The Best Political Movies and TV Shows on Showtime

What it's about: The King's Speech tells the story of the man who became King George VI, the father of Queen Elizabeth II. After his brother abdicates, George ('Bertie') reluctantly assumes the throne. Plagued by a dreaded stutter and considered unfit to be king, Bertie engages the help of an unorthodox speech therapist named Lionel Logue. Through a set of unexpected techniques, and as a result of an unlikely friendship, Bertie is able to find his voice and boldly lead the country into war.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix & Showtime), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Showtime) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Prime Video & 3 others).

What it's about: 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.

Where to Watch: 1 episodes (1%) are available to watch free online (Showtime). 83 episodes (95%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Showtime & Hulu). 83 episodes (95%) are available to stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Showtime). 87 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: When tyrannical dictator Josef Stalin dies in 1953, his parasitic cronies square off in a frantic power struggle to become the next Soviet leader. Among the contenders are the dweebish Georgy Malenkov, the wily Nikita Khrushchev and Lavrenti Beria, the sadistic secret police chief.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Showtime), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Showtime) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: In 9th century China, a corrupt government wages war against a rebel army called the Flying Daggers. A romantic warrior breaks a beautiful rebel out of prison to help her rejoin her fellows, but things are not what they seem.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Showtime), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Showtime) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Young Shakespeare is forced to stage his latest comedy, "Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's Daughter," before it's even written. When a lovely noblewoman auditions for a role, they fall into forbidden love -- and his play finds a new life (and title). As their relationship progresses, Shakespeare's comedy soon transforms into tragedy.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Showtime), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Showtime) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: Veteran Secret Service agent Frank Horrigan is a man haunted by his failure to save President Kennedy while serving protection detail in Dallas. Thirty years later, a man calling himself "Booth" threatens the life of the current President, forcing Horrigan to come back to protection detail to confront the ghosts from his past.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Sony Crackle), stream on a popular subscription service (Showtime), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Showtime) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Prime Video & 3 others).

What it's about: The Tudors is a history-based drama series following the young, vibrant King Henry VIII, a competitive and lustful monarch who navigates the intrigues of the English court and the human heart with equal vigor and justifiable suspicion.

Where to Watch: 38 episodes (97%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix & Showtime). 38 episodes (97%) are available to stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Showtime). 39 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Terry is a small-time car dealer trying to leave his shady past behind and start a family. Martine is a beautiful model from Terry's old neighbourhood who knows that Terry is no angel. When Martine proposes a foolproof plan to rob a bank, Terry recognises the danger but realises this may be the opportunity of a lifetime. As the resourceful band of thieves burrows its way into a safe-deposit vault at a Lloyds Bank, they quickly realise that, besides millions in riches, the boxes also contain secrets that implicate everyone from London's most notorious underworld gangsters to powerful government figures, and even the Royal Family. Although the heist makes headlines throughout Britain for several days, a government gag order eventually brings all reporting of the case to an immediate halt.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Showtime), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Showtime) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: Irish Republican Army member Fergus forms an unexpected bond with Jody, a kidnapped British soldier in his custody, despite the warnings of fellow IRA members Jude and Maguire. Jody makes Fergus promise he'll visit his girlfriend, Dil, in London, and when Fergus flees to the city, he seeks her out. Hounded by his former IRA colleagues, he finds himself increasingly drawn to the enigmatic, and surprising, Dil.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Showtime) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Prime Video & 3 others).

What it's about: A group of young gunmen, led by Billy the Kid, become deputies to avenge the murder of the rancher who became their benefactor. But when Billy takes their authority too far, they become the hunted.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Sony Crackle & IMDb TV), stream on a popular subscription service (Showtime) & stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Showtime).

What it's about: Wife and mother Valerie Plame (Naomi Watts) has a double life as a CIA operative, hiding her vocation from family and friends. Her husband, Joseph Wilson (Sean Penn), writes a controversial article in The New York Times, refuting stories about the sale of enriched uranium to Iraq, Then Valerie's secret work and identity is leaked to the press. With her cover blown and other people endangered, Valerie's career and personal life begin to unravel.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Showtime), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Showtime) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: The true story of a disillusioned military contractor employee and his drug pusher childhood friend who became walk-in spies for the Soviet Union.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Showtime), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Showtime & Epix) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 2 services (iTunes & Vudu).

What it's about: A trio of accidental outlaws travel the length of New Zealand, protesting conformity and chasing lost love, with a posse of cops and a media frenzy in pursuit.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Showtime), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Showtime) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: A grieving mother transforms herself into a vigilante following the murders of her husband and daughter, eluding the authorities to deliver her own personal brand of justice.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Showtime), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Showtime) & rent or buy from $12.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: A master thief coincidentally is robbing a house where a murder—in which the President of The United States is involved—occurs in front of his eyes. He is forced to run, while holding evidence that could convict the President.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Showtime), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Showtime) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: An elite group of American operatives, aided by a top-secret tactical command team, must transport an asset who holds life-threatening information to an extraction point 22 miles away through the hostile streets of an Asian city.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Showtime), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Showtime) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: A working-class Irish family rules a city built on loyalty and corruption. The Caffee brothers, Tommy, a rising politician desperate for reelection, and Michael, a hardened criminal returning from seven years on the run and eager to reclaim his turf, fight for survival on opposite sides of the law. In their ruthless quest for power, the entire Caffee family is driven to lies, betrayal and infidelity -- threatening to tear them and the city of Providence, RI apart.

Where to Watch: 29 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Showtime & Hulu). 29 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Showtime). 29 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $0.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Major league baseball player, Moe Berg, a probably gay man lives a double life working for the Office of Strategic Services.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Showtime), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Showtime) & rent or buy from $12.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: Djata is a care-free 12-year-old growing up in a brutal dictatorship shut off from the outside world. When the government imprisons his father, Peter, and Djata and his mother Hannah are labeled traitors, the boy will not rest until he sees his father again.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Showtime), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Showtime) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: A revealing series of interviews between renowned filmmaker Oliver Stone and Vladimir Putin in which the Russian President speaks candidly on the US Election, Trump, Syria, Snowden and more.

Where to Watch: 4 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Showtime). 4 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Showtime). 4 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Come one, come all to The Circus. This real-time documentary series pulls back the curtain on the current political stories, revealing the intense, inspiring and infuriating stories behind the headlines. Key characters and events are presented in real time, as they are happening.

Where to Watch: 1 episodes (2%) are available to watch free online (Showtime). 65 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Showtime & Hulu). 65 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Showtime). 49 episodes (75%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: When a Harvard-educated CIA agent is killed during an operation, the secret agency recruits his twin brother.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Showtime), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Showtime) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: Former top U.S. security adviser Elizabeth "Libby" Lamm is threatened by associates from her dark past including Rachel Burke a steely, commanding politician with an unwavering knack for achieving her goals. Colluding with Rachel is Adrian, an unyielding, patriotic chief of staff. Martin harbors another type of obsession with Libby in this story of betrayal and regret.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Showtime), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Showtime) & rent or buy from $6.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: A hilarious look into the Trump presidency, animation style. Starring two-dimensional avatars of Donald Trump and his merry band of insiders and family members, this cutting-edge comedy presents the truish adventures of Trump, his confidants and bon vivants through the eyes of an imaginary documentary crew.

Where to Watch: 26 episodes (93%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Showtime & Hulu). 26 episodes (93%) are available to stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Showtime).

What it's about: An in-depth look into the long history of conflict between American presidents and the FBI. Inspired by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tim Weiner’s book, Enemies: A History of the FBI, the series presents the long, complex history of presidents testing the rule of law and the FBI’s job to enforce it.

Where to Watch: 4 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Showtime). 4 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Showtime). 4 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 2 services (Prime Video & Vudu).

What it's about: After his family is kidnapped during their sailing trip in Spain, a young Wall Street trader is confronted by the people responsible: intelligence agents looking to recover a mysterious briefcase.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Showtime), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Showtime) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: In a behind-the-scenes look at the biggest political upset in recent history, Mark Halperin, John Heilemann and Mark McKinnon offer unprecedented access and never-before-seen footage of candidate Trump, from the primaries through the debates to the dawning realization that the controversial businessman will become the 45th President of the United States.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Showtime) & stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Showtime).

What it's about: After the elevators at a New York City skyscraper begin inexplicably malfunctioning, putting its passengers at risk, mechanic Mark Newman (James Marshall) and reporter Jennifer Evans (Naomi Watts) begin separate investigations. Newman gets resistance from superiors at his company, which manufactured the elevator, while additional elevator incidents cause several gruesome deaths. The police get involved and suspect that terrorists are responsible, but a far stranger explanation looms.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Showtime), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Showtime) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: On the heels of The New York Times' breaking news story revealing new information about President Trump’s financial history, David Barstow, Russell Buettner and Susanne Craig expose the untold story of how Donald Trump became rich.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Showtime), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Showtime) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (Google Play, Prime Video & 3 others).