Political satires to watch after bingeing Veep

With Veep hotter than ever before, thanks to real-life events, here’s a look at some other political satire TV shows to check out!

It’s often joked that TV satire has the massive chore of trying to outdo reality. No series showed that more than Veep. The HBO comedy starred Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Selina Meyer, the semi-incompetent Vice President of the United States handling a variety of challenges as she tries to reach higher office with a bumbling staff.

The show’s own producers have acknowledged how so many stories and moments they came up with as satire pale when compared to how the last decade of politics has unfolded. The show has become even hotter in the wake of changes for the 2024 Presidential election such as Vice President Kamala Harris running and President Joe Biden bowing out of the race, allowing many to marvel at how prescient it was. 

It’s not alone, as there have been a lot of good political satires on TV over the years, both from the U.S. and abroad. The best nail how chaotic governing can be, how bizarre the players are and still often seeming tame compared to real life. Just like Veep, some shows can predict events and be striking watches. So after you finish Veep on Max, here are 10 more political satires on TV to check out and see how real life can outdo them. 

House of Cards (UK)

No, this isn’t the Netflix adaptation that tried a bit too hard to be more serious on politics. This is the original BBC version that was far sharper and more darkly comic. Ian Richardson is magnificent as Francis Urquhart, a Parliament member, ticked off when he was not given a promotion. He thus engineers a twisted path to becoming Prime Minister.

Richardson is mesmerizing, especially when he talks to the camera to share his thoughts. The series showcases how his rivals fail to realize they’re dealing with a man willing to kill to get to power. The first miniseries is wonderful, with To Catch a King having Urquhart fighting the King of England and The Final Cut bringing his story to a close. If you thought the U.S. version of House of Cards was something, the original puts it to shame.

Streaming on Britbox

The Regime

This new HBO series got mixed reviews for most of its storyline but universal praise was handed to Kate Winslet for her star turn, which deserved Emmy consideration. She’s Elena Vernham, chancellor of a fictional European nation, a woman whose high ideals have been compromised to the point she’s now a near dictator. As a rebellion rises against her, Elena makes the mistake of listening to a soldier with his own agenda.

The series may not land the dark comedy as much as the producers wanted and seems lacking at times. Yet Winslet is compelling as ever, elevating the material with her sharp lines and feeling that a woman has to be twice as mean to get ahead. Winslet alone makes the show a must-watch.

Streaming on Max

Parks and Recreation

This NBC hit remains one of the best “mockumentary” shows of all time. In perhaps her signature role, Amy Poehler is Leslie Knope, the ridiculously optimistic mid-level bureaucrat who wants to boost up her quirky town of Pawnee. The show works on so many levels showing how crazy politics can be in this hamlet and Leslie driving on and never seeing how bad it could be.

She’s surrounded by a cast of now-famous names like Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza, Rashida Jones, Adam Scott, Aziz Ansari, and, of course, Chris Pratt with Rob Lowe in a stellar comedic turn. Its seven season run is comedy at its best and Leslie’s inspiring journey remains captivating.

Streaming on Peacock. 

Mr. Mayor

Sitcom veteran Ted Danson is in fine form in this 2021-2022 NBC comedy. He’s the newly elected mayor of Los Angeles, a former billionaire who promises he knows how to fix things. Oscar-winner Holly Hunter is his deputy mayor, a veteran politician who quickly discovers Danson did all this just to win his daughter’s favor and has no clue how to run a city. 

Danson makes it work as his character stumbles with the media, doesn’t quite grasp how the non-rich live and so many of his efforts to help backfire. Hunter's character is fun in how she acts like she’s more in a regular political drama undermining Danson's but yet has an odd respect for him, too. The show only lasted two seasons but still works as a fun political comedy. 

Streaming on Prime Video.

Yes Minister

Still holding up over 40 years later, this classic BBC series has what could have been a dramatic tale. Newly elected Prime Minister Jim Hacker (Paul Eddington) has plans to change the system and try to help England. Too bad he’s often a publicity-hungry bungler. Sir Humphrey Appleby (Nigel Hawthorne) wants to keep the status quo and confuses people with his long-winded speeches. 

The show is a comedy gem tackling the hypocrisy and confusion of politics and it’s telling how so much of it has aged very well. It can be laugh out loud hilarious, especially when it comes to the clashes of the leaders of a country who often have little clue what they’re doing and a must-watch of British comedy.

Streaming on Britbox.

The Thick Of It

Before he created Veep, Armando Iannucci crafted this award-winning British series that works just as well. It’s set in the Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship, which is meant to oversee various British cabinets. Peter Capaldi had a breakout turn as Malcolm Tucker, the manager whose foul mouth makes Selina Meyer sound like a schoolteacher. 

Just like Veep, many of the show’s outrageous plots would end up mirroring real-life events and scandals. That adds to the already hysterical episodes with Capaldi marvelous as Tucker. Any Veep fan should be watching this show (and the movie spinoff In The Loop) to see the British take on the format.

Streaming on Britbox

Tanner ‘88

Truly ahead of its time, this 1988 HBO miniseries is told as if it were a documentary on a fictional Congressman (Michael Murphy) running for President. He has a good supporting cast with Cynthia Nixon as his wife, but the real stars are the real-life politicians of the time like Gary Hart, Jesse Jackson, Bob Dole, and more. The series is well made and it’s easy to see why people of the era thought this was for real.

It’s striking how so much of news coverage of campaigns, the inner workings, the scandals and the press still works today. A 2004 sequel returned to the characters and there’s a good reason this show is still hailed by political operatives.

Streaming on Max

The Good Fight

This sequel series to The Good Wife was front and center on politics from day one. The plotline is Diane Lockhart (Christine Baranski) losing almost all her money to a Ponzi scheme and, as a result, is forced to work for a new law firm. The series talked all about the current events with several plotlines ripped from the headlines and given a satirical spin just barely above reality.

From Michael Sheen’s insane political operative to the gang involved in conspiracies on notable figures, political chaos and a judge running his unofficial courtroom, the show’s dark edge never ceased until the end. It’s a fascinating time capsule of 2017-2022 and the stellar cast aids it in shining as a wild ride.

Streaming on Paramount+

The Diplomat

At first, this Netflix show looks like a typical political drama as Kate Wyler (Keri Russell) is a career diplomat appointed the U.S. ambassadorship to Great Britain just as an attack on a British ship could start a war. However, it’s not long before it becomes clear the show is also a satire of politics as Kate is unknowingly being prepped to become the new Vice President and has to navigate some tricky political waters.

Rufus Sewell is terrific as her husband, whose own diplomatic career went down in flames but can’t stop pulling games behind Kate’s back. Russell shows a wonderful balance of drama and comedy as Kate just wants to go to Kabul, Afghanistan yet still handles the growing crisis. The show plays murders and backstabbing for laughs and has a cliffhanger to set up a second season that hopefully continues to showcase some wonderful humor. 

Streaming on Netflix

Alpha House

Created by Gary Trudeau, creator of the long-running Doonsbury comic, this Prime Video series had much of the same sharp take on politics. It’s loosely based on real events as a pack of Republican Senators (including John Goodman, Mark Consuelos, Matt Malloy, and Clark Johnson) share a house together while handling scandals, one runs for President, wives, mistresses and now and then actually taking part in the government. 

The show has a good supporting cast, including Haley Joel Osment, Wanda Sykes, Amy Sedaris, and even Bill Murray, dropping in as a former roommate ruined by scandal. Several real-life political figures and commentators pop in, from Stephen Colbert to Elizabeth Warren, and its two seasons show an underrated, fun political sendup of how some folks in Congress hate their own jobs.

Streaming on Prime Video