Five of the best political TV series ahead of the 2024 US presidential elections
Ahead of Donald Trump and Kamala Harris battling it out in the 2024 elections, why not get in the mood by plunging yourself into a nitty-gritty political TV drama?
Last week, UNILAD RANKED kicked off with Terrifier 3 director Damien Leone's top five horror movies, but this week, ahead of the 2024 United States presidential elections, we're bringing you five of the best political TV dramas - we wouldn't want you thinking UNILAD RANKED is just about movies now would we?
There are a hell of a lot of movies and TV series out there which revolve around the White House and political figures, and many shows can ultimately be deemed political even if they're not set in a governmental setting.
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Basically, what I'm trying to say is it's quite hard coming up with a top five movie or TV series which stand out more than others.
If Donald Trump were doing his top five? Well, he may not have as much of an issue. After all, at his Pennsylvania rally earlier in September he did suggest one 'real rough' hour of relaxed restraints for police to tackle crime and as one Twitter user pointed out, 'Trump is literally proposing The Purge lmao,' with another adding 'The way he watched The Purge and sat there like you know what… we should try this'.
Instead, UNILAD RANKED's focus is on five of the top political TV series set within some sort of American governmental body - we had to narrow it down someway, okay?
And coming in at spot number five is a thriller which contains scenes which left me watching through my nail-bitten fingers in trepidation.
5) Homeland (2011-2020)
If this week's UNILAD RANKED didn't happen to have a multi-layered ranking system - ordered based on the series' average Rotten Tomatoes score and not just solely based on my own opinion - Homeland would've been in the top spot. Oh and probably Barack Obama's too, given the former US president publicly spoke out about his love for the series.
Based on the Israeli series Prisoners of War created by Gideon Raff and developed by Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa, the six-time Emmy award winner delves into the world of unauthorized operations and anti-terrorist missions alongside espionage and, of course, risked friendships and love affairs to complicate it all even more along the way.
However, it's Claire Danes' gripping performance as CIA officer Carrie Mathison which truly carries the series, particularly impressive to watch when it comes to her portrayal of the character's experience of bipolar disorder.
The National Mental Health Alliance praised the show for portraying the condition with 'compassion, clarity and responsibility attached' and in an interview with CBS Mornings Danes indeed reflected she 'read a lot of books', 'met with people' with bipolar and 'always monitored the depiction of her condition' in a bid to 'treat it with respect'.
Damian Lewis (Nicholas Brody), Mandy Patinkin (Saul Berenson) - who recently spoke out in support of Kamala Harris - and Rupert Friend (Peter Quinn) also give stand-out performances, their names the ones which spring to mind all these many years later since I first had the joy of watching Homeland for the first time.
And while the show's Rotten Tomatoes score may be lower than others on the list it still holds an officially fresh 85 percent tomatometer score and 86 percent popcornmeter too.
4) Scandal (2012-2018)
I mean, whoever came up with the title of the series certainly needs a raise. Simple yet oh so effective there's nothing we all love more in a political drama than a 'scandal' - or in this case, more than several.
Created by Shonda Rhimes (Grey's Anatomy), the series centers around the former White House Communications Director Olivia Pope - partly based on former George H. Bush administration aide Judy Smith - who starts her own crisis management firm protecting the images of some of the country's most powerful figures. However, Pope (Kerry Washington) soon finds out it's not just her clients that need protecting.
Washington's portrayal of Pope - as someone who could easily walk all over you in her eight-inch heels - is glorious and it's hard to say no to being pierced and swept up in her trailblazing along with a fair few toxic romances too.
An affair with a certain notable figure in the White House even rears its head, betrayals erupt left right and center and there are as many skeletons in Pope's closet as she probably has red-soled shoes - she's a boss b***h with a wardrobe to match and I am here for it.
With a Rotten Tomatoes tomatometer score of 93 percent and 72 percent popcornmeter score, the show isn't quite as popular with the public as it is with critics, but with viewers still listing it as one of the top 'political or lawyer series' to this day on LADbible's Netflix Bangers page, as Pope would say: "It's handled."
3) The West Wing (1999-2006)
Created by Aaron Sorkin, the NBC drama is primarily set in the West Wing of the White House - who'd have guessed eh? - following the goings on during the administration of a fictional Democratic president called Josiah 'Jed' Bartlet (Martin Sheen).
While Sheen went on to win both a Golden Globe and two Screen Actors Guild awards for the role, IMDB Pro reveals he was 'originally only scheduled to appear in four episodes per season' and 'it was only after the pilot was filmed that it was decided to make him a regular cast member'.
Praised as one of the 'GOATs' by a Reddit user, the series has been applauded for its 'wicked' script alongside 'phenomenal' performances from its cast albeit with some taking issue with the 'idealistic' presentation of politics 'which can be jarring given the state of political discourse in the country these days'.
However, that's not stopped it being branded one of the best TV shows of all time, and with a Rotten Tomatoes tomatometer score of 81 percent and 95 percent on the popcornmeter, The West Wing earns itself a solid and respectable third place.
2) Veep (2012-2019)
Dubbed the US version of British comedy series The Thick of It, the HBO political satire was created by Armando Iannucci (who also created the BBC original).
It centers around fictional Vice President of the United States Selina Meyer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) who battles getting caught up in day-to-day politics while trying to make her mark.
The series received seven consecutive nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series going on to win three and Louis-Dreyfus' role saw her win six consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Critics' Choice Television Awards, a Television Critics Association Award, and five consecutive Golden Globe nominations.
So well written and performed is the series - IMDB Pro revealing every scene allowed performers room to improvise, making it even funnier - that it's accuracy in reflecting US politics and certain politicians is almost too much to bare, multiple articles online joking whether certain quotes are from Veep or have actually been said by the likes of former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci or 2024 candidate Kamala Harris.
As one Twitter user put it: "Funniest show on TV, especially now that our political scene is such a joke." Hey, they said it, not me.
1) The Good Wife (2009-2016)
Behind every man is a great woman and sneaking into the lead with a Rotten Tomatoes tomatometer score of 93 percent and popcornmeter of 91, The Good Wife comes out in the top spot of UNILAD RANKED's best political TV series.
Created by Robert and Michelle King, the CBS drama centers around Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies), wife of Cook County State's Attorney.
When her husband ends up in the middle of a public sex and political corruption scandal and shipped off to jail, Alicia launches herself back into her legal career and must fight not only to save her husband but their family too.
Despite only allegedly being the third choice of lead for the show, IMDB Pro reveals Julianna Margulies reportedly spent fourteen hours a day, five days a week, and nine months out of the year working on the series.
And it certainly paid off, the actor winning the Primetime Emmy Award, Golden Globe Award, Critics' Choice Television Award, TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Drama, and the Screen Actors Guild Award twice.
"I can't remember the last time I binged a network series as quickly as I binged THE GOOD WIFE," a Twitter user said. So, you better get watching.
A special shoutout goes to Bodyguard which would've made it high up on the list but didn't quite fit the bill of US-based governmental body. With the legend that is Keeley Hawes and Richard Madden at the helm, the series is a nail-biter - there's a reason I'm a die-hard BBC drama fangirl.
The Diplomat has also received high praise online but with a popcornmeter score of 59 percent, it just didn't quite make the cut.
Other honourable mentions which didn't tip-toe across the line into a government setting but hold some strong political messages all the same include The Wire, Parks and Recreation and South Park.
Should I have delved deep into the world of political film - and should you have already seen all of the above already - well, The King's Speech (2010) is up there and films such as Malcolm X, Lincoln, Bridge of Spies, Jackie, Selma, The Help, Do The Right Thing, Oppenheimer and 12 Years a Slave. Oh and there's always recent release The Apprentice starring Sebastian Stan in the role of Trump too.
So that should keep you going not just until the 2024 elections but probably until 2028 too.
UNILAD RANKED is a weekly series with a new article released every Friday.
Topics: Entertainment, Film and TV, UNILAD RANKED
Poppy Bilderbeck