The 50 Best Historical Dramas: ‘Lincoln,’ ‘John Adams’ & More Titles About Presidents
TV Insider is counting down the 50 best historical dramas on TV, both past and present. In the latest roundup, we look at titles centering around presidents ranging from the musical Hamilton to more serious fare such as John Adams and Lincoln among others.
Scroll down for a deeper look into TV’s must-see historical dramas, and stay tuned for more.
Hey there, historians! Join us in our countdown of the 50 Best Historical Dramas, from both television and film. Be sure to check out TV Insider’s April 2024 issue, currently on newsstands.
John Adams (Max)
Historical dramas can fall victim to romanticizing the events they’re depicting in order to tell a cleaner story. Remarkably, this 2008 miniseries — winner of 13 Emmys — commits to portraying iconic figures of the American Revolution as flesh and blood rather than larger than life. Paul Giamatti inhabits the title character masterfully, but it’s Laura Linney as Abigail Adams who steals the show. Their marriage, which perseveres through thick and thin, provides John Adams with its emotional core.
Lincoln (Paramount+)
This 2012 film may focus on the nitty-gritty of the democratic process, but it is imbued with a thrilling alertness that makes it feel more like a political thriller than a stuffy history lesson. That’s all thanks to director Steven Spielberg, who crafts an engrossing story starring Daniel Day-Lewis in an Oscar-winning performance alongside an incredible supporting cast (Tommy Lee Jones! Oscar winner Sally Field! Colman Domingo!).
White House Plumbers (Max)
G. Gordon Liddy and E. Howard Hunt (Justin Theroux and Woody Harrelson) may believe they’re in a slick political thriller as they strive to protect President Nixon from intelligence leaks. But the 2023 drama series makes it clear that the two are no more than bumbling idiots, destined to be low-level operatives…and eventually inmates.
Gaslit (Starz)
Depicting figures such as John Mitchell (Sean Penn) and John Dean (Dan Stevens), this 2022 thriller sheds light on the individuals involved in the Watergate scandal during Nixon’s presidency — particularly outspoken Martha Mitchell (Julia Roberts), infamous in her day, then forgotten as a whistleblower due to misogyny and smear campaigns.
Hamilton (Disney+)
What’s your name, man? The incredible popularity of this 2015 Pulitzer- and Tony-winning musical brought renewed interest to the American Revolution. Creator Lin-Manuel Miranda stars as “$10 founding father” Alexander Hamilton, with Christopher Jackson (And Just Like That…) as the stalwart George Washington.
