Top 250 Tv Shows Like Empire

Two worlds collide.

A list of the best tv shows similar to Empire. If you liked Empire then you may also like: The Wire, Better Call Saul, Friends, Peaky Blinders, Tokyo Vice and many more great tv shows featured on this list.

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A big time drug dealer Victor Rosa is looking to get out of the game and sees his chance with a big deal with a new friend who happens to be a Wall St. stockbroker. Thinking this will be his chance to go out on top Victor soon finds out that he has been double crossed and his last option is to get revenge.

The Wire

Told from the points of view of both the Baltimore homicide and narcotics detectives and their targets, the series captures a universe in which the national war on drugs has become a permanent, self-sustaining bureaucracy, and distinctions between good and evil are routinely obliterated.

Better Call Saul

Six years before Saul Goodman meets Walter White. We meet him when the man who will become Saul Goodman is known as Jimmy McGill, a small-time lawyer searching for his destiny, and, more immediately, hustling to make ends meet. Working alongside, and, often, against Jimmy, is “fixer” Mike Ehrmantraut. The series tracks Jimmy’s transformation into Saul Goodman, the man who puts “criminal” in “criminal lawyer".

Friends

Six young people from New York City, on their own and struggling to survive in the real world, find the companionship, comfort and support they get from each other to be the perfect antidote to the pressures of life.

Peaky Blinders

A gangster family epic set in 1919 Birmingham, England and centered on a gang who sew razor blades in the peaks of their caps, and their fierce boss Tommy Shelby, who means to move up in the world.

Tokyo Vice

A first-hand account of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police beat following Jake Adelstein, an American journalist who embeds himself into the Tokyo Vice police squad to reveal corruption. Based on Jake Adelstein’s non-fiction book of the same name.

Kin

The lives of a Dublin family embroiled in a gangland war and the consequences of their choices.

Breaking Bad

Walter White, a New Mexico chemistry teacher, is diagnosed with Stage III cancer and given a prognosis of only two years left to live. He becomes filled with a sense of fearlessness and an unrelenting desire to secure his family's financial future at any cost as he enters the dangerous world of drugs and crime.

The Sopranos

The story of New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads. Those difficulties are often highlighted through his ongoing professional relationship with psychiatrist Jennifer Melfi. The show features Tony's family members and Mafia associates in prominent roles and story arcs, most notably his wife Carmela and his cousin and protégé Christopher Moltisanti.

7th Heaven

Reverend Eric Camden and his wife Annie have always had their hands full caring for seven children, not to mention the friends, sweethearts and spouses that continually come and go in the Camden household.

Absolutely Fabulous

Set in the world of fashion and PR, immature fun-loving mother Edina Monsoon and her best friend Patsy drive Eddie's sensible daughter, Saffron, up the wall with their constant drug abuse and outrageous selfishness. Numerous in-jokes and heavy doses of cruel humour have made this series a cult hit in the UK and abroad.

Any Day Now

Any Day Now is an American drama series that aired on the Lifetime network from 1998 to 2002. The show stars Annie Potts and Lorraine Toussaint as best friends of different races who grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, in the 1960s during the peak of the Civil Rights Movement. In every episode, contemporary storylines are interwoven with a storyline from their shared past.

Billions

A complex drama about power politics in the world of New York high finance. Shrewd, savvy U.S. Attorney Chuck Rhoades and the brilliant, ambitious hedge fund king Bobby "Axe" Axelrod are on an explosive collision course, with each using all of his considerable smarts, power and influence to outmaneuver the other. The stakes are in the billions in this timely, provocative series.

The Black Donnellys

Meet the Donnelly brothers: Tommy, Jimmy, Kevin and Sean. There is nothing these four Irish brothers wouldn't do to protect each other, and for them that means lying, cheating, stealing and, occasionally, calling the cops. Narrated by wannabe gangster Joey "Ice Cream," this gritty series bears witness to the Donnelly brothers' sudden involvement in organized crime, focusing on how they go from boys to mobsters, and showing how their new life affects their relationships with friends, family and lovers.

City Guys

An edgy, hip look at urban teen life in NYC, tracing the relationship between a smart Black kid from Harlem and a rich White kid from Park Avenue.

Deadwood

The story of the early days of Deadwood, South Dakota; woven around actual historic events with most of the main characters based on real people. Deadwood starts as a gold mining camp and gradually turns from a lawless wild-west community into an organized wild-west civilized town. The story focuses on the real-life characters Seth Bullock and Al Swearengen.

The Equalizer

Robert McCall is a former agent of a secret government agency who is now running his own private crime fighting operation where he fashions himself as "The Equalizer." It is a service for victims of the system who have exhausted all possible means of seeking justice and have nowhere to go. McCall promises to even out the odds for them.

Gangs of London

When the head of a criminal organisation, Finn Wallace is assassinated, the sudden power vacuum his death creates threatens the fragile peace between the intricate web of gangs operating on the streets of the city. Now it’s up to the grieving, volatile and impulsive Sean Wallace to restore control and find those responsible for killing his father.

The Gilded Age

It’s 1882 and the Gilded Age is in full swing when Marian Brook, a young orphaned daughter of a Southern general, moves in with her rigidly conventional aunts in New York City. With the help of Peggy Scott, an African-American woman masquerading as her maid, Marian gets caught up in the dazzling lives of her rich neighbors as she struggles to decide between adhering to the rules or forging her own path.

Good Girls

Three "good girl" suburban wives and mothers suddenly find themselves in desperate circumstances and decide to stop playing it safe and risk everything to take their power back.

The Jeffersons

Sitcom following a successful African-American couple, George and Louise “Weezyö Jefferson as they “move on up” from working-class Queens to a ritzy Manhattan apartment. A spin-off of All in the Family.

Lost

Stripped of everything, the survivors of a horrific plane crash must work together to stay alive. But the island holds many secrets.

Minder

This comedy drama series featured Terry McCann, a former boxer with a conviction for G.B.H., and Arthur Daley, a second-hand car dealer with an eye for a nice little earner. Alongside his many business ventures, Arthur would regularly hire Terry out as a minder or bodyguard, later replaced by nephew, Ray Daley.

The Nanny

Fran, fresh out of her job as a bridal consultant in her boyfriend’s shop, first appears on the doorstep of Broadway producer Maxwell Sheffield peddling cosmetics, and quickly stumbled upon the opportunity to become The Nanny for his three children. But soon Fran, with her offbeat nurturing and no-nonsense honesty, touches Maxwell as well as the kids.

Ozark

A financial adviser drags his family from Chicago to the Missouri Ozarks, where he must launder $500 million in five years to appease a drug boss.

The Shield

The story of an inner-city Los Angeles police precinct where some of the cops aren't above breaking the rules or working against their associates to both keep the streets safe and their self-interests intact.

Snowfall

Los Angeles. 1983. A storm is coming and its name is crack. Set against the infancy of the crack cocaine epidemic and its ultimate radical impact on the culture as we know it, the story follows numerous characters on a violent collision course.

Sons of Anarchy

An adrenalized drama with darkly comedic undertones that explores a notorious outlaw motorcycle club’s (MC) desire to protect its livelihood while ensuring that their simple, sheltered town of Charming, California remains exactly that, charming. The MC must confront threats from drug dealers, corporate developers, and overzealous law officers. Behind the MC’s familial lifestyle and legally thriving automotive shop is a ruthless and illegal arms business driven by the seduction of money, power, and blood.

Storage Hunters

Storage Hunters is an American television series that premiered on June 21, 2011 on TruTV. The show focuses on auctioneer Sean Kelly's sale of storage auctions and the interactions between main bidders Brandon and Lori Bernier, Jesse McClure, Tarrell "T-Money" Wright, Ron "Papa Bear" Kirkpatrick, "Desert Dan," and the lock cutter/security guard, Cameron "Green Mile" Rowe.

Trailer Park Boys

Follow the booze-fueled misadventures of three longtime pals and petty serial criminals who run scams from their Nova Scotia trailer park.

Twin Peaks

The body of Laura Palmer is washed up on a beach near the small Washington state town of Twin Peaks. FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper is called in to investigate her strange demise only to uncover a web of mystery that ultimately leads him deep into the heart of the surrounding woodland and his very own soul.

Weeds

After the unexpected death of her husband, a suburban mom resorts to selling weed to support her family.

Renegade

Framed for murder, Detective Reno Raines becomes a fugitive bounty hunter who fights crime while trying to clear his name. His troubles began after he testified about police corruption, leading Lt. Donald Dixon to set him up.

The Shining

A new caretaker moves with his family into the mysterious Overlook Hotel for the winter.

Miami Vice

The story of the Miami Police Department's vice squad and its efforts to end drug trafficking and prostitution, centered on the unlikely partnership of Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs - who first meet when Tubbs is undercover in a drug cartel.

Matlock

Matlock is an American television legal drama, starring Andy Griffith in the title role of criminal defense attorney Ben Matlock. The show, produced by The Fred Silverman Company, Dean Hargrove Productions, Viacom Productions and Paramount Television originally aired from September 23, 1986 to May 8, 1992 on NBC; and from November 5, 1992 until May 7, 1995 on ABC. The show's format is similar to that of CBS's Perry Mason, with Matlock identifying the perpetrators and then confronting them in dramatic courtroom scenes. One difference, however, was that whereas Mason usually exculpated his clients at a pretrial hearing, Matlock usually secured an acquittal at trial, from the jury.

Brotherhood

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.

Diff'rent Strokes

The series stars Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges as Arnold and Willis Jackson, two African American boys from Harlem who are taken in by a rich white Park Avenue businessman named Phillip Drummond and his daughter Kimberly, for whom their deceased mother previously worked. During the first season and first half of the second season, Charlotte Rae also starred as the Drummonds' housekeeper, Mrs. Garrett.

Room 101

Fast-moving game show meets talk show, which sees Frank Skinner refereeing three celebrities each week as they compete to banish their top peeve or worst nightmare to the depths of Room 101.

The Untouchables

Special Agent Eliot Ness and his elite team of incorruptible agents battle organized crime in 1930s Chicago.

Oz

The daily lives of prisoners in Emerald City, an experimental unit of the Oswald Maximum Security Prison where ingroups - Muslims, Latinos, Italians, Aryans - stick close to their mutual friends and terrorize their mutual enemies.

Intelligence

Mary Spalding, the director of the Vancouver Organized Crime Unit, offers Jimmy Reardon, one of Vancouver's top organized crime bosses, immunity from prosecution in exchange for his role as a police informant.

Leverage

A five-person team comprised of a thief, a grifter, a hacker, and a retrieval specialist, led by former insurance investigator Nathan Ford, use their skills to fight corporate and governmental injustices inflicted on ordinary citizens.

The Untouchables

The Untouchables is an American crime drama series that aired for two seasons in syndication, from January 1993 to May 1994. The series portrayed work of the real life Untouchables federal investigative squad in Prohibition-era Chicago and its efforts against Al Capone's attempts to profit from the market in bootleg liquor. The series features Tom Amandes as Eliot Ness and William Forsythe as Al Capone, and was based on the 1959 series and 1987 film of the same name.

Vanishing Son

Vanishing Son is a short-lived syndicated action television series that was part of Universal Television's Action Pack. Starting as a series of four made for television movies in 1994, the series debuted on January 16, 1995. Vanishing Son I, Vanishing Son II, Vanishing Son III, and Vanishing Son IV, were aired on February 28, July 18, July 25, and October 10, 1994, respectively. The series was ground-breaking for the casting of an Asian male in an attractive leading-man role.

White Teeth

The lives of three families are woven together across three decades in multi-cultural Britain.

The Silence

Drama about a deaf girl who witnesses the audacious murder of a policewoman.

The Shadow Line

A murder is investigated by both sides of the line, cops and criminals, using opposing methods. But the real line is the morality within each person and how far they will go before they cross it.

True Justice

Elijah Kane leads a hardcore undercover team of Seattle based cops who take on the local criminal element with a high-octane style of enforcement.

Magic City

Set in 1959 Miami, Florida shortly after the Cuban Revolution, Magic City tells the story of Ike Evans, the owner of Miami's most glamorous hotel, the Miramar Playa. Evans is forced to make an ill-fated deal with Miami mob boss Ben Diamond to ensure the success of his glitzy establishment.

Top Boy

A thrilling and raw crime drama following a gang of drug dealers in Hackney, London - an honest and gripping rendition of inner-city drug and gang culture.

Power

A successful New York entrepreneur lives a double life as the head of a drug empire that serves only the rich and influential, all while wanting to escape the underworld and keep his family safe.

Happy Valley

Happy Valley is a dark, funny, multi-layered thriller revolving around the personal and professional life of Catherine, a dedicated, experienced, hard-working copper. She is also a bereaved mother who looks after her orphaned grandchild.

Simon

Carl, a successful Wall Street stockbroker, loses his job and his wife, and finds himself in Harlem, sharing a tenement apartment with his simple brother Simon. Just as Carl's situation couldn't get any worse, a stroke of luck lands Simon a high-paid position with a cable TV network, forcing Carl to come to terms with his brother's success.

Mafia's Greatest Hits

Uncovers the extraordinary truth behind some of the Mafia's most notorious outlaws, and reveals how the FBI and law enforcement developed the techniques to crack the organization and bring it to justice. This is the story of the rise and fall of the Mafia, told by the people who brought it down.

Quarry

The story of Mac Conway, a Marine who returns home to Memphis from Vietnam in 1972 and finds himself shunned by those he loves and demonized by the public. As he struggles to cope with his experiences at war, Conway is drawn into a network of killing and corruption that spans the length of the Mississippi River.

Gangsters: America's Most Evil

A cinematic documentary series that explores the rise and fall of some of the most nefarious and notorious criminals brought to justice by the United States government. From thugs to lethal beauties, outlaws to kingpins, each episode profiles these gangsters and reveals their sinister motives, transgressions and the circumstances that eventually led to their downfall.

The Profit

When Marcus Lemonis isn’t running his multi-billion dollar company, Camping World, he goes on the hunt for struggling businesses that are desperate for cash and ripe for a deal. In the past 10 years, he’s successfully turned around over 100 companies. Now he’s bringing those skills to CNBC and doing something no one has ever done on TV before … he’s putting millions of dollars of his own money on the line. In each episode, Lemonis makes an offer that’s impossible to refuse; his cash for a piece of the business and a percentage of the profits. And once inside these companies, he’ll do almost anything to save the business and make himself a profit; even if it means firing the president, promoting the secretary or doing the work himself.

Griselda Blanco: The Black Widow

La Viuda Negra is a 2014 Spanish-language telenovela produced by RTI Producciones and Televisa for United States-based television network Univisión and for Colombia-based television network Caracol Television. It is an adaptation of the book La patrona de Pablo Escobar de José Guarnizo based on history from Griselda Blanco.

El Señor de los Cielos

Set in the 1990s, these are the life and times of Amado Carrillo Fuentes, a man who became the head of the Juárez cartel. Nicknamed “El Señor de los Cielos” (Lord of the Skies) because of the large fleet of airplanes he used to transport drugs, he was also known for washing more than $200 million through Colombia to finance his huge fleet. He is described as the most powerful drug trafficker of his time.

Couples Come Dine with Me

Three couples compete daily for the chance to win £1000. Each couple must prepare and host a dinner party together; then score together the efforts of rival hosts. Not only are culinary skills being judged, but relationships also find themselves under the spotlight. Will the heat of the kitchen prove too much for some?

Narcos

A gritty chronicle of the war against Colombia's infamously violent and powerful drug cartels.

The Mafia with Trevor McDonald

Trevor McDonald embarks on an eye-opening journey inside the secretive world of the American Mafia, gaining unprecedented access to people who have experienced first-hand, the money, glamour and violence of the United States’ most famous organised crime network. In this two-part documentary series, Trevor delves into the lives of people with a fascinating story to tell, some of whom have never appeared on television before.

BoysTown

Welcome to BoysTown! A modern gay episodic drama about friendship, sex and relationships exploring the everyday lives of 8 friends and lovers. A cross between a gay Desperate Housewives and Sex & the City, these guys are always getting themselves into situations they can't get out of.

The Art of More

A working-class social climber finagles his way into the world of New York City auction houses by using the smuggling skills he learned as a soldier in Iraq.

The Deuce

The story of the legalization and subsequent rise of the porn industry in New York’s Times Square from the early ’70s through the mid ’80s, exploring the rough-and-tumble world that existed there until the rise of HIV, the violence of the cocaine epidemic and the renewed real estate market ended the bawdy turbulence of the area.

Bad Blood

A dramatization of the life and death of Montreal mob boss Vito Rizzuto.

Caught

David Slaney escapes from jail and attempts to hook up with his partner for one last deal, while evading the detective on his trail. Based on the novel by Lisa Moore.

Drug Lords

Witness the stories of history's most notorious kingpins, their terrifying enforcers, and the men and women who've sworn to bring them down.

Impulse

16-year-old Henry Coles is an outsider in her new town of Reston, New York. With a major chip on her shoulder and no friends, she remains withdrawn and isolated, but everything changes when a traumatic encounter with a classmate triggers something deep within Henry— unleashing a power she cannot control.

Too Old to Die Young

Detective Martin Jones, who leads a double life as a killer for hire in Los Angeles' deadly underground, suffers an existential crisis which leads him deeper into a blood splattered world of violence.

Gotti: Godfather and Son

This documentary serves as the complete and definitive father and son story of two men who were raised in the mob and became the reigning king and heir apparent with John Gotti Jr. providing his most extensive on-camera interview to-date.

Black Monday

Travel back to October 19, 1987 – aka Black Monday, the worst stock market crash in Wall Street history – this is the story of how a group of outsiders took on the blue-blood, old-boys club of Wall Street and ended up crashing the world’s largest financial system, a Lamborghini limousine, Don Henley’s birthday party and the glass ceiling.

Bitter Lands

The love story of Zuleyha, ​​who grew up without a father and works with Yilmaz as an auxiliary weaver in order to earn money for her brother, a gambler. The lives of these two young people blinded by the love of one ordinary night will turn into a dark nightmare. This nightmare will take them first from Istanbul and far away, and later to the estate of the Yaman family. In the first episode of the series, Yilmaz and Zuleyha set out to work on the Yaman estate. However, because of one of Zuleyha's lies - the lives of all of them will change radically.

Cartel Crew

A look into the lives of descendants of the Cartel life living in Miami as they navigate adulthood and the effects the legacy has had on their upbringing.

Godfather of Harlem

Loosely based on infamous crime boss Bumpy Johnson, who in the early 1960s returned from ten years in prison to find the neighborhood he once ruled in shambles. With the streets controlled by the Italian mob, Bumpy attempts to regain his piece of Harlem.

ZeroZeroZero

Based on the book of the same name by bestselling author Roberto Saviano, ZeroZeroZero is an unforgettable exploration of the inner workings of the global cocaine trade.

Industry

In the cutthroat world of international finance, a group of young graduates compete for a limited set of permanent positions at a top investment bank in London. The boundaries between colleague, friend, lover, and enemy soon blur as they immerse themselves in a company culture defined as much by sex, drugs and ego as it is by deals and dividends.

Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez

Via interviews with friends, players and insiders, this docuseries examines how Aaron Hernandez went from an NFL star to a convicted killer.

The Outlaws

Seven strangers from different walks of life - people who would never normally interact - are forced to work together to renovate a derelict community centre. They resent the menial physical labour and they resent each other. But when one of their number gets dragged into a dangerous world of organised crime, they unite in ways none of them thought possible.

Gravesend

A 1980's series of events revolving around Benny Zerletta (William DeMeo), a Brooklyn based Italian-American, soldier in the Colezzo crime family. Benny depicts the difficulties.

White Lines

Zoe Walker leaves her quiet life behind to investigate her brother's disappearance in Ibiza, where she quickly heads down a decadent and dangerous path.

Fear City: New York vs The Mafia

New York City in the 1970s was ruled with a bloody fist by five mafia families, until a group of federal agents tried the unthinkable: taking them down.

La Bruja

La Bruja is a 2011 Colombian telenovela starring Flora Martínez, based on the novel of the same name by Colombian writer Germán Castro Caycedo.

The Langoliers

A jet leaves on a red-eye flight from Los Angeles to Boston. But early in the flight, ten passengers awaken to a startling realization: All of the other passengers have vanished.

Mayor of Kingstown

In a small Michigan town where the business of incarceration is the only thriving industry, the McClusky family are the power brokers between the police, criminals, inmates, prison guards and politicians in a city completely dependent on prisons and the prisoners they contain.

Flatbush Misdemeanors

Neighborhood best friends and urban millennials Dan and Kevin hilariously climb the ladder to nowhere in Flatbush, Brooklyn. But even inside the losing, they find there are little wins that come from tackling hipsters, mental health issues and the rising tide of gentrification.

Narco Wars

Narco Wars explores how opportunistic smuggling networks in Latin America turned into powerful and ruthless drug cartels with the power to destabilize and tear apart whole countries. The series combines gripping access to cartel members and the law enforcement agencies opposing them with a deep dive documentary exploration of the geo-political, social and cultural factors that led the cartels' rise.

Face to Face

Bjørn investigates the killing of his daughter. People around him believe she might have committed suicide, but he doesn't accept that. Both the stakes and the suspense rise relentlessly as Bjørn inches closer to the truth.

My Unorthodox Life

The personal and professional life of fashion mogul Julia Haart - former member of an ultra-Orthodox Jewish community turned CEO of Elite World Group.

En la Boca del Lobo

Based on a true story and the book, At the Devil's Table: The Untold Story of the Insider Who Brought Down the Cali Cartel by award-winning investigative reporter William C. Rempel, En la Boca del Lobo follows the series of events that ultimately lead to the dramatic downfall of Colombia’s infamous Cali drug cartel. The story centers on Ricardo Salgado, an engineer and soldier who rises ranks and became in charge of the security of the godfather of the Cali Cartel, one of the largest criminal organizations in the world and rival of the Medellin Cartel.

Cowboy Bebop

Long on style and perpetually short on cash, bounty hunters Spike, Jet and Faye trawl the solar system looking for jobs. But can they outrun Spike's past?

Kaleidoscope

A master thief and his crew attempt an epic and elaborate heist worth $7 billion dollars — but betrayal, greed and other threats undermine their plans.

Last King of the Cross

Inspired by John Ibrahim's best-selling autobiography, this series is an operatic story of two brothers, Sam and John Ibrahim who organize the street but lose each other in their ascent to power. The story tracks John Ibrahim's rise from a poverty-stricken immigrant with no education, no money, and no prospects, to Australia's most infamous nightclub mogul in Sydney's Kings Cross — a mini-Atlantic City, barely half a mile long with every form of criminality on offer.

Black Ops

Dom and Kay join the Met Police in the hope of cleaning up their community, but are unwittingly thrust into the murky world of deep cover infiltration as they become part of a powerful criminal enterprise. But for Dom and Kay it quickly becomes more of a fiasco than Donnie Brasco…

The Real Peaky Blinders

Exploring the mass gang movement that originated in Birmingham and other industrial cities in the 19th century and evolved into modern gangsterism in the early 20th.

Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street

This docuseries follows the rise and fall of financier Bernie Madoff, who orchestrated one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in Wall Street history.

Big Little Crimes

Minor incidents - huge impact. The gob-smacking stories of ordinary coppers who stumbled upon key pieces of evidence and helped take down major criminals.

The Brothers Sun

When a mysterious enemy targets his family, a Taipei triad member heads to Los Angeles to protect his strong-willed mother and oblivious younger brother.

Get Gotti

Murder. Extortion. Drug smuggling. Racketeering. The charges are mounting against John Gotti — but will any of them stick to the "Teflon Don"? Told from both sides of the law, this docuseries from the makers of "Fear City" follows the FBI's battle to bring down infamous mob boss.

Mafia Killers With Colin McLaren

Colin McLaren shares stories about his undercover work inside organized crime families; chilling firsthand details about how mafia families operate and why their ruthlessness was often their downfall.

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