The 40 most popular 2010s war & politics TV shows, ranked. Click any show for ratings, reviews, trailers, and where to watch.


Fauda
2015
country: Israel
A top Israeli agent comes out of retirement to hunt for a Palestinian militant he thought he'd killed, setting a chaotic chain of events into motion.


Vikings
2013
country: Canada
The adventures of Ragnar Lothbrok, the greatest hero of his age. The series tells the sagas of Ragnar's band of Viking brothers and his family, as he rises to become King of the Viking tribes. As well as being a fearless warrior, Ragnar embodies the Norse traditions of devotion to the gods. Legend has it that he was a direct descendant of Odin, the god of war and warriors.


SEAL Team
2017
country: United States
Military drama following the professional and personal lives of the most elite unit of Navy SEALs as they train, plan and execute the most dangerous, high stakes missions our country can ask of them.


Homeland
2011
country: United States
CIA officer Carrie Mathison is tops in her field despite being bipolar, which makes her volatile and unpredictable. With the help of her long-time mentor Saul Berenson, Carrie fearlessly risks everything, including her personal well-being and even sanity, at every turn.


Kuruluş Osman
2019
country: Turkey
The epic continuation of Diriliş Ertuğrul, Kuruluş Osman follows Osman Bey — son of Ertuğrul and destined founder of the Ottoman Empire — as he transforms a small Turkic tribe into a sovereign state. Battling the Byzantine Empire, Mongol forces and treachery from within, Osman must prove himself as both a warrior and a leader. A sweeping historical action drama built on faith, honour and the birth of one of history's greatest empires.


For All Mankind
2019
country: United States
Explore an aspirational world where NASA and the space program remained a priority and a focal point of our hopes and dreams as told through the lives of NASA astronauts, engineers, and their families.


Madam Secretary
2014
country: United States
After years away from the CIA, Elizabeth McCord is pulled back into the political arena. The newly appointed Secretary of State is tough, fair, and smart, driving international diplomacy, wrangling office politics, and circumventing protocol as she negotiates global and domestic issues, both at the White House and at home.


World War Two
2018
country: United States
Follow the deadliest conflict in human history in real time, week by week, blow by blow.


The Last Kingdom
2015
country: United Kingdom
A show of heroic deeds and epic battles with a thematic depth that embraces politics, religion, warfare, courage, love, loyalty and our universal search for identity. Combining real historical figures and events with fictional characters, it is the story of how a people combined their strength under one of the most iconic kings of history in order to reclaim their land for themselves and build a place they call home.


Veep
2012
country: United States
A look into American politics, revolving around former Senator Selina Meyer who finds being Vice President of the United States is nothing like she expected and everything everyone ever warned her about.


Joy of Life
2019
country: China
Zhang Qing, a present-day college student in culture and history major wants to study in professor Ye's postgraduate class, so he decides to write a historical fiction to elaborate his perspective of analyzing ancient literature history with modern concept. In the fiction, Zhang himself acts as a young man Fan Xian with mysterious life who lives in a remote seaside town of Kingdom Qing in his childhood, under the help of a mysterious mentor and a blindfolded watchman. Fan goes to the capital when he grows up, where he experiences plenty of ordeal and temper. Fan persists in adhering the rule of justice and goodness and lives his own glorious life.


Designated Survivor
2016
country: United States
Tom Kirkman, a low-level cabinet member is suddenly appointed President of the United States after a catastrophic attack during the State of the Union kills everyone above him in the Presidential line of succession.


Saga of Tanya the Evil
2017
country: Japan
On the front lines of the war, Tanya Degurechaff, blond hair, blue eyes, and porcelain white skin, commands her squad with lisping voice. Actually, she is one of Japan's most elite salary men, reborn as a little girl into a world of magical warfare after angering a mysterious being who calls himself God.


Vinland Saga
2019
country: Japan
For a thousand years, the Vikings have made quite a name and reputation for themselves as the strongest families with a thirst for violence. Thorfinn, the son of one of the Vikings' greatest warriors, spends his boyhood in a battlefield enhancing his skills in his adventure to redeem his most-desired revenge after his father was murdered.


Shooter
2016
country: United States
Bob Lee Swagger is an expert marksman living in exile who is coaxed back into action after learning of a plot to kill the president.


Violet Evergarden
2018
country: Japan
The war is over, and Violet Evergarden needs a job. Scarred and emotionless, she takes a job as a letter writer to understand herself and her past.


Firing Line with Margaret Hoover
2018
country: United States
Join author, activist and commentator Margaret Hoover for a public affairs talk show that delivers a civil and engaging contest of ideas among the brightest minds and voices from across the ideological spectrum.


Resurrection: Ertugrul
2014
country: Turkey
Ertuğrul Bey and the Knights Templar in the 13th century Alba and step and step with the struggle against brutal Mongols depicts the process of establishing the Ottoman principality.


Söz
2017
country: Turkey
Yavuz Karasu, a well-trained Turkish soldier, is in Istanbul with his fiance where a terrorist operation takes place. Dr. Bahar, who is not a surgeon, tries to save his fiance. After this incident, Yavuz goes back to Karabayir and Bahar follows him all the way to give him something that belongs to him. Another incident happens and he is chosen to be the commander of a team whose mission is to catch a terrorist and protect Karabiyir and their country Turkey. The whole team is solid, consistent, and willing to sacrifice their lives for the sake of their country.


The Pacific
2010
country: United States
Track the intertwined real-life stories of three U.S. Marines – Robert Leckie, John Basilone, and Eugene Sledge – across the vast canvas of the Pacific Theater during World War II. A companion piece to the 2001 miniseries Band of Brothers.


Love in the Moonlight
2016
country: South Korea
A young Joseon woman who's lived her whole life as a man ends up as a eunuch in the royal palace, where she begins to bond with the crown prince.


Payitaht: Abdulhamid
2017
country: Turkey
The fight of Abdülhamid II to keep the Ottoman Empire and Caliphate alive.


Amor e Revolução
2011
country: Brazil
Amor e Revolução is a Brazilian telenovela produced by SBT and originally broadcast from April 5, 2011, to January 13, 2012. Created by Tiago Santiago, with collaboration from Renata Dias Gomes, Miguel Paiva, and Eliana Garcia, and directed by Reynaldo Boury, the telenovela stars Graziella Schmitt, Cláudio Lins, and Lúcia Veríssimo. The production was the first Brazilian telenovela to portray the period of the military dictatorship as its main theme. Set between the 1960s and 1970s, the story follows Maria Paixão, a young woman involved in the armed resistance against the military regime, and José Guerra, a military officer who secretly opposes the government's actions. Despite being on opposite sides of the political conflict, they fall in love and face persecution, violence, ideological disagreements, and personal tragedies while fighting for their ideals and their relationship during one of the most turbulent periods in Brazilian history.


Troy: Fall of a City
2018
country: United Kingdom
Told from the perspective of the Trojan Family, the rich history of the Trojan War is explored, as well as the love, intrigue and betrayal of those who lived through it. On a trip to Sparta as a guest of Menelaus, Paris, son of Troy, falls in love with Menelaus' wife, Helen. After they depart Sparta together for Troy, Helen and Paris risk not only their lives, but those of their families and people as they trigger a chain of events that ultimately lead them all into an unending war.


The Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These
2018
country: Japan
Caught in a 150-year-long war, interstellar nations reach the pinnacle of strategic combat at the hands of two genius leaders. Reinhard of the Galactic Empire, and Yang of the Free Planets Alliance lead the charge from opposing fronts. Fighting is their destiny, but in this vast universe torn by political intrigue, their greatest enemy may not be each other.


The Heroic Legend of Arslan
2015
country: Japan
Arslan is the heir apparent of Pars, a strong nation that sits at the hear of the trade route connecting the East and the West. When the pagan nation of Lusitania begins an invasion of Pars, the timid Arslan is confronted with battle for the first time. His worst anxieties are realized the Parsian army falls for a Lusitanian stratagem and are routed. He barely escapes with his life, thanks to the loyal and indomitable warrior Daryun. Together they will stand against the invasion and the cruelties of fate that are about to blow down on Pars.


Star Blazers: Space Battleship Yamato 2199
2013
country: Japan
The year is 2199. The human race has been crushed in their war with the Gamilos, driven into underground cities by the invader's assault. Scientists estimate they have only a year left. The young officers Susumu Kodai and Daisuke Shima receive a mysterious capsule from a ship that made an emergency landing on Mars and return with it to Earth. It contains humanity's last hope: the planet Iscandar on the other side of the Magellan Galaxy has the technology to defeat the Gamilos and restore the planet. The space battleship Yamato is entrusted with this task, but they have only one year before humanity ends.


Behzat Ç.: An Ankara Policeman
2010
country: Turkey
Centered around a personally troubled, officially discredited police chief and his inharmonious police team in Ankara Police Force. Even though the show usually focuses on murders and other crimes that happens on a weekly basis, the undertone of the story leads to an eventual duel between Behzat Ç. and the rotten department officials and bureaucrats.


Boss
2011
country: United States
Mayor Tom Kane sits like a spider at the center of Chicago's web of power; a web built on a covenant with the people. They want to be led, they want disputes settled, jobs dispensed, and loyalties rewarded. If he achieves all this through deception and immorality, so be it. As long as he gets the job done, they look the other way. Yet despite being the most effective mayor in recent history, a degenerative brain disorder is ripping everything away from him. He can't trust his memory, his closest allies, or even himself.


The Advisors Alliance
2017
country: China
The story of Sima Yi, a great politician and strategist who lived during the Three Kingdoms era. By his side, Sima Yi has his politically-astute distaff members of his household, and pitted against them are the formidable Cao Cao and his heirs. After defending the Kingdom of Wei from Kongming formidable talents, who will end up with the ultimate power?


SIX
2017
country: United States
Action drama series inspired by the real missions of Navy SEAL Team Six.


Medici: Masters of Florence
2016
country: Italy
The story of the Medici family of Florence, their ascent from simple merchants to power brokers sparking an economic and cultural revolution. Along the way, they also accrue a long list of powerful enemies.


Das Boot
2018
country: Germany
An inexperienced U-boat crew has to survive a secret mission and a young German woman is torn between loyalty for her home country and the French resistance in the WWII drama.


Time Goes By
2010
country: Turkey
Set in the 1960s, the story of the Akarsu family includes Ali, Cemile and their four children: Berrin, a law student, Aylin and Mete, high school students, and 5 year old Osman. Ali begins an affair with Caroline, a Dutch woman, which leads to the disintegration of the family.


VICE
2013
country: United States
A documentary news series with a taboo-breaking team who deliver incredible news stories from around the world.


Cautious Hero: The Hero Is Overpowered but Overly Cautious
2019
country: Japan
Goddess Ristarte summons Seiya Ryuuguuin, an OVERLY cautious hero to save the world of Gaeabrande. Seiya is obsessed with muscle training and buying extra armor to deal with low level creatures. It’s simply one cautious mission at-a-time for this hero!


Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans
2015
country: Japan
On a terraformed post-disaster Mars, a group of child security agents rebel against the adults who betrayed them and the oppressive Earth government.


Catch-22
2019
country: United States
Pianosa Island, Italy, World War II. Bombardier John Yossarian tries to fulfill his duty, maintain sanity and return home as soon as possible, but incompetence and bureaucracy constantly stand in his way.


Manhattan
2014
country: United States
Set against the backdrop of the greatest clandestine race against time in the history of science with the mission to build the world's first atomic bomb in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Flawed scientists and their families attempt to co-exist in a world where secrets and lies infiltrate every aspect of their lives.


Wounded Love
2016
country: Turkey
Azize finds herself with her 3 children and mother-in-law in a difficult fight. She raises her children while fighting the difficulties of the war period and her husband's absence whom she loves more than anything. It's about war, love, greed, treason and sacrifice.
The 2010s were television's abundance decade — streaming originals arrived at scale, prestige drama went mainstream, and 'too much TV' became a genuine complaint.
War and political series use serial length to show process: campaigns, negotiations, and institutions grinding forward. The genre works best when it's interested in systems rather than just speeches.