The show must go on: Political drama and comedy for a post-Boris world
The Big Dog has been sent away to live on a nice farm, but if your thirst for political intrigue remains unquenched, here are 10 dramas and comedies to see you through until recess.
House of cards, 1990
Forget Kevin Spacey and go back to House of Cards’ Westminster roots. This seminal political thriller, taking place over just four hour-long episodes, charts the rise of the Francis Urquhart, the Machiavellian Tory chief whip with designs on the big job. Drawing inspiration from both real-life Westminster power struggles and Shakespearian tragedy, this is as close to a perfect political drama as they come.
The Thick of It, 2005
It has often been said that The Thick of It didn’t so much as satirise politics as predict it. Having lived through Partygate and a dozen other scandals, Armando Iannucci’s comedy could probably pass as a documentary these days. As hilarious and bitter as the day it first aired, The Thick of It has become part of the Westminster vernacular – ideal watching after yesterday’s drama.
All the President’s Men, 1976
In the 46 years since All the President’s Men, which depicted Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein’s investigation into the Watergate affair that brought down the Nixon administration, today’s political class has clearly not learned the lesson that the cover-up is always worse than the scandal. Starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman, both on the form of their lives, this is one for the ages.
Borgen, 2010
Now under the auspices of Netflix, this is the twisty Danish political drama that helped define a genre. It tells the story of Birgitte Nyborg Christensen, a relative nobody who rises to becomes the first female prime minister of Denmark. Having been revived this year by Netflix following a nine year hiatus, it’s as gripping and relevant as ever.
The Candidate, 1972
Another entry for Robert Redford. Here he plays an unfancied Presidential candidate who is forced sacrifice his ideals and use his natural charisma as a tool to garner political capital. Where might we have heard that story before?
The Death of Stalin, 2017
A bunch of useless egomaniacs attempt to fill a power vacuum in this biting satire by Armando Iannucci, set in the says after, well, the death of Stalin. Filled with the kind of subversive humour that made the writer a star, this is a modern classic.
No Love for Johnnie, 1961
A film with corruption at its very core, No Love for Johnnie follows a spiteful Labour MP seeking vengeance for a political snub. It has a shadowy cabal of MPs working against their own government, a sexual scandal involving a politician and a much younger woman, and themes of political dreams being dashed against the rocks. Nothing changes, does it?
Brexit: The Uncivil War, 2019
Boris Johnson has Dominic Cummings to blame for some (but by no means all) of his woes, so why not reacquaint yourself with the rise of the political maverick who helped bring about Brexit (before he imploded in spectacular fashion following a trip to Barnard Castle). A gripping reenactment of a truly bizarre moment in British politics.
Election, 1999
Reese Witherspoon plays perfect student Tracy Flick as she runs for class president in this genuinely brilliant though often underrated gem. Political intrigue wrapped in a dollop of bubblegum, this is the ideal palate cleanser after yesterday’s political savaging.
Yes Minister, 1980
This sitcom set in the fictional Department of Administrative Affairs sees a minister trying, and largely failing, to get anything done in a system that designed to keep things exactly as they are. Harking back to a more civilised time in politics, Yes Minister is a big old hit of nostalgia.