The 5 best political thriller series of the 21st century

Netflix’s soapy but glorious transatlantic political thriller “The Diplomat” returned on October 16 for a third season. In the real world politics can often be dreary — ask any U.S. senator who has had to stay up until 3 a.m. for a meaningless procedural vote. But on the small screen, writers can spice both political fiction and non-fiction up with potboiler plots and ripped-from-the-headlines drama — like these five recent standouts do.

‘Borgen’ (2010-2022)

A political thriller that doubles as an extended lesson in comparative politics, “Borgen” is the rare show that takes both politics and plot seriously. In season one, Birgitte Nyborg (Sidse Babett Knudsen) and her moderate Danish political party unexpectedly emerge as the winners of parliamentary elections. As she ascends to the country’s top political position, she has to maintain her fragile coalition with the help of her “spin doctor” Kasper Juul (Pilou Asbaek) and keep her marriage to Philip (Mikael Birkkjaer) alive as they raise their two children. “Borgen” is “one of the greatest TV series of the past decade” in large part because “you have to navigate” the country’s fascinating multi-party political system, said Vanity Fair. (Netflix)

‘Homeland’ (2011-2020)

The first season of Showtime’s “Homeland” dropped near the tail end of America’s Global War on Terror, and the show didn’t waste time diving into the story of Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis), a U.S. Marine captured in Afghanistan who may or may not have been turned into an Al-Qaeda sleeper agent. Claire Danes won two Emmy Awards playing Carrie Mathison, a CIA agent struggling with bipolar disorder who is convinced that Brody is not on the level.

Mandy Patinkin shines as Saul Berenson, the CIA’s Middle East Division Chief. A “gripping premise that is delicately explored with all the ambiguity viewers felt at that time about America’s legacy of still lengthening Mideast misadventure,” the show was “arguably perfect,” said David Crow at Den of Geek. (Hulu)

‘House of Cards’ (2013-2018)

A show that was integral to the rise of Netflix’s original programming empire, “House of Cards” was an especially cynical look at the inner workings of Washington, D.C. Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) is the Democratic House Majority Whip whose promised role as Secretary of State under newly elected President Garrett Walker (Michel Gill) is rescinded. Stung by the betrayal, Underwood and his wife, Claire (Robin Wright), plot their rise to power using any means necessary, including blackmail and murder. A show that “revels in the familiar but always entertaining underbelly of government” and delivers a “delicious immorality play with an excellent cast,” said Alessandra Stanley at The New York Times. (Netflix)

‘Bodyguard’ (2018)

Richard Madden is David Budd, a father of two small children and an Afghanistan veteran suffering from PTSD who is tapped to be head of security for the U.K. Home Secretary, Julia Montague (Keeley Hawes), after stopping a suicide bombing in the show’s gripping opening. Budd, however, is nursing explosive resentment against the government, and his assignment to protect the hawkish and conspiratorial Montague sends him further down the path of doubt and possibly madness. When Budd and Montague end up more than professionally involved, it all gets even more complicated. “Bodyguard,” a six-episode limited series, is a show that “excels at both the daring, gasp-inducing twist and the methodical construction of slower-burning thrills,” said Variety. (Netflix)

‘Say Nothing’ (2024)

A taught, nine-episode limited series, FX’s historical thriller is told through the eyes of Irish Republican Army (IRA) leader Dolours Price (Lola Petticrew and as an older woman by Maxine Peake). Structured as a series of flashbacks as she is interviewed in 2001 for a Boston College oral history project, the show traces her radicalization after she and her sister, Marian (Hazel Doupe), are attacked by unionist police forces during peaceful protests in Northern Ireland. The sisters join the IRA, where they meet charismatic revolutionaries Gerry Adams (Josh Finan) and Brendan Hughes (Anthony Boyle). The show’s “longitudinal account of political disillusionment makes it one of the year’s finest shows,” said Inkoo Kang at The New Yorker. (Hulu)