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Designated Survivor poster

Shows that feel likeDesignated Survivor (2016–2019)

Tom Kirkman, a low-level cabinet member is suddenly appointed President of the United States after a catastrophic attack during the State of the Union kills everyone above him in the Presidential line of succession.

If you loved Designated Survivor, the closest series we have are The Diplomat (2023), Bodyguard (2018) and Shooter (2016). All three share Designated Survivor's contemplative and bleak feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Vikings: Valhalla (2022).

★ 7.4 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗3 seasons · ABCcreated by David Guggenheimcontemplativebleakmelancholyparanoid
10 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · Amazon Prime Video · Hulu
Stream it:Netflix ↗

If Designated Survivor hit the spot, these will too

The Diplomat poster
The Diplomat
2023– · 4 seasons · Netflix
★ 8drama · war & politicsNetflix

Two things both keep coming back to: politics and mourning

The difference: Trades the paranoia of Designated Survivor for an angle of its own

Amid an international crisis, a US diplomat contends with her high-profile job as ambassador to the UK and her strained marriage to a political star.

Bodyguard poster
Bodyguard
2018 · 1 season · BBC One
★ 8crime · drama · war & politicsNetflix

The same two preoccupations: conspiracy, and terrorism

The difference: Easier on the melancholy than Designated Survivor

A troubled war veteran is assigned to protect a controversial politician who may be the target of a terror plot.

Shooter poster
Shooter
2016–2018 · 3 seasons · USA Network
★ 7.5action & adventure · war & politics · drama

The same preoccupation in both: conspiracy

The difference: Sits closer to action & adventure than Designated Survivor does

Bob Lee Swagger is an expert marksman living in exile who is coaxed back into action after learning of a plot to kill the president.

Homeland poster
Homeland
2011–2020 · 8 seasons · Showtime
★ 8.3drama · war & politics · crimeNetflixHulu

One thread runs through both: terrorism

CIA officer Carrie Mathison is tops in her field despite being bipolar, which makes her volatile and unpredictable. With the help of her long-time mentor Saul Berenson, Carrie fearlessly risks everything, including her personal well-being and even sanity, at every turn.

Sense8 poster
Sense8
2015–2018 · 2 seasons · Netflix
★ 8.2sci-fi & fantasy · dramaNetflix

Contemplative and paranoid in the same breath

One gunshot, one death, one moment out of time that irrevocably links eight minds in disparate parts of the world, putting them in each other's lives, each other's secrets, and in terrible danger. Ordinary people suddenly reborn as "Sensates."

The Night Agent poster
The Night Agent
2023– · 4 seasons · Netflix
★ 7.4action & adventure · drama · mysteryNetflix

Contemplative drama, and it commits to that

Brought together by a midnight phone call, an FBI agent and a cybersecurity expert must unravel an ever-growing web of political conspiracies.

Lioness poster
Lioness
2023– · 3 seasons · Paramount+
★ 7.8drama · war & politicsParamount+

Bleak war & politics in both cases

Cruz Manuelos, a rough-around-the-edges but passionate young Marine, is recruited to join the CIA's Lioness Engagement Team to help bring down a terrorist organization from within. Joe, the station chief of the Lioness program, is tasked with training, managing and leading her female undercover operatives.

Raised by Wolves poster
Raised by Wolves
2020–2022 · 2 seasons · HBO Max
★ 7.4sci-fi & fantasy · drama

Common ground: mysterious

After Earth is ravaged by a great religious war, an atheistic android architect sends two of his creations, Mother and Father, to start a peaceful, godless colony on the planet Kepler-22b. Their treacherous task is jeopardized by the arrival of the Mithraic, a deeply devout religious order of surviving humans.

American Gods poster
American Gods
2017–2021 · 3 seasons · STARZ
★ 7.6drama · mystery · sci-fi & fantasyPrime Video

Drama with a pulse of paranoia, in both cases

An ex-con becomes the traveling partner of a conman who turns out to be one of the older gods trying to recruit troops to battle the upstart deities. Based on Neil Gaiman's fantasy novel.

Taboo poster
Taboo
2017 · 1 season · BBC One
★ 8.3drama · mysteryPeacock

Both lean on stillness more than on war & politics

Adventurer James Keziah Delaney returns to London from Africa in 1814 along with fourteen stolen diamonds to seek vengeance after the death of his father.

Shōgun poster
Shōgun
2024– · 1 season · FX
★ 8.6drama · war & politicsHuluDisney+

Drama built on bleakness, twice over

In Japan in the year 1600, at the dawn of a century-defining civil war, Lord Yoshii Toranaga is fighting for his life as his enemies on the Council of Regents unite against him, when a mysterious European ship is found marooned in a nearby fishing village.

Vikings: Valhalla poster
Vikings: Valhalla
2022–2024 · 3 seasons · Netflix
★ 7.4action & adventure · drama · war & politicsNetflix

Same instincts, 6 years apart

In this sequel to "Vikings," a hundred years have passed and a new generation of legendary heroes arises to forge its own destiny — and make history.

In the mood for more contemplative?

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The best-reviewed series that share Designated Survivor’s defining feeling.