Best tv shows like John Adams

Similar in 78%

King (1978)

Plot Summary:

A 1978 TV miniseries about the career of Martin Luther King Jr. from his days as a Baptist minister in Atlanta in the early '50s until his assassination in 1968.

Similar in 80%

The Crossing (2000)

Plot Summary:

A made-for-TV dramatization of George Washington's perilous gamble of crossing the Delaware River and attacking the British forces at Trenton.

Similar in 78%

I, Claudius (1976)

Plot Summary:

Tracing the lives of several Roman emperors, this is an epic of ruthless ambition, shocking debauchery and murderous intrigue set in one of history's most fascinating eras. Bearing witness to the saga is Claudius, whose stutter and limp have marked him a fool - yet whom prophecies have foretold will one day rule Rome.

Similar in 80%

Elizabeth I (2005)

Plot Summary:

HBO miniseries about the the public and private lives of the later years of Queen Elizabeth I.

Similar in 88%

TURN: Washington's Spies (2014)

Plot Summary:

The story of New York farmer, Abe Woodhull, who bands together with a group of childhood friends to form The Culper Ring, an unlikely group of spies who turn the tide in America’s fight for independence.

Similar in 79%

Sons of Liberty (2015)

Plot Summary:

The story of a group of very different men fighting in the American Colonies for freedom, and how they will shape the future for the United States of America.

Similar in 79%

Hyde Park on Hudson (2012)

Plot Summary:

The story of the love affair between FDR and his distant cousin Margaret Stuckley, centered around the weekend in 1939 when the King and Queen of the United Kingdom visited upstate New York.

Similar in 83%

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (2013)

Plot Summary:

A chronicle of Nelson Mandela's life journey from his childhood in a rural village through to his inauguration as the first democratically elected president of South Africa.

Similar in 84%

Jefferson in Paris (1995)

Plot Summary:

His wife having recently died, Thomas Jefferson accepts the post of United States ambassador to pre-revolutionary France, though he finds it difficult to adjust to life in a country where the aristocracy subjugates an increasingly restless peasantry. In Paris, he becomes smitten with cultured artist Maria Cosway, but, when his daughter visits from Virginia accompanied by her attractive slave, Sally Hemings, Jefferson's attentions are diverted.

Similar in 90%

Amazing Grace (2006)

Plot Summary:

The true story of William Wilberforce's courageous quest to end the British slave trade. Although meeting intense opposition, his minister, John Newton, urges him to see the cause through.

Similar in 87%

Amistad (1997)

Plot Summary:

In 1839, the slave ship Amistad set sail from Cuba to America. During the long trip, Cinque leads the slaves in an unprecedented uprising. They are then held prisoner in Connecticut, and their release becomes the subject of heated debate. Freed slave Theodore Joadson wants Cinque and the others exonerated and recruits property lawyer Roger Baldwin to help his case. Eventually, John Quincy Adams also becomes an ally.

Similar in 81%

Truman (1995)

Plot Summary:

Biographical account of America's President for the latter part of WWII. Shows Truman's rise from small-town nobody to leader of the USA, his decision to use the Atomic Bomb against Japan, and subsequent election as the US' post-war President.

Similar in 81%

Wolf Hall (2015)

Plot Summary:

England in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the King dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of twenty years and marry Anne Boleyn. The Pope and most of Europe oppose him. Into this impass steps Thomas Cromwell: a wholly original man, a charmer, and a bully, both idealist and opportunist, astute in reading people, and implacable in his ambition. But Henry is volatile: one day tender, one day murderous. Cromwell helps him break the opposition, but what will be the price of his triumph?.

Similar in 77%

The First Lady (2022)

Plot Summary:

A revelatory reframing of American leadership through the lens of the First Ladies. Exploring everything from their journeys to Washington, family life, and world-changing political contributions, the impact of the White House's women is no longer hidden from view.

Similar in 76%

Selma (2014)

Plot Summary:

"Selma," as in Alabama, the place where segregation in the South was at its worst, leading to a march that ended in violence, forcing a famous statement by President Lyndon B. Johnson that ultimately led to the signing of the Civil Rights Act.

Similar in 85%

The Special Relationship (2010)

Plot Summary:

A dramatisation that follows Tony Blair's journey from political understudy waiting in the wings of the world arena to accomplished prime minister standing confidently in the spotlight of centre stage. It is a story about relationships, between two powerful men (Blair and Bill Clinton), two powerful couples, and husbands and wives.

Similar in 81%

Lincoln (2012)

Plot Summary:

A revealing drama that focuses on the 16th President's tumultuous final months in office. In a nation divided by war and the strong winds of change, Lincoln pursues a course of action designed to end the war, unite the country and abolish slavery. With the moral courage and fierce determination to succeed, his choices during this critical moment will change the fate of generations to come.

Similar in 88%

Genius (2017)

Plot Summary:

Anthology series about famous geniuses with the first season charting how Albert Einstein unlocked the mysteries of the atom and the universe, and the second exploring the passionate nature and relentless creative drive of Pablo Picasso.

Similar in 83%

Frost/Nixon (2008)

Plot Summary:

For three years after being forced from office, Nixon remained silent. But in summer 1977, the steely, cunning former commander-in-chief agreed to sit for one all-inclusive interview to confront the questions of his time in office and the Watergate scandal that ended his presidency. Nixon surprised everyone in selecting Frost as his televised confessor, intending to easily outfox the breezy British showman and secure a place in the hearts and minds of Americans. Likewise, Frost's team harboured doubts about their boss's ability to hold his own. But as the cameras rolled, a charged battle of wits resulted.