The best political TV shows

People complain about Aaron Sorkin, and those complaints are often valid. He can be a little preachy, especially in an ex post facto fashion. Sometimes, his scripts are overwritten. On the other hand, when Sorkin is in a groove, his writing pops, and The West Wing is full of examples. It was born in the Clinton Era but spent most of its life in the W Era, which probably helped make it feel like a comfort to left-leaning viewers.

The West Wing speaks to the proverbial better angels of our nature and envisions a nigh-utopian vision of politics. Veep is the polar opposite. It’s also hilarious. The show is vulgar, cynical, and perhaps, as a result, feels more “accurate” to the political landscape. It also gave TV icon Julia Louis-Dreyfus another role to rack up Emmys with.

Parks and Recreation splits the difference between the first two shows on this list. It’s a comedy like Veep, but it is decidedly less cynical. Some have complained about that, but it’s a sitcom! If you are asking scripted comedic shows to accurately reflect reality, that’s a “you” problem! Parks and Rec started slow, but the tale of Pawnee’s Parks and Recreation department grew into a delightful, oft-charming comedy.

During the run of Spin City, the population of New York City crossed eight million. To put that into perspective, only 12 U.S. states have a larger population. Being mayor of New York is a huge undertaking, but what about the team behind the mayor? Spin City , a solid sitcom, began as a Michael J. Fox vehicle. He plays the deputy mayor of NYC, working to clean up his boss’ messes. Unfortunately, Fox’s Parkinson’s led to him leaving the show after the fourth season, with Charlie Sheen stepping in to replace him for two more seasons.

If you liked Veep but wish to hear all that vulgarity in British accents, check out The Thick of It. Armando Iannucci created both shows, and in a way, The Thick of It serves as a British counterpart to the HBO show. The political focus differs, and the cast changes more than Veep, but it’s also an easy binge. In classic British style, The Thick of It ran from 2005 until 2012 and produced 23 total episodes.

Hey, the monarchy in the United Kingdom has a role in politics. While that role has diminished over the years, The Crown begins in 1947, which was a different time for the monarchy and politics. Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair, among others, are key figures in certain seasons of the show. The Crown was quite popular on Netflix, and we say it counts as a political show.

This entrant was admittedly born out of curiosity and research over preexisting working knowledge. The People’s Choice, as far as we can tell, is the first political sitcom in American television. The show starred Jackie Cooper and was created by Marx Brothers collaborator Irving Brecher. The People’s Choice ran from 1955 to 1958 for NBC, racking up three seasons and 104 episodes. Cooper plays “Sock” Miller, a Korean War veteran and city council member in the fictional New City, California. He’s also dating the mayor’s daughter. Oh, and the mayor and his daughter have the last name “Peoples,” so the title is kind of a pun.

Soap was a pretty genius parody of soap operas, and it led to the spinoff Benson. Benson is more of a traditional sitcom. Robert Guillaume played Benson DuBois, who has gone from being the butler of the Tates on Soap to the butler of Governor Gatling (governor of where? That’s not important). However, Benson being a butler was mostly a way to shift him to a new show, and he gets into politics fairly quickly, even running for governor. Benson ran seven seasons and 158 episodes. In season two, it briefly featured a new character named Frankie, who was a delivery boy and struggling standup comedian. The actor was fired after three episodes. His name? Jerry Seinfeld.

The Wire spends much of its time dealing with the drug dealers of Baltimore and the members of the police department working to deal with, well, the drugs, but more so the drug-related violent crimes. Also, one season, they spend a lot of time in a public school. The political realm of Baltimore is also key to The Wire, and David Simon makes it abundantly clear how politics plays a role in everything. It is a show rich in nuance and complexity, which is why many consider it one of the best dramas of all time.

Some proper historical fiction had to make the list (The Crown is more adjacent to that genre). John Adams was an unusually successful miniseries for a show centered on a not-iconic President of the United States. John Adams was the second president, and a one-termer at that, but he was a massive part of the birth of America as a nation. John Adams didn’t feel like homework, and it won 13 Emmys, which is, to date, a record for a limited series.

The vibe of Scandal is probably the antithesis of John Adams. It’s pulpy and over the top, more interesting in sexual intrigue and soap-style storylines. However, it helped take the careers of creator Shonda Rimes and star Kerry Washington to a new level. We assume the White House doesn’t actually work like this, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t fun.

The CIA is part of the U.S. government. Arguably, it is the bleakest part because the CIA often handles nastier work of the spycraft and political assassination variety. It’s all very “You want me on that wall, you need me on that wall.” Homeland made a splash with its first season, with Damian Lewis and Claire Danes winning Emmys and the show taking home Outstanding Drama Series. Then it ran for seven more seasons. No, really! The rest of Homeland is a mixed bag, but your mileage may vary.

David Simon and journalist William Zorzi joined forces for a politically charged miniseries for HBO. It tells the true story of Nick Wasicsko, who became mayor of Yonkers, New York at the age of 28 as federally mandated desegregation of public housing was coming to the city. It was a complicated time, and Wasicsko’s life was complicated (and tragic) in its own right. Simon once again excelled at expressing the nuance of the situation. After all, the title comes from the F. Scott Fitzgerald quote, “Show me a hero, and I will write you a tragedy.” Oh, and Oscar Isaac plays Wasicsko and is great in the role. 

A sitcom co-created by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock, who created  30 Rock? And it starred Ted Danson, a sitcom icon? Say, can we throw Oscar winner Holly Hunter in the mix? Mr. Mayor had a lot going for it on paper. It was also quite good in execution. Mr. Mayor was funny in that Tina Fey joke factory style, if a step down from 30 Rock. For whatever reason, it didn’t click with audiences, and the show was axed after two seasons.

Back in the day, NBC would air dramatic shows under the overarching name The Bold Ones. Some, like The Lawyers, would last multiple seasons. The Senator was a one-off story that many consider to be the best of the bunch. Hal Holbrook, who memorably would play Deep Throat in All the President's Men, starred as an idealistic senator fighting against the entrenched, corrupt politicians in Washington. It's kind of like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington but without the conservative politics. You did know Frank Capra was a Republican, right? The Senator and Holbrook both won Emmys.

Memorably, Trey Stone and Matt Parker, the South Park guys, were going to make a sitcom about the winner of the 2000 presidential election, regardless of who won. Maybe that’s why That’s My Bush!, focused on the presidency of George W. Bush, felt a little generic. To be fair, That’s My Bush! was designed as much to be a parody of broad sitcoms as a political satire. Plus, 2000 was the peak of "actually politics are dumb, and we’re smart" snarkiness from Parker and Stone. Still, this “fast fashion, but for sitcoms” experiment is interesting to revisit.

It turns out that there are politics in countries where people don’t speak English as their primary language! Borgen is a Danish drama set in Danish politics. And yet, it found success in America. People caught Borgen fever. Well, some people did. Thanks to Netflix helping to deliver it around the world, Borgen found an international audience and even won a Peabody.

You may have seen the 2009 movie State of Play , which stars Russell Crowe and Rachel McAdams as journalists and Ben Affleck as a congressman with some secrets. It’s a good movie, but if you bring it up to the right person, they will invariably say to you, “The TV show is way better.” The show is British in origin and tells the story over six episodes instead of one film. Indeed, the show has a lot of quality to it, and a lot of people loved it, even back in 2003. There’s a reason it was adapted into an American movie, after all.