Truth-Based TV Series
Sometimes fact is better than fiction. Here is a list of TV series that are based on true stories. Okay, not all of these stories are a 100% accurate in detail, but that’s what documentaries are for. The writers of these shows have expertly utilized characters (some fictional) to enhance the dramatic (and sometimes comedic) effect of actual events. Knowing that these stories have happened in real life makes these shows interesting and addicting and you might even learn something! Enjoy and feel free to add suggestions.
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- CreatorsDan FuttermanAlex GibneyLawrence WrightStarsJeff DanielsTahar RahimWrenn SchmidtA look at how the rivalry between the CIA and FBI inadvertently set the stage for the tragedy of 9/11 and the war in Afghanistan.This is my number one pick. The story details the events leading up to the 911 attacks. The characters are real and so are the facts. Very interesting and extremely informative.
- CreatorCraig SilversteinStarsJamie BellHeather LindSamuel RoukinA Long Island farmer bands together a group of childhood friends to form an unlikely group of spies who turn the tide in America's fight for independence.This show taught me everything I should have learned in History Class if only I would have paid attention. The story is told in a way that demands your attention and keeps you guessing with plot twists and cliffhangers.
- CreatorSimon BeaufoyStarsHarris DickinsonDonald SutherlandHilary SwankIn 1973 Rome, John Paul Getty III, the heir and younger member of an oil tycoons' clan, is kidnapped by the Italian Mafia in order to get a ransom.Don’t watch this right before bedtime. You will not get any sleep. The first episode is a little kooky, but the tone completely changes. By episode 2, you’ll be saying “Wait...what?!? Did that really happen?” Yep, it did. I checked.
- StarsKevin ZegersAlessandra MastronardiDerek JacobiThe construction of the R.M.S. Titanic at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast against the background of union riots, political and religious conflicts, and a romance between a young ambitious engineer and an Italian immigrant.
- CreatorJoe PenhallStarsJonathan GroffHolt McCallanyAnna TorvIn the late 1970s, two FBI agents broaden the realm of criminal science by investigating the psychology behind murder and end up getting too close to real-life monsters.
- CreatorsScott AlexanderLarry KaraszewskiSarah BurgessStarsSarah PaulsonAnnaleigh AshfordSterling K. BrownAn anthology series centered around America's most notorious crimes and criminals.
- CreatorsDrew DowdleJohn Erick DowdleStarsMichael ShannonTaylor KitschAndrea RiseboroughThe FBI and ATF seize religious leader David Koresh's Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas in the spring of 1993.
- CreatorsCarlo BernardChris BrancatoDoug MiroStarsPedro PascalWagner MouraBoyd HolbrookA chronicled look at the criminal exploits of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, as well as the many other drug kingpins who plagued the country through the years.
- CreatorPeter MorganStarsClaire FoyOlivia ColmanImelda StauntonFollows the political rivalries and romances of Queen Elizabeth II's reign and the events that shaped Britain for the second half of the 20th century.
- StarsAneurin BarnardRebecca FergusonAmanda HaleThree different, yet equally relentless women vie for the throne in 15th-century England.
- CreatorTerence WinterStarsSteve BuscemiKelly MacdonaldMichael ShannonAn Atlantic City politician plays both sides of the law by conspiring with gangsters during the Prohibition era.
- CreatorNeil JordanStarsJeremy IronsFrançois ArnaudHolliday GraingerIn the fifteenth century, Pope Alexander VI tries to control all power in Italy with the help of his several sons, through murder, intrigue, war, and marriage alliances.
- StarsJodie ComerRebecca BensonJacob Collins-LevyBased on the Philippa Gregory book of the same name, the story of Elizabeth of York, the White Queen's daughter, and her marriage to the Lancaster victor, Henry VII.
- CreatorDaisy GoodwinStarsJenna ColemanAdrian SchillerTommy KnightThe early life of Queen Victoria, from her ascension to the throne at the tender age of 18 to her courtship and marriage to Prince Albert.
- CreatorsSimon MirrenDavid WolstencroftStarsGeorge BlagdenAlexander VlahosTygh RunyanIn 1667, 28-year-old all-powerful king of France, Louis XIV, decides to build the greatest palace in the world - Versailles. But drained budget, affairs and political intrigues complicate things.
- CreatorMichael HirstStarsJonathan Rhys MeyersHenry CavillAnthony BrophyEpic series reveals the scandalous life of a young king whose affairs and obsession with producing a male heir changed marriage, the church, and the world.
- CreatorDavid FarrStarsLouis HunterChristiaan SchoombieBella DayneRetells the story of the 10 year siege of Troy, which occurred in the 12 or 13th century BC.
- CreatorsAndrew SodroskiJim ClementeTony GittelsonStarsGethin AnthonyArliss HowardKelly JenretteAn in-depth look at how an FBI profiler helped track down the terrorist Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber.
- CreatorsWilliam Broyles Jr.David BroylesStarsBarry SloaneKyle SchmidJuan Pablo RabaNavy SEAL Team Six attempt to eliminate a Taliban leader in Afghanistan when they discover an American citizen working with the enemy.
- StarsBill PaxtonJeffrey Dean MorganOlivier MartinezThe story of how the Texas Rangers were created.
- StarsSarah PaulsonSterling K. BrownNina JacobsonInside the series of the same name.
- StarsVincent KartheiserKalani QueypoTatanka MeansStory of the Voyage of the Mayflower and the first year of The Pilgrims in America.
- CreatorsBruno HellerWilliam J. MacDonaldJohn MiliusStarsKevin McKiddRay StevensonPolly WalkerThe lives of both illustrious and ordinary Romans in the last days of the Roman Republic.
- CreatorsNicholas MeyerFrank SpotnitzStarsDaniel SharmanAlessandra MastronardiSynnove KarlsenA political family drama set in Florence in the early fifteenth century. Cosimo de Medici finds himself at the helm of his banking dynasty when his father, Giovanni, dies suddenly.
- StarsPaul GiamattiLaura LinneyJohn DossettThe life of one of the USA's Founding Fathers, its second President, and his role in the nation's first 50 years.
