Shows Like John Adams

If you liked John Adams (2008), a drama series, here are 20 shows with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
Franklin (2024)
★ 7.5/10Also drama
In December 1776, Benjamin Franklin is world-famous for his electrical experiments. But his passion and power are put to the test when he embarks on a secret mission to France—with the fate of American independence…
2
The Book of Negroes (2015)
★ 6.6/10Also drama
Kidnapped in Africa and subsequently enslaved in South Carolina, Aminata must navigate a revolution in New York, isolation in Nova Scotia and treacherous jungles of Sierra Leone, in an attempt to secure her freedom in…
3
Death by Lightning (2025)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
The story of James Garfield, who rose from obscurity to become America's 20th President — and Charles Guiteau, the man who assassinated him.
4
White House Plumbers (2023)
★ 6.2/10Also drama
The true story of how Nixon’s own political saboteurs and Watergate masterminds accidentally toppled the Presidency they were zealously trying to protect.
5
TURN: Washington's Spies (2014)
★ 7.2/10Also drama
The story of New York farmer, Abe Woodhull, who bands together with a group of childhood friends to form The Culper Ring, an unlikely group of spies who turn the tide in America’s fight for independence.
6
Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker (2020)
★ 7.5/10Also drama
An African American washerwoman rises from poverty to build a beauty empire and become the first female self-made millionaire.
7
Julia (2022)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
Through Julia Child’s life and her singular joie de vivre, the series explores a pivotal time in American history – the emergence of public television as a new social institution, feminism and the women's movement, the…
8
New Worlds (2014)
★ 6.1/10Also drama
New Worlds is a four-part 2014 British television drama serial created by Peter Flannery and Martine Brant, a follow-up to their 2008 series The Devil's Whore, produced by Company Pictures for Channel 4. During the…
9
Patrick Melrose (2018)
★ 7.5/10Also drama
A critical and often humorous look at the upper class, tracking the protagonist's harrowing odyssey from a deeply traumatic childhood through adult substance abuse and, ultimately, toward recovery.
10
The Terror: Devil in Silver (2026)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
Wrongfully committed to New Hyde Psychiatric Hospital, one man faces secretive doctors, dangerous patients, and something even worse …
11
Lawmen: Bass Reeves (2023)
★ 7/10Also drama
The story of Bass Reeves, the legendary lawman of the wild West, is brought to life. Reeves worked in the post-Reconstruction era as a federal peace officer in the Indian Territory, capturing over 3,000 of the most…
12
The Crowded Room (2023)
★ 7.7/10Also drama
In 1979 Manhattan, a young man is arrested for a shocking crime — and an unlikely investigator must solve the mystery behind it.
13
Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles De Menezes (2025)
★ 7.1/10Also drama
London is rocked by terrorist attacks as armed police shoot dead an innocent man on his way to work.
14
The Buccaneers (1995)
★ 6/10Also drama
Because of their "new money" background, four American girls have difficulty breaking into the upper-crust society of New York. Laura Testvalley, the governess of one of the girls, suggests a London season and thus the…
15
Manhunt (2024)
★ 6.9/10Also drama
A conspiracy thriller about one of the best known but least understood crimes in history. This is the astonishing story of the hunt for John Wilkes Booth in the aftermath of Abraham Lincoln's assassination—as the fate…
16
The Stolen Girl (2025)
★ 6.3/10Also drama
Mother of two, Elisa, allows her daughter, Lucia, to go on an impromptu sleepover with her new best friend Josephine after meeting Josephine's mother, Rebecca, at her beautiful home. But when Elisa arrives to collect…
17
Anatomy of a Scandal (2022)
★ 7/10Also drama
Sophie's privileged life as the wife of powerful politician James unravels when scandalous secrets surface — and he stands accused of a shocking crime.
18
WeCrashed (2022)
★ 7.4/10Also drama
Inspired by actual events—and the love story at the center of it all. WeWork grew from a single coworking space into a global brand worth $47 billion in under a decade. Then, in less than a year, its valuation dropped…
19
Washington Black (2025)
★ 6/10Also drama
11-year-old George Washington "Wash" Black embarks on a globe-trotting journey of identity after fleeing a Barbados sugar plantation aboard a flying machine in the company of his master’s eccentric inventor brother.
20
George & Tammy (2022)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
A chronicle of the country music power couple George Jones and Tammy Wynette, whose complicated-but-enduring relationship inspired some of the most iconic music of all time.