Best tv shows like House of Cards
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Set in present day Washington, D.C., House of Cards is the story of Frank Underwood, a ruthless and cunning politician, and his wife Claire who will stop at nothing to conquer everything. This wicked political drama penetrates the shadowy world of greed, sex and corruption in modern D.C. House of Cards is an adaptation of a previous BBC miniseries of the same name, which is based on the novel by Michael Dobbs.
IMDB Rating: 8.6
IMDB Votes: 524000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 3804 min
Plot tags: political, serious, clever, captivating, tense, talky, postmodern, cynical, intellectual, exciting
Best tv shows and movies like House of Cards (2013):
Similar in 85%
The Minister (2011)
Plot Summary:
Transport Minister Bertrand Saint-Jean is awoken in the middle of the night by his head of staff. A bus has gone off the road into a gully. He has no choice but to go to the scene of the accident. Thus begins the odyssey of a politician in a world that is increasingly more complex and hostile.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Belgium
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, sincere, realistic, serious, captivating, contemplative, stylized, political, clever
Similar in 80%
Political Animals (2012)
Plot Summary:
Political Animals is a six-part miniseries. Elaine Barrish's husband Bud was a popular President of the United States during the 1990s despite his extramarital affairs. After leaving the White House, Elaine Barrish was elected Governor of Illinois and ran for the Democratic nomination for President, but lost to Paul Garcetti. The night Barrish conceded the nomination, she asked her husband for a divorce. Two years later, as Garcetti's Secretary of State, Barrish deals with State Department issues while trying to keep her family together.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 360 min
Plot tags: realistic, political, serious, talky, suspense, clever, captivating, queer cinema
Similar in 81%
K Street (2003)
Plot Summary:
K Street is a 2003 HBO television series about lobbyists and politicians in Washington, D.C. It was named for a street that is home to many lobbying and legal firms.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 317
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: political, clever, serious, realistic, cynical, satirical, witty, talky, biting, black comedy
Similar in 82%
UnREAL (2015)
Plot Summary:
Set against the backdrop of a hit dating competition show, "UnREAL" is led by Rachel, a young staffer whose sole job is to manipulate her relationships with and among the contestants to get the vital dramatic and outrageous footage the program's dispassionate executive producer demands. What ensues is a humorous, yet vexing, look at what happens in the world of unscripted television, where being a contestant can be vicious and producing it is a whole other reality.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 42 min
Plot tags: biting, realistic, semi serious, captivating, erotic, sexy, grindhouse, hilarious, tense, touching
Similar in 89%
The Loudest Voice (2019)
Plot Summary:
The rise and fall of Fox News founder Roger Ailes, focusing primarily on the past decade in which Ailes arguably became the Republican Party’s de facto leader, while flashing back to defining events in his life.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags: serious, political, touching, captivating, realistic, thought provoking, political drama
Similar in 87%
House of Cards (1990)
Plot Summary:
Francis Urquhart is the chief whip of the Conservative party. When Margaret Thatcher resigns as leader, he remains neutral and after a general election where the conservatives are returned with a reduced majority, he fully expects the new Prime Minister, Henry Collingridge, to give him his just reward: a senior Cabinet post. When he's informed that he is to stay in his current position, he devises a plot to unseat Collingridge and ensure his own election as party leader which would make his Prime Minister.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 226 min
Plot tags: tense, witty, political, realistic, clever, serious, political thriller, biting, educational, intelligent
Similar in 82%
The Politician's Husband (2013)
Plot Summary:
Aiden Hoynes is a senior cabinet minister who has always put his career before family, with the support of Freya, his devoted wife and mother to their two young children. But when Freya's own political career takes off and threatens to overshadow his, Aiden's life is thrown into chaos. As his political career comes to a standstill, and with his marriage turned upset down, Aiden takes increasing risks in his quest for power.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 180 min
Plot tags: captivating, realistic, tense, serious, political, psychological, clever, talky
Similar in 81%
Borgen: Power & Glory (2010)
Plot Summary:
Borgen is a drama series about the fight for political power – and about the personal sacrifices and consequences this has for those involved on and behind the political stage. The central figure is the 40-year old political leader Birgitte Nyborg, who through her idealism and huge effort secures her party a landslide victory and thus faces the biggest challenge of her life: how most effectively to use the newly won seats, and how far she is willing to go in order to gain as much influence as possible. Privately, Birgitte leads a happy family life with her husband and two children. She is a woman with a burning commitment, a big heart and little time. Will she be able to be a successful and professional top politician and stay true to herself at the same time?.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 29000
Genere: Drama
Country: Denmark
Duration: 58 min
Plot tags: political, tense, serious, captivating, realistic, intellectual, atmospheric, noir, clever, talky
Similar in 84%
True Colors (1991)
Plot Summary:
Two law school friends find themselves at odds when one becomes a Justice Department lawyer and the other goes into politics.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: political, talky, intense, realistic, serious, captivating, clever, tense, sincere, crime drama
Similar in 77%
To Play the King (1993)
Plot Summary:
Francis Urquhart, unscrupulous but cunning Conservative politician, managed to become the British prime minister and crush all significant opposition. But his survival on the top is threatened by a liberal monarch and some skeletons in the closet.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 218 min
Plot tags: political, political thriller, tense, clever, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, witty, cynical
Similar in 82%
State of Play (2003)
Plot Summary:
A thriller set in London, in which a politician's life becomes increasingly complex as his research assistant is found dead on the London Underground and, in a seemingly unrelated incident, a teenage pickpocket is shot dead.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 312 min
Plot tags: political thriller, political, realistic, tense, suspense, atmospheric, talky, serious, clever, twist ending
Similar in 86%
Miss Sloane (2016)
Plot Summary:
An ambitious lobbyist faces off against the powerful gun lobby in an attempt to pass gun control legislation.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 81000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, France, Canada, USA
Duration: 132 min
Plot tags: political, suspense, clever, tense, intellectual, factual, suspenseful, entertaining, thought provoking, feel good
Similar in 79%
The Morning Show (2019)
Plot Summary:
A behind-the-scenes look at the lives of the people who help America wake up in the morning, exploring the unique challenges faced by the men and women who carry out this daily televised ritual.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 123000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: social, disturbing, suspense, emotional, captivating, exciting, funny, intellectual, cynical, sexploitation film
Similar in 88%
Boss (2011)
Plot Summary:
Boss is an American political drama television serial created by Farhad Safinia. The series stars Kelsey Grammer as Tom Kane, the mayor of Chicago, who has recently been diagnosed with dementia with Lewy bodies, a degenerative neurological disorder.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 56 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, clever, captivating, political, cynical, realistic, erotic, psychological thriller, dramatic
Similar in 75%
The Newsroom (2012)
Plot Summary:
A behind-the-scenes look at the people who make a nightly cable-news program. Focusing on a network anchor, his new executive producer, the newsroom staff and their boss, the series tracks their quixotic mission to do the news well in the face of corporate and commercial obstacles-not to mention their own personal entanglements.
IMDB Rating: 8.6
IMDB Votes: 123000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 55 min
Plot tags: clever, intellectual, political, sincere, realistic, dramatic, exciting, inspirational, thought provoking, controversial
Similar in 85%
Scandal (2012)
Plot Summary:
Everyone has secrets and Olivia Pope has dedicated her life to protecting and defending the public images of the elite by keeping those secrets under wraps. Pope and her team are at the top of their game when it comes to getting the job done for their clients, but it becomes apparent that these "gladiators in suits," who specialize in fixing the lives of other people, have trouble fixing those closest at hand -- their own.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 79000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 43 min
Plot tags: political thriller, serious, political, realistic, clever, bleak, erotic, sexy, sad, soap opera
Similar in 75%
Homeland (2011)
Plot Summary:
CIA officer Carrie Mathison is tops in her field despite being bipolar, which makes her volatile and unpredictable. With the help of her long-time mentor Saul Berenson, Carrie fearlessly risks everything, including her personal well-being and even sanity, at every turn.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 357000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 55 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, tense, captivating, political, detective, psychological thriller, political thriller, dramatic, thrilling
Similar in 86%
Billions (2016)
Plot Summary:
A complex drama about power politics in the world of New York high finance. Shrewd, savvy U.S. Attorney Chuck Rhoades and the brilliant, ambitious hedge fund king Bobby "Axe" Axelrod are on an explosive collision course, with each using all of his considerable smarts, power and influence to outmaneuver the other. The stakes are in the billions in this timely, provocative series.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 107000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: captivating, thought provoking, suspense, intellectual, political, smart, intelligent, entertaining, queer cinema
Similar in 76%
Mad Men (2007)
Plot Summary:
Mad Men is set in the 1960s, initially at the fictional Sterling Cooper advertising agency on Madison Avenue in New York City, and later at the newly created firm, Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, located nearby in the Time-Life Building, at 1271 Avenue of the Americas. According to the show's pilot, the phrase "mad men" was a slang term coined in the 1950s by advertisers working on Madison Avenue to refer to themselves. The focal point of the series is Don Draper, creative director at Sterling Cooper and a founding partner at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, and the people in his life, both in and out of the office. The plot focuses on the business of the agencies as well as the personal lives of the characters, regularly depicting the changing moods and social mores of the United States in the 1960s.
IMDB Rating: 8.7
IMDB Votes: 256000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 4400 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, atmospheric, stylized, clever, exciting, retro, sexy, thought provoking, touching
Similar in 86%
The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979)
Plot Summary:
Respected liberal Senator Joe Tynan is asked to to lead the opposition to a Supreme Court appointment. It means losing an old friend and fudging principles to make the necessary deals, as well as further straining his already part-time family life. But it could be a big boost to his career, so he takes it on. Helping him prepare the case is pretty southern researcher Karen Traynor, and their developing relationship further complicates and compromises his life.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: realistic, clever, serious, suspenseful, political, cynical, gloomy, biting, suspense
Similar in 81%
Network (1976)
Plot Summary:
A TV network cynically exploits a deranged ex-TV anchor's ravings and revelations about the media for their own profit.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 167000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 121 min
Plot tags: talky, political, realistic, clever, dark comedy, biting, black comedy, captivating, absurd, intense
Similar in 84%
Wag the Dog (1997)
Plot Summary:
During the final weeks of a presidential race, the President is accused of sexual misconduct. To distract the public until the election, the President's adviser hires a Hollywood producer to help him stage a fake war.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 88000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: black comedy, political, talky, dark comedy, realistic, satirical, funny, melancholic, humorous, thought provoking
Similar in 79%
The West Wing (1999)
Plot Summary:
The West Wing provides a glimpse into presidential politics in the nation's capital as it tells the stories of the members of a fictional presidential administration. These interesting characters have humor and dedication that touches the heart while the politics that they discuss touch on everyday life.
IMDB Rating: 8.9
IMDB Votes: 83000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 44 min
Plot tags: clever, political, talky, sincere, serious, realistic, political thriller, sitcom, intelligent, action adventure
Similar in 85%
Power (1986)
Plot Summary:
Pete St. John is a powerful and successful political consultant, with clients spread around the country. When his long-time friend and client Ohio senator Sam Hastings decides to quit politics, he is rapidly drafted to help with the campaign of the man destined to succeed him, unknown and mysterious businessman Jerome Cade.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, clever, cynical, political, retro, talky
Similar in 86%
Margin Call (2011)
Plot Summary:
A thriller that revolves around the key people at an investment bank over a 24-hour period during the early stages of the financial crisis.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 141000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: suspense, realistic, serious, captivating, political, intellectual, talky, tricky, enigmatic, suspenseful
Similar in 86%
The Ides of March (2011)
Plot Summary:
Dirty tricks stand to soil an ambitious young press spokesman's idealism in a cutthroat presidential campaign where 'victory' is relative.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 229000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: political thriller, talky, political, suspense, clever, tense, realistic, psychological, suspenseful, tricky
Similar in 83%
The Borgias (2011)
Plot Summary:
Set in 15th century Italy at the height of the Renaissance, The Borgias chronicles the corrupt rise of patriarch Rodrigo Borgia to the papacy, where he proceeds to commit every sin in the book to amass and retain power, influence and enormous wealth for himself and his family.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 53000
Genere: Crime, Drama, History, Romance
Country: USA, Hungary, Ireland, Canada
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags: serious, clever, captivating, epic, costume drama, historical drama, realistic, stylized, political, period piece
Similar in 90%
Boardwalk Empire (2010)
Plot Summary:
Boardwalk Empire is a period drama focusing on Enoch "Nucky" Thompson (based on the historical Enoch L. Johnson), a political figure who rose to prominence and controlled Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Prohibition period of the 1920s and 1930s. Nucky interacts with several historical figures in both his personal and political life, including mobsters, politicians, government agents, and the common folk who look up to him. The federal government also takes an interest in the bootlegging and other illegal activities in the area, sending agents to investigate possible mob connections but also looking at Nucky's lifestyle—expensive and lavish for a county political figure. Primetime Emmy Award-winning screenwriter and producer Terence Winter adapted the show from Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City, a book by Nelson Johnson about historical criminal kingpin Enoch L. Johnson.
IMDB Rating: 8.6
IMDB Votes: 200000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 55 min
Plot tags: serious, costume drama, atmospheric, captivating, suspenseful, tense, rough, clever, realistic, stylized
Similar in 84%
Ray Donovan (2013)
Plot Summary:
Set in the sprawling mecca of the rich and famous, Ray Donovan does the dirty work for LA's top power players, and makes their problems disappear. His father's unexpected release from prison sets off a chain of events that shakes the Donovan family to its core.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 92000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, clever, tense, stylized, realistic, crime drama, erotic, neo noir, dramatic
Similar in 76%
The Queen's Gambit (2020)
Plot Summary:
In a Kentucky orphanage in the 1950s, a young girl discovers an astonishing talent for chess while struggling with addiction.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 525000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 397 min
Plot tags: captivating, psychological, period piece, historical drama, suspense, tense, unusual plot structure, visually appealing, inspirational, thought provoking