10 Best TV Shows Like Hulu's Paradise

There may be trouble in "Paradise," but that's just how we like it. The hit Hulu series (created by "This Is Us" showrunner Dan Fogelman) landed on the streamer in 2025 to positive reviews and much buzz, quickly making a case for itself as one of James Marsden's best TV shows ever. The "X-Men" alum plays slain U.S. President Cal Bradford, whose sudden death sends Secret Service agent Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown) on a winding mystery through a post-apocalyptic America.

Along the way, Xavier comes across hidden clues, government secrets, and deep state conspiracies, all hallmarks of a story rooted in a subgenre that is perhaps the guiltiest of pleasures — the speculative political thriller. Stories under this umbrella can just as easily be titillating, smartly written, and dramatically engrossing as they are oblivious, self-important, and totally ridiculous. Sometimes, a story can be all these things at once, which is kinda why the subgenre is so strangely arresting for audiences across the political spectrum. 

As we await the release of the second season, here are the 10 best TV shows like Hulu's "Paradise."

Our countdown of the best TV shows like "Paradise" begins with "24," the long-running Fox series created by Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran (who had both previously created the TV adaptation of "La Femme Nikita" for CTV and the USA Network). "24" is one of the most popular TV political thrillers of all time, and chillingly, potentially the most consequential as well, given that it was cited by a U.S. Supreme Court Justice defending the real use of torture in counter-terrorism operations.

Its effect on the fractured American consciousness aside, "24" would be a perfect follow-up to "Paradise" for fans who are looking for similarly twisting stories, especially if they found the speculative fiction side of the latter series a bit hard to handle. Kiefer Sutherland stars as federal agent Jack Bauer, an incomparably brilliant and effective counter-terrorist operative deployed on clandestine, life-or-death missions that must be resolved in 24 hours (each season covers one full day, essentially in real time). Seasonal storylines include elements such as political assassinations, nuclear weapons, drug cartels, addiction, bioweapons, deep-state conspiracies — all tied together with the absolute peak of post-9/11 hyper-paranoia. It is, in many ways, a fascinating time capsule of American attitudes during the first decade of the 21st century. It's also often deeply disturbing for this very reason.

"24" ran for eight seasons between 2001 (the first episode aired less than two months after the World Trade Center attacks) and 2010, and it was followed by a single revival miniseries titled "24: Live Another Day." Alongside Sutherland, the first season stars Elisha Cuthbert as Jack's daughter Kim and Dennis Haysbert as preeminent Democratic politician David Palmer, as well as seasonal guests Chris Diamantopoulos, Colm Feore, Janeane Garofalo, Cherry Jones, Regina King, Freddie Prinze Jr., Katee Sackhoff, and Jean Smart. It also won nearly two dozen Emmy Awards, including for Outstanding Lead Actor (Sutherland) and Outstanding Drama Series (season 5).

Despite the best efforts of shows like "Paradise" and "24," America hasn't entirely cornered the market when it comes to political thrillers. In 2018, Netflix and BBC One aired "Bodyguard," a procedural thriller starring "Game of Thrones" and "Eternals" star Richard Madden as David Budd, a Principal Protection Officer tasked with guarding the life of Conservative parliament member and Home Department Secretary of State (for our U.S. readers — think Secretary of Homeland Security) Julia Montague (British crime drama stalwart Keeley Hawes). The series was created by Jed Mercurio, best known for creating the genre-defying police procedural TV series "Line of Duty." In both shows, Mercurio applies a skeptical approach toward power, policy, and the morality of those able to gain control over either.

Like Sterling K. Brown's Secret Service Head Xavier Collins and James Marsden's President Cal Bradford in "Paradise," David and Julia have a tense and tumultuous relationship. As a veteran of the British army who served in Afghanistan, David lives with post traumatic stress disorder (a mental illness which, despite his attempts to conceal it from those around him, compromises his judgement and endangers himself and others) and finds himself passionately at odds with Julia's attitude toward their government's use of force and surveillance. Their trust in one another fluctuates dramatically throughout the series, especially as other power players — such as counter-terrorism minister Mike Travis (Vincent Franklin) and MI5 director Stephen Hunter-Dunn (Stuart Bowman) — attempt to manipulate them toward their own ends.

"Bodyguard" stands out from most other entries on this list for the amount of action spectacle it employs, perhaps only superseded by "24" and one other bullet-ridden Netflix drama we'll discuss further down. In 2019, "Bodyguard" was nominated for Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (Mercurio, "Episode 1"), though it lost both to HBO's "Game of Thrones" and "Succession" (Jesse Armstrong, "Nobody is Ever Missing"), respectively.

The resume of husband-and-wife producing duo Robert & Michelle King gives us whiplash. They're best known for making straightforward, largely by-the-numbers legal and political procedurals like "The Good Wife" and its spin-offs and the Bryan Cranston Showtime drama "Your Honor." But in the midst of creating these bankable, chart-topping dramas, they also created the absurdly underrated supernatural demon investigation series "Evil," the completely ignored (and we'd argue ill-advised) COVID-19 satire "The Bite," and the sci-fi political satire "BrainDead."

The latter series is admittedly far afield from "Paradise's" grounded and gritty tone, and it's without question the strangest entry on this list. That said, for those looking for another bizarre conspiracy to get wrapped up in, "BrainDead" may just be crazy enough to satisfy. Described as "The Strain" meets "The West Wing," Mary Elizabeth Winstead stars as Laurel, a struggling filmmaker hired by her brother (a Democratic senator, played by "Law and Order: SVU's" Danny Pino) to investigate the various, usually trivial and/or insane claims of his constituents. One of them, however, comes to her with evidence of a conspiracy that has the potential to blow the minds of everyone in Washington, D.C. Literally.

"BrainDead" was cancelled after a single season, ironically sidelined to save CBS airtime for the real American political horror show unraveling before our eyes (also known as the 2016 Democratic and Republican National Conventions). Eight years later, its solid first outing remains amusing, surprising, and just self-aware enough to make up for how broad its comedic aims are. We can't promise it'll help you escape the anxieties of contemporary U.S. Politics, but Pino, Tony Shalhoub, and Aaron Tveit are certainly among the more enjoyable TV politicians to give your attention to these days.

Created by British crime writer Ben Richards (who also wrote the spy drama series "Spooks" and the television adaptation of J.K. Rowling's "Cormoran Strike" novels), "COBRA" provides the exact sort of fast-paced, high-stakes, credulity-straining political intrigue fans of "Paradise" will crave after the first season's finale. "Once Upon a Time" star Robert Carlyle leads the cast as British Prime Minister Robert Sutherland, a member of the Conservative Party who must lead Britain through a series of potentially existential threats from Cabinet Office Briefing Room A (get it?).

Like other British crime dramas, "COBRA" largely focuses on a singular, closed storyline each season, making the series as a whole feel like three miniseries set in the same universe (think of it as a more seasonally-isolated cousin to "24" in terms of format). Though this does limit the narrative scale they're able to achieve to some minor extent, compared to "Paradise" and some other entries on this list, it does allow you to give the first season a try without the added pressure of feeling as though you need to finish the entire series to get a satisfying story. The first season sees Britain thrown into chaos after a solar flare causes mass blackouts. As Prime Minister Sutherland tries to respond to this emergency, conflict in his personal and professional lives threaten to steer him off course, all while a growing movement of anti-government protestors looms in the distance.

"COBRA" may take itself a bit too seriously for how objectively ridiculous its twists are, and how unflinchingly it embraces the silliest political thriller cliches of the last few decades (in season 3, they even manage to fit in the "thinly fictionalized Persian Gulf State" trope via the daftly named "Shirasia"). Still, it is far less abrasive than some American counterparts and keeps its "politics" in the same abstract, escapist dramatic framework as "Paradise."

Of all the TV shows like "Paradise" included on this list, "Designated Survivor" arguably has the most vivid premise. Kiefer Sutherland returns to the genre, now playing mild-mannered politician Tom Kirkman. As the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Kirkman begins the series much further down the political ladder than other protagonists discussed above or below. especially since the president seems keen on cutting his "ascent" here, with a sudden demotion in the form of an obscure and functionally powerless United Nations ambassadorship appointment. Kirkman is so unimportant and irrelevant to the current administration that, during a State of the Union address, he's named the "designated survivor," a status which requires he isolate himself from all other people in the presidential line of succession — in other words, it's a dis-invitation to the State of the Union, and a reminder of how little his superiors think of him. 

However, this unambitious, low-level politician is forced to confront the greatest trial an American politician has ever faced when the U.S. Capitol Building is destroyed during the address, killing the president and everyone else in the succession line. As such, Kirkman must not only step up as President of the United States with no preparation whatsoever, but he must immediately begin dealing with a terrorist plot so sophisticated it nearly wiped out the entire U.S. government. 

The series ran for just two years on ABC before it was cancelled, after which it was picked up by Netflix – and cancelled again. Admittedly, as incredible as its premise is, the momentum it creates causes the show to stumble over itself past season 1, as it struggles to find storylines worthy of its near-perfect opener. One's enjoyment of the series overall will depend on how invested they are in the characters as opposed to the novelty of the premise.

Speaking of political thrillers that burst out of the gate at a break-neck speed, Showtime's "Homeland" is an example of how a wild premise should be used fearlessly to take viewers on a daring narrative journey (rather than be tamed into yet another network drama). Claire Danes stars as CIA counter-terrorist officer Carrie Mathison. After her erratic and dangerous behavior turns her into an agency pariah, Carrie is compelled to delve deeper into the shadows than ever before in order to investigate a formerly imprisoned U.S. Marine and veritable war hero (Damian Lewis) whom she suspects of being a mole for an Iraqi terror cell.

Created by "24" alums Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa, "Homeland" has a similar vibe to the former Fox thriller but has a steadier, more mature pace and stronger overarching plotline. Not every season rises to the same level – but when "Homeland" is at its best, no other political thriller can match it. It ran for eight seasons between 2011 and 2020, during which it received eight Emmy Awards. This included for Outstanding Drama Series (season 1), Outstanding Lead Actress (Danes), and Outstanding Lead Actor (Lewis).

We're obligated to state the obvious that, unfortunately, "House of Cards" is almost impossible to separate from the allegations made against its star Kevin Spacey (which got him removed from a movie he already shot). For many, his presence in the series will be an understandably disqualifying factor, if for no other reason than that it can make one extremely uncomfortable. That said, "House of Cards" remains an undeniably important entry in the TV political thriller genre, and some fans of "Paradise" may enjoy its similarly bleak tone, stylish photography, and disconcertingly nuanced performances.

For the first five seasons, Spacey plays Frank Underwood, a powerful and conniving Democratic House Majority Whip who is expecting to be named Secretary of State after playing a major role in getting the new president (Michael Gill of "Mr. Robot") elected. When he is passed over, Underwood — aided by his equally ambitious and duplicitous wife Claire (Robin Wright), his sociopathically loyal Chief of Staff (Michael Kelly), a blackmailed congressman (Corey Stoll), and a malleable young journalist (Kate Mara) — embarks on a vicious Machievellian quest for vengeance and power. As their journey progresses, it becomes apparent that his success in Washington is limited only by his willingness to sacrifice what's left of his soul. Though "House of Cards" ends with a depressing sixth season, the series overall is suitably shocking and snappy enough to make it worth your while.

Perhaps in part because they had already produced a show like "Bodyguard," Netflix almost turned down "The Night Agent" when it was first offered to them. However, creator Shawn Ryan (the producer behind hits like "The Shield") knew what made his series unique from other political thrillers the streamer had to offer: an action-packed story that had the quasi-wish-fulfillment of a righteous, lone government agent like in "24" combined with the cynical paranoia of a more complicated drama like "Homeland." The result became one of Netflix's most-watched series of all time.

Based on the novel of the same name by writer and journalist Matthew Quirk, "The Night Agent" follows a heroic young FBI agent (Gabriel Basso) who is temporarily stationed as a dispatcher for the bureau's top secret "Night Action" division. When he responds to a call himself, concerning an attempted assassination of a rising tech entrepreneur played by Luciane Buchanan, he suddenly finds himself at odds with the very government he serves, as mounting suspicions lead him to believe that there is a traitor operating at the highest levels of U.S. politics. As of writing, Netflix has released two seasons of "The Night Agent," and it's currently in production of a third.

If you've never seen "Scandal," there's a fair chance that you know of it as "the show where the president has arguably too much sex." And, yeah, it is that. But it's also, in our opinion, the perfect synthesis of the two things TV legend Shonda Rhimes is best at writing: steamy romances and absolutely unhinged twists. As a pair, these qualities make "Scandal" must-watch television.

Kerry Washington stars as Olivia Pope, a political fixer (essentially a morally bankrupt and legally flexible public relations specialist who works with powerful figures) who is right up there with Jack Bauer as one of the most iconic television protagonists in history. Much of "Scandal" follows Olivia's casework and how it sees her come up against the shining surface of American politics (embodied by the publicly admirable, privately compromised Reagan-esque President Fitzgerald Grant III, played by Tony Goldwyn) and its dark, deep-state underbelly.

At its worst, "Scandal" can be hilariously out of touch with both its interior reality and the landscape of American politics. It often feels like it's written by and for people who believe not only the most salacious and disturbing conspiracy theories about the Bushes and the Clintons but who also simultaneously insist that these sociopaths are the best people to run the world. If you can get beyond that, it's an undeniably entertaining series that never stops for a second, and it is best enjoyed with as little prior context as possible.

We'll end our list with the most recently released TV show included — Netflix's "Zero Day," starring none other than Hollywood icon Robert De Niro. The Medal of Freedom-winning actor stars as a former president asked to serve his government one last time after a devastating cyberattack claims the lives of over 3,000 Americans.

The series shares the tone-deaf assessment of contemporary political moods that "Scandal" has, though without the ABC series' passing self-awareness of its status as a late-night, binge-able drama instead of an important piece of political commentary. "Zero Day" should be immediately disqualified as the latter, as it asks the audience to believe Mullen (and, by extension, an 81-year-old De Niro) as a heroic figure to be trusted with the fate of the country — when he's much, much closer to, say, an obviously confused elderly man who would hypothetically be bullied out of his own reelection campaign after one debate. 

While "Zero Day" has nothing useful to say about how America got to the troubling place it finds itself in today, nor about the current climate of politics at large, it's does work as a perversely gleeful escape into the sort of fantasy world Washington columnists and Aaron Sorkin have been trying to sell people on for the past few years.

To be fair, it's not like you should take "Zero Day" any less seriously than the other inclusions on this list, the lot of which are only meant to provide you a momentary distraction from the real world rather than an ideological antidote to its woes. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as that's partially what entertainment like "Zero Day" and even "Paradise" is explicitly for. Just maybe consider looking into your upcoming local government races before you start your next binge.