmont also can be spotted in their degree of sympatheticness from how much or little of 18th century wig-and-make-up they display, well, one can't help but conclude it's a concession to modern sensibilities again.
Outlier series: my beloved Black Sails. This one, with the exception of the flashbacks, takes place almost entirely in the Caribbean and colonial America, and most of its male characters are pirates at sea, meaning they really have an excuse, plus in the flashbacks set in late Stuart England, Thomas Hamilton (most definetely meant to be a sympathetic male character) is introduced to us not just with an 18th century style male wig but an old fashioned 17th century style periwig (which never shows up again, fair enough since it was really going out of fashion at that point), and our main (anti)hero Flint while he's still a Lieutenant with the Royal Navy does look the part. (There are also at least three meant as unsympathetic male characters wearing wigs, but I'm looking for meant as sympathetic ones.)
Conclusion: most current producers do fear the male 18th century wig (unless for characters meant to be unsympathetic and/or ridiculous).