Top 10 BEST Political Dramas

politics can be a dirty game or an

honorable public service either way

there will be drama welcome to

watchmojo.com and today we're counting

down our picks for the top ten political

dramas before we begin we publish new

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videos for this list we're focusing on

politically themed television dramas set

in modern times be warned though just as

leaks are a part of politics they're

also a part of this list in the form of

spoilers what's anticipated survivor

number 10 political animals this

miniseries about a political family

features Sigourney Weaver as Ellen

barish a former first lady and current

Secretary of State with presidential

aspirations of her own if this sounds

familiar the show's creators admit that

Weaver's character is loosely based on

Hillary Clinton but there are

differences barish is also a former

governor of Illinois and divorced her

ex-husband's continued antics are a

threat to her political career as is her

son's failed recovery from drug

addiction flipping back and forth

between the drama at home and the drama

at work political animals is a look at

what spending time in the White House

can do to a family and the best moments

of life when everything comes together

are few and fleeting but you'll never

get to the next great moment if you

don't keep going

number 9 Madam Secretary finding a

balance between work and home life isn't

always easy when your day job is

secretary of state for the US government

it becomes that much more complex can I

be resigned and conflicted you can never

be either of those things you can be

eager and optimistic no she can't be

eager that's to Jimmy Carter Elizabeth

McCord played by Talley Oni finds that

out the hard way when she's recruited

for the job by her old CIA boss who now

just so happens to be the president you

ever get a queasy 3 a.m. feeling about

wasting the taxpayers money on this kind

of public display which is really about

promoting your own political ambitions

we see her managing a staff she

inherited from her predecessor

investigating the former secretaries

unexpected death and adapting to and in

some cases challenging the way things

work behind closed doors in Washington

the focus though is

the international incidents she's trying

to stop and her effort to get home to

her still young family number eight boss

Kelsey Grammer stars as Tom Kane the

cutthroat mayor of Chicago but right

from the beginning there's a twist he's

been diagnosed with Lewy body dementia

and is slowly losing his grip on reality

you'll experience increasingly severe

visual hallucinations paranoia delusions

boss shows us corrupt big-city politics

with all the scheming and violence you

might expect but much of it is seen

through the eyes of a protagonist whose

viewpoint the audience can't trust this

stylish drama is filled with smart

political speeches dirty deeds done with

impunity and a slew of compelling

characters unfortunately the series was

canceled after just two seasons so be

prepared for plot points that remain

unresolved should you dive into this

political powerhouse you have not

experienced tremors I do not intend to

they're only gonna get worse number

seven the politicians husband this

three-part BBC miniseries takes the

concept of the political power couple

and turns it on its head

you can't fire another cabinet minister

specially my own wife without appearing

vindictive when a highly placed cabinet

minister resigns as a power move and it

fails it's up to his wife to come out of

his shadow publicly while privately

taking his place and carrying his scheme

to the next level the only problem is

she can't at least not without

destroying her own career how many times

have you stepped aside man can their

marriage and jobs survive them fighting

on different sides and what happens when

a rumor to fair enters into the picture

you either support your husband's stand

or you do not which is it it's when

political and personal lives get

intertwined that things get really

interesting

we'll take that

kaga thank you very much for joining us

number six house of cards this British

drama based on a novel is set in the era

following the end of Margaret Thatcher's

tenure as Prime Minister the main

protagonist is chief conservative whip

Francis Urquhart who with the support of

his wife schemes his way up the

political ladder well let's see how he

does he's based on two of Shakespeare's

most ambitious and ruthless characters

Richard the third and Macbeth and in the

style of Britain's greatest playwright

Burkert lets the audience in on his

scheming through soliloquies and aside

spoken directly to the camera next to a

small war there's nothing quite like a

general election to stiffen the sinews

and summon up the blood initially a 4

episode miniseries the story continues

in two other similar installments to

play the king and the final cut number 5

The Good Wife the political sex scandal

is about as old as politics itself one

aspect of it that we rarely see

dramatized though is what happens to the

innocent party the one that's cheated on

this emmy-winning series starts from

that point with the Cook County Illinois

special prosecutor forced to resign for

infidelity his wife a lawyer is then

swept into the ruthless world of Chicago

politics they're worried about my

husband mr. childs you've obviously

never made a woman angry before because

I can quit this drama operates in two

worlds with the legal story resolved at

the end of each episode but the

underlying political plot forming story

arcs that carry over in the case of The

Good Wife and it's spin-off / sequel

series the good fight it's the best or

sometimes the worst of both worlds

number 4 scandal if the category were

steamiest or sexiest political dramas

this Shonda Rhimes creation would most

likely top that list chief

you think I've got all the proof we need

hold on to it I don't want to use it

unless we have to the most prominent

political intrigue on this show revolves

around the people not their policies led

by Kerry Washington in her

groundbreaking role as Olivia Pope the

focus is on what they do behind closed

doors and what they don't want the

public to know so you're confirming that

the President of the United States has

been cheating on you

his wife from the bedrooms of power to

the dark alleys and secret prisons of

Washington DC those behind the

politicians are on the real quest for

dominance your mouse Cyrus a mouse on a

wheel thinking truly believing that if I

just run a little bit faster I'll

finally get to the cheese and it's those

who cover up their scandals that make

their climb up the political ladder

possible yes I'm surrounded by people

who have completely lost their mind

number three homeland this emmy-winning

psychological thriller highlights the

politics at play in the spy world Claire

Danes Carrie Mathison navigates the

internal bureaucracy at play at CIA

headquarters while trying to thwart

politically motivated international

terror plots at home and abroad he's

making contact so he's sending a message

to somebody a handler a sleeper cell

somebody living with bipolar disorder

she's also trying her best to stay

mentally stable and on her meds this is

a world where it's hard to tell who's

really on what side where even the

people closest to you can be manipulated

to turn against you

it's a frequently violent fast-paced

show where the stakes are often life or

death it was in your car I didn't know

I don't believe you number two house of

cards cold calculating manipulative

ruthless and extremely ambitious those

words describe practically every

character on this Netflix original

series and it's exactly what's made the

Underwood's specifically a very

successful power couple in this bleak

vision of Washington DC it only takes 10

seconds to crush a man's ambitions I

need to take care I protect mine while

based on the previously mentioned

British drama of the same name complete

with Shakespearean asides to the camera

this house of cards is very American and

very modern and not just cuz of its

cinematography and pacing it also

happened to be the first streaming only

series to be nominated for some major

Emmy Awards and it's easy to see why I

can never fill your shoes

[Music]

you don't have a choice now before we

unveil our number one pick here are some

honorable mentions we've had a cool they

found wreckage I can't take a chance

that my becoming president will speed or

even doulas execution and if you think

that I am gonna stand by and watch a

young woman be executed tortured for

having sex you are sorely mistaken

number one the west wing this multiple

Emmy award-winning Aaron Sorkin series

is the modern political drama that

others aspire to emulate know the Bureau

of Labor Statistics reported the CPI

jumped by 0.7 percent thank you it

follows the daily work of senior White

House staff during the administration of

fictional president Josiah Bartlett

played with gravitas and humility by

Martin Sheen probably not a good idea

for the most powerful and influential

person in the world to be calling up the

people whose laws he signs and asking

them for money through smart quick and

memorable dialogue the ensemble cast

debates current issues from both sides

and deals with the kind of intense

situations that are the norm in the

political world yes sir what do you

think of the speech me yes you it's the

text of the speech Charlie discounting

the little improv in the basic I mean

the entire speech they frequently do

this while heading from one place to

another in one of the show's famous

Walken talks a technique Sorkin and the

West Wing are famous for do you agree

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