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


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.


History of the World
2020
country: Australia
It's about human history, how humans shaped the world we live in. A history through cultures and civilizations - from early Mesopotamia to the industrial revolution. Documentary series from various european production company’s like BBC, SVT, NRK, DR, ARTE, Covering serveral topics of war, Persons Like Cleopatra, Hitler, George Washington, etc


Foyle's War
2002
country: United Kingdom
As WW2 rages around the world, DCS Foyle fights his own war on the home-front as he investigates crimes on the south coast of England. Foyle's War opens in southern England in the year 1940. Later series sees the retired detective working as an MI5 agent operating in the aftermath of the war.


'Allo 'Allo!
1984
country: United Kingdom
The misadventures of hapless cafe owner René Artois and his escapades with the Resistance in occupied France.


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.
Daily Politics
Daily Politics
2003
country: United Kingdom
Daily Politics is a British television show launched by the BBC in 2003 and presented by Andrew Neil and Jo Coburn. The programme takes an in-depth look at the daily goings on in Westminster and other areas across Britain and the world, and includes interviews with leading politicians and political commentators.


Soldier Soldier
1991
country: United Kingdom
The daily lives of a group of soldiers in 'B' Company, 1st Battalion The King's Fusiliers.


Dad's Army
1968
country: United Kingdom
Introducing the Walmington-On-Sea home guard. During WW2, in a fictional British seaside town, a ragtag group of Home Guard local defense volunteers prepare for an imminent German invasion.


Secret Army
1977
country: United Kingdom
World War II drama about covert organisation Lifeline helping allied airmen escape after being shot down in occupied Europe, working with the Resistance and hiding from the Gestapo.


Sharpe
1993
country: United Kingdom
Sharpe is a British series of television dramas starring Sean Bean as Richard Sharpe, a fictional British soldier in the Napoleonic Wars. Sharpe is the hero of a number of novels by Bernard Cornwell; most, though not all, of the episodes are based on the books. Produced by Celtic Films and Picture Palace Films for the ITV network, the series was shot mainly in Turkey and the Crimea, although some filming was also done in England, Spain and Portugal. The series originally ran from 1993 to 1997. In 2004, as part of ITV's new set of drama, ITV announced that it intended to produce new episodes of Sharpe, in co-production with BBC America, loosely based on his time in India, with Sean Bean continuing his role as Sharpe. Sharpe's Challenge is a two-part adventure; part one premiered on ITV on 23 April 2006, with part two being shown the following night. With more gore than earlier episodes, the show was broadcast by BBC America in September 2006.


The White Queen
2013
country: United Kingdom
Set against the backdrop of the Wars of the Roses, the series is the story of the women caught up in the protracted conflict for the throne of England.


SAS Rogue Heroes
2022
country: United Kingdom
The dramatised account of how the world’s greatest Special Forces unit, the SAS, was formed under extraordinary circumstances in the darkest days of World War Two.


The Big Questions
2007
country: United Kingdom
Nicky Campbell hosts a series of moral, ethical and religious debates.


Churchill's People
1974
country: United Kingdom
Churchill's People is a British anthology series based on A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, Winston Churchill's four-volume history of Britain and its former colonies. 26 episodes were produced by the BBC and initially broadcast from 30 December 1974 to 23 June 1975.


Bodyguard
2018
country: United Kingdom
A troubled war veteran is assigned to protect a controversial politician who may be the target of a terror plot.


Hornblower
1998
country: United Kingdom
Set during the 18th century Napoleonic Wars, Horatio Hornblower, a young and shy midshipman, rises through the ranks to become an admiral.


I, Claudius
1976
country: United Kingdom
Acclaimed blackly comic historical drama series. Set amidst a web of power, corruption and lies, it chronicles the reigns of the Roman emperors - Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula and finally Claudius.


Hostage
2025
country: United Kingdom
When the British prime minister's husband is kidnapped and the French president starts receiving threats, both leaders must face an impossible choice.


The Tattooist of Auschwitz
2024
country: United Kingdom
The powerful real-life story of Lali Sokolov, a Jewish prisoner who was tasked with tattooing ID numbers on prisoners' arms in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp during World War II.


Tenko
1981
country: Australia
Based on real-life experiences, Tenko remains one of the most fondly remembered and acclaimed BBC dramas of the early 1980s. It follows a group of women, formerly comfortably well-off ex-pats living in Singapore, as they are captured by the Japanese during World War II.


Judge John Deed
2001
country: United Kingdom
Judge John Deed is a British legal drama television series produced by the BBC in association with One-Eyed Dog for BBC One. It was created by G.F. Newman and stars Martin Shaw as Sir John Deed, a High Court judge who tries to seek real justice in the cases before him. It also stars Jenny Seagrove as the barrister Jo Mills, frequently the object of Deed's desire. A pilot episode was broadcast on 9 January 2001, followed by the first full series on 26 November 2001. The sixth and last series concluded on 18 January 2007. The programme then went on an indefinite break after Shaw became involved in another television programme, and he and Seagrove expressed a wish for the format of the series to change before they filmed new episodes. By 2009, the series had officially been cancelled. The six series produced make it the longest-running BBC legal drama. The factual accuracy of the series is often criticised by legal professionals and journalists; many of the decisions taken by Deed are unlikely to happen in a real court. The romanticised vision of the court system created by Newman caused a judge to issue a warning to a jury not to let the series influence their view of trials—referring to an episode where Deed flouts rules when called up for jury duty. Another episode led to complaints about biased and incorrect information about the MMR vaccine, leading the BBC to ban repeats of it in its original form. All six series have been released on DVD in the UK.


Yes Minister
1980
country: United Kingdom
Satirical sitcom set in the office of a UK Cabinet minister, Jim Hacker MP, who struggles with Civil Service bureaucracy and political machinations as he tries to get on with government business.


Catherine the Great
2019
country: United Kingdom
This four-part historical drama follows the end of Catherine the Great's reign and her affair with Russian military leader Grigory Potemkin that helped shape the future of Russian politics.


The Final Cut
1995
country: United Kingdom
Seasoned politician Francis Urquhart tries to establish his legacy before retirement by negotiating an end to the Cyprus, but the island hides secrets from his past that could destroy him.


A Spy Among Friends
2022
country: United Kingdom
Follow the defection of notorious British intelligence officer and KGB double agent, Kim Philby, through the lens of his complex relationship with MI6 colleague and close friend, Nicholas Elliott.


The Game
2014
country: United Kingdom
"The Game" is a 1970s Cold War spy thriller set in the world of espionage. It tells the story of the invisible war fought by MI5 as it battles to protect the nation from the threats of the Cold War.


An Age of Kings
1960
country: United Kingdom
A linking together of Shakespeare's history plays — Richard II, 1 Henry IV, 2 Henry IV, Henry V, 1 Henry VI, 2 Henry VI, 3 Henry VI, and Richard III — chronicling the rise and fall of monarchs over the 86 years between Richard II and Richard III.


King & Conqueror
2025
country: United Kingdom
Harold of Wessex and William of Normandy are two men destined to face each other at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Two former allies, neither of whom had aspired to the British throne, are forced, by circumstances and their personal obsession, to wage war over possession of the crown.


Enemy at the Door
1978
country: United Kingdom
Enemy At The Door is a British television drama series made by London Weekend Television for ITV. The series was shown between 1978 and 1980 and dealt with the German occupation of Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands, during the Second World War. The programme generated a certain amount of criticism in Guernsey, particularly for being obviously filmed on Jersey despite being ostensibly set on Guernsey. The series also marked the TV debut of Anthony Head as a member of the island resistance. The theme music was by Wilfred Josephs.


The Undeclared War
2022
country: United Kingdom
In the post-pandemic world of 2024 during an upcoming British general election involving the UK’s first Black Conservative prime minister, a leading team of analysts at the heart of the UK’s NSA-style spy agency GCHQ attempt to ward off a cyber-attack on the country’s electoral system.


The Little Drummer Girl
2018
country: United Kingdom
Brilliant young actress Charlie strikes up an acquaintance with an intriguing stranger while on holiday in Greece, but it rapidly becomes apparent that his intentions are far from romantic.


Nazi Megastructures
2013
country: United Kingdom
In a quest for world domination, the Nazis built some of the biggest and deadliest pieces of military hardware and malevolent technology in history. This is the stories of the engineers who designed them and how these structures sparked a technological revolution that changed warfare forever.


Years and Years
2019
country: United Kingdom
As Britain is rocked by unstable political, economic and technological advances, members of the Lyons family converge on one crucial night in 2019. Over the next 15 years, the twists and turns of their everyday lives are explored as we find out if this ordinary family could change the world.


Secret Service
2026
country: United Kingdom
A British intelligence officer Kate Henderson races against time to uncover a UK politician's potential ties with the Kremlin, risking her reputation and family, as a murder and election loom.


Yes, Prime Minister
1986
country: United Kingdom
James Hacker MP the Government's bumbling minister for Administrative Affairs is propelled along the corridors of power to the very pinnacle of politics - No. 10. Could this have possibly have been managed by his trusted Permanent Private Secretary, the formidably political Sir Humphrey Appleby who must move to the “Top Job” in Downing Street to support him, together with his much put upon PPS Bernard Wolley. What could possibly go wrong?


Our Girl
2014
country: United Kingdom
Drama following the extraordinary adventures of female medics in the British Army.


Mary & George
2024
country: United Kingdom
In 17th century England, Mary Villiers molds her beautiful son, George, to seduce King James I, intending to gain riches and influence through outrageous schemes.


Private Schulz
1981
country: Australia
Private Schulz is a six-part 1981 television comedy-drama serial written by Jack Pulman and produced for BBC Two. It stars Michael Elphick in the title role, with Ian Richardson, Tony Caunter, Billie Whitelaw, Billy Murray, and Mark Wingett. Set primarily in Germany, during and immediately following World War II, fraudster and petty criminal Gerhard Schulz is forced to serve in the SS. In a story based on the real, though unrealised, plot by the Germans known as Operation Bernhard, Schulz tricks the Nazis into making counterfeit British £5 notes, millions of which will be used to destroy the British economy.


House of Cards
1990
country: United Kingdom
Frustrated at a new moderate Conservative government and deprived of a promotion to a senior position, chief whip Francis Urquhart prepares a meticulous plot to bring down the Prime Minister then to take his place.


Ultimate Force
2002
country: United Kingdom
This covert combat series focuses on the Red Troop, an elite group of soldiers from the British military's Special Air Service group.
British television's defining habit is the short series — six episodes, one writer, a finite story. That structure produced the modern prestige miniseries and a format catalogue the rest of the world keeps adapting.
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.