The Most Relevant Political Shows On TV & Streaming Right Now

With the 2020 presidential election a little over a year away, our headlines are being dominated by outrageous quotes and promises from candidates, incisive think pieces, and ugly allegations, oh and that whole Donald Trump impeachment inquiry thing. Ah, politics. Sometimes reality is, indeed, stranger than fiction. But sometimes, fiction is just as strange as reality.

Which is why Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk’s new Netflix series, The Politician, is set to be such a weirdly cathartic, tongue-in-cheek look at how today’s politicians navigate the treacherous world of public office, wrestling with everything from backstabbing family members to conniving opponents to zany PR tactics, just to name a few of the misbehaviors put on display in the series’ dark trailer, released this past August. 

Starring Dear Evan Hansen’s Ben Platt as high-achieving Santa Barbara high schooler Payton, and a star-studded supporting cast that includes everyone from Gwyneth Paltrow to Lucy Boynton to, yes, Jessica Lange. The 10-episode series reminds us that beneath all the glossy sheen of televised debates and political stump speeches are many hurt souls (and some hearts of gold, maybe) looking to leave their mark on the world. 

It’s a good and necessary reminder going into 2020; here, we’ve rounded up some of the other must-see, relevant-in-2019 political shows on TV and streaming services, just in case you need any other sobering reminders in the lead-up to the presidential election.