Best tv shows like Show Me a Hero
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Mayor Nick Wasicsko took office in 1987 during Yonkers' worst crisis when federal courts ordered public housing built in the white, middle class side of town, dividing the city in a bitter battle fueled by fear, racism, murder and politics.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 358 min
Plot tags: serious, tense, rough, thought provoking, captivating, political, realistic, social, saga, clever
Best tv shows and movies like Show Me a Hero (2015):
Similar in 90%
City of Hope (1991)
Plot Summary:
This gritty inner-city film by John Sayles follows various people living in a troubled New Jersey setting, most notably Nick Rinaldi (Vincent Spano), a disillusioned contractor who has been helped along his whole life by his wealthy father (Tony Lo Bianco). Other characters in this ensemble drama about urban conflict and corruption include Asteroid , an unstable homeless person, and Wynn (Joe Morton), an idealistic young politician.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 129 min
Plot tags: anthology, cult classic, independent film, tense, sincere, rough, thought provoking, clever, bleak, serious
Similar in 79%
Blood Done Sign My Name (2010)
Plot Summary:
A drama based on the true story in which a black Vietnam-era veteran is allegedly murdered by a local white businessman who is later exonerated. The plot focuses on the role of a local high school teacher and the civil unrest that followed the acquittal.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 635
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: disturbing, serious, captivating, realistic, thought provoking, tense, bleak, contemplative, entertaining
Similar in 89%
Heat Wave (1990)
Plot Summary:
A rookie black journalist investigates the tensions of the Watts section of Los Angeles in the bloody summer of 1965.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 213
Genere: Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: tense, rough, thought provoking, bleak, serious, realistic, disturbing
Similar in 81%
A City of Sadness (1989)
Plot Summary:
Soon after Japan relinquishes control of Taiwan in 1945, the Lin brothers face hardships from the changing culture. Bar owner Wen-heung (Chen Sown-yung), the eldest brother, falls foul of local gangsters, Wen-sun disappears, and Wen-leung, scarred by his experiences in the war, ends up in an insane asylum. Deaf-mute photographer Wen-ching (Tony Leung Chiu Wai), the youngest brother, decides to make a stand and fight the Kuomintang government from China that is assuming power.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Taiwan
Duration: 157 min
Plot tags: realistic, sad, saga, black and white, slow cinema, aesthetic, tense, rough, serious, captivating
Similar in 77%
The Path to 9/11 (2006)
Plot Summary:
The Path to 9/11 was a two-part miniseries that aired in the United States on ABC television from September 10 – 11, 2006, and also in other countries. The film dramatizes the 1993 World Trade Center bombing in New York City and the events leading up to the September 11, 2001 attacks.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 240 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, atmospheric, bleak, realistic
Similar in 85%
The Looming Tower (2018)
Plot Summary:
Tracing the rising threat of Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda, it takes a controversial look at how the rivalry between the CIA and FBI inadvertently might have set the stage for the tragedy of 9/11 and the war in Iraq.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 492 min
Plot tags: rough, suspense, political, disturbing, tense, thought provoking, interesting
Similar in 79%
Backstairs at the White House (1979)
Plot Summary:
Behind the scenes at the White House during eight administrations, as told by the people who work there.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 472
Genere: Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 540 min
Plot tags: historical drama, uplifting, touching, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic, political drama
Similar in 85%
Tokyo Trial (2016)
Plot Summary:
In the wake of World War II, 11 Allied judges are tasked with weighing the fates of Japanese war criminals in a tense international trial.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Canada, Japan, Netherlands
Duration: 200 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, tense, captivating, disturbing, political, historical drama
Similar in 83%
Separate But Equal (1991)
Plot Summary:
A dramatization of the American court case that destroyed the legal validity of racial segregation. One of the most pivotal moments in 20th century American history is bracingly dramatized in Separate but Equal. In telling the detailed story of the Supreme Court's 1953 decision to abolish racial segregation in schools, this superb 1991 TV movie covers a broad spectrum of issues, never taking its "eyes off the prize" while its first-rate cast conveys the importance of the Supreme Court's ultimately unanimous decision.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 763
Genere: Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 190 min
Plot tags: historical drama, sincere, thought provoking, clever, serious, captivating, realistic, contemplative, talky
Similar in 77%
Death of a Prophet (1981)
Plot Summary:
After breaking ties with the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X became a man marked for death...and it was just a matter of time before his enemies closed in. Despite death threats and intimidation, Malcolm marched on - continuing to spread the word of equality and brotherhood right up until the moment of his brutal and untimely assassination. Highlighted by newsreel footage and interviews, this is the story of the last twenty-four hours of Malcolm X. Featuring the music of jazz percussionist Max Roach.
IMDB Rating: 4.4
IMDB Votes: 294
Genere: Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: sincere, thought provoking, serious, realistic, controversial
Similar in 75%
Hope & Redemption: The Lena Baker Story (2008)
Plot Summary:
Based on true events, The Lena Baker Story recounts one African-American womans struggle to rise above the challenges of her life, to face the choices she makes, and to ultimately triumph over her...Lena Baker was the first and only woman to be sentenced to death by the electric chair in the state of Georgia and was executed in 1945. She was pardoned posthumously in 2005.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 405
Genere: Crime, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, bleak, serious, captivating, realistic, independent film
Similar in 88%
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.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 431
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 271 min
Plot tags: sincere, thought provoking, serious, captivating, realistic, disturbing
Similar in 85%
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 80%
The Kennedys (2011)
Plot Summary:
The story of the most fabled political family in American history, told in a manner similar to The Godfather: a manipulative, egocentric father determined to live out his own ambitions through his sons, who in turn spent their lives dancing to his tune while at the same time trying to stand on their own. This is history through personality - the tangled relationships through which paint a picture of one of the most turbulent periods of the modern age. Viewers will be upstairs at the White House, not in the Cabinet Room. Through iconic events in history - the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the civil rights struggle, the mob connection - viewers will learn about the lesser known, yet critical personal stories.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Drama, History, Romance
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 346 min
Plot tags: political, thought provoking, realistic, talky, serious, anthology, historical drama, controversial, contemplative, stylized
Similar in 77%
The Murder of Mary Phagan (1988)
Plot Summary:
The Murder of Mary Phagan, a 1987 two-part TV miniseries made by Orion Pictures Corporation and distributed by National Broadcasting Company (NBC), is a dramatization of the story of Leo Frank, a factory manager charged and convicted with murdering a 13-year-old girl, a factory worker named Mary Phagan, in Atlanta, Georgia in 1913. The trial was sensational and controversial. After Frank's legal appeals had failed, the governor of Georgia in 1915 commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment. In 1915 Frank was kidnapped from prison and lynched by a small group of prominent men of Marietta, Georgia. The film features Jack Lemmon, Kevin Spacey, Rebecca Miller, Charles Dutton, Peter Gallagher, Cynthia Nixon, Dylan Baker, and William H. Macy.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 806
Genere: Crime, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 251 min
Plot tags: tense, thought provoking, bleak, serious, realistic
Similar in 80%
When They See Us (2019)
Plot Summary:
Five teens from Harlem become trapped in a nightmare when they're falsely accused of a brutal attack in Central Park.
IMDB Rating: 8.9
IMDB Votes: 134000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 296 min
Plot tags: suspense, captivating, detective, atmospheric, intellectual, epic, political, social, educational, anthology
Similar in 85%
Human Cargo (2004)
Plot Summary:
Human Cargo is a 2004 Canadian television miniseries. The series won seven Gemini Awards and two Directors Guild of Canada Awards. It premiered on CBC Television on January 4, 2004 and starred Kate Nelligan, Cara Pifko, and Nicholas Campbell. The series was written by Linda Svendsen and Brian McKeown.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 116
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration:
Plot tags: thought provoking, serious, captivating, realistic, disturbing, epic, bleak
Similar in 89%
Freedom Song (2000)
Plot Summary:
Freedom Song (2000) is a made-for-TV film based on true stories of the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi in the 1960s. It tells the story of the struggle of African Americans to register to vote in the fictional town of Quinlan. In the midst of the Freedom Summer, a group of high school students in the small town are eager to make grassroots changes in their own community. The young activists meet resistance not only from white southerners, but from their parents, who have experienced firsthand the violence that can result from speaking out.[1] As high school students band together with the support of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, they make strides in registering African-American voters and gaining awareness for their cause.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 891
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: sincere, thought provoking, captivating, emotional, political, tense, serious, realistic
Similar in 87%
Boycott (2001)
Plot Summary:
This made-for-TV movie dramatizes the historic boycott of public buses in the 1950s, led by civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, realistic, political, talky
Similar in 86%
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.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 23000
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: period piece, serious, captivating, suspenseful, realistic, historical drama, tension, tense, political, costume drama
Similar in 80%
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.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 270 min
Plot tags: captivating, historical drama, exciting, serious, realistic, tense, suspenseful, political, period drama
Similar in 90%
Rosewood (1997)
Plot Summary:
Spurred by a white woman's lie, vigilantes destroy a black Florida town and slay inhabitants in 1923.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Action, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 140 min
Plot tags: disturbing, depressing, political, social, cult classic, tense, rough, thought provoking, touching, serious
Similar in 84%
Lincoln (1988)
Plot Summary:
After arriving in Washington in 1861 after his election, Abraham Lincoln struggles with personal and political problems during his Presidency. Originally titled "Lincoln", the name of this miniseries was changed to "Gore Vidal's Lincoln" when it was released for home entertainment.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 444
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: USA
Duration: 188 min
Plot tags: historical drama, clever, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic, talky
Similar in 81%
Endgame (2009)
Plot Summary:
The time is the late '80s, a crucial period in the history of South Africa. President P.W. Botha is hanging on to power by a thread as the African National Congress (ANC) takes up arms against apartheid and the country tumbles toward insurrection. A British mining concern is convinced that their interests would be better served in a stable South Africa and they quietly dispatch Michael Young, their head of public affairs, to open an unofficial dialogue between the bitter rivals. Assembling a reluctant yet brilliant team to pave the way to reconciliation by confronting obstacles that initially seem insurmountable, Young places his trust in ANC leader Thabo Mbeki and Afrikaner philosophy professor Willie Esterhuyse. It is their empathy that will ultimately serve as the catalyst for change by proving more powerful than the terrorist bombs that threaten to disrupt the peaceful dialogue.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: UK, South Africa
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: tense, sincere, serious, captivating, exciting, thought provoking, epic, realistic, political, contemplative
Similar in 84%
DC 9/11: Time of Crisis (2003)
Plot Summary:
This is the story of the days directly after 9/11, and the president's whereabouts. Scheduled to air shortly before the second anniversary of the September 11 attacks, DC 9/11 takes an inside look at the Bush Administration, beginning with the day of the attacks, and following the President's journey to Ground Zero, culminating with his now famous national address nine days after the attacks.
IMDB Rating: 4.4
IMDB Votes: 942
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, bleak, serious, captivating, sincere, emotional, realistic, political drama
Similar in 77%
Kingfish: A Story of Huey P. Long (1995)
Plot Summary:
A look at the life and career of controversial Louisiana governor Huey Long, whose nickname was "The Kingfish.".
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 512
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: political, sincere, thought provoking, serious, captivating, realistic, disturbing
Similar in 85%
White House Plumbers (2023)
Plot Summary:
The true story of how Nixon’s own political saboteurs and Watergate masterminds accidentally toppled the Presidency they were zealously trying to protect.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 55 min
Plot tags: political, serious, captivating, realistic, satirical, political drama
Similar in 75%
Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)
Plot Summary:
Ghosts of Mississippi is a drama covering the final trial of the assassin, Bryon De La Beckwith, of the 60s civil rights leader Medgar Evers. It begins with the murder and the events surrounding the two initial trials which both ended in a hung jury. The movie then covers District Attorney, Bobby DeLaughters transformation and alliance with Myrlie Evers, wife of Medgar Evers, of the, as he becomes more involved with bringing Beckwith to trial for the third time 30 years later. Some of the characters are played by the actual participants in this story.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: inspirational, talky, factual, intense, compassionate, sincere, thought provoking, serious, political, political thriller
Similar in 86%
American Crime Story (2016)
Plot Summary:
An anthology series centered around some of history's most famous criminals.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 98000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 42 min
Plot tags: anthology, realistic, serious, psychological, feel good, political, suspense, entertaining, detective, mind blowing
Similar in 84%
The Front Runner (2018)
Plot Summary:
Gary Hart, former Senator of Colorado, becomes the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1987. Hart's intelligence, charisma and idealism makes him popular with young voters, leaving him with a seemingly clear path to the White House. All that comes crashing down when allegations of an extramarital affair surface in the media, forcing the candidate to address a scandal that threatens to derail his campaign and personal life.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: political, psychological, sentimental, thought provoking, captivating, social, cult classic, political drama