The 10 Best Political Thrillers on Netflix To Watch Before ‘A House of Dynamite’

Seeing the inner workings of politics can be riveting. For some people, it’s the last thing they want to talk about, as it can be hard to actually sit and enjoy politics. But political thrillers are a way to get viewers invested in all kinds of government issues by looking at them from afar. It can be hard to get onboard with what’s going on in the current political landscape. But when it’s a made-up one, it’s easier to swallow.

Political thrillers keep audiences riveted, even if they follow the minute details of uncovering a conspiracy. It can be fascinating to watch someone piece together a web of lies, all while the looming deadline of an election or the brink of war is on the horizon. This genre has lent itself to exciting adaptations in both movies and TV series. In preparation for another entry in the genre’s lexicon, A House of Dynamite, which is directed by Kathryn Bigelow and stars Rebecca Ferguson and Idris Elba, here are some of the best political thriller films and series on Netflix to watch before the highly anticipated film arrives.

‘Zero Day’ (2025)

Robert De Niro plays a former US President tasked by the current President to look into a severe cybersecurity threat in Zero Day. The cyberterrorism attack resulted in thousands of deaths, bringing the nation and the world to their knees. The heavily dramatized series costars Angela Bassett as the current President, Jesse Plemons as her personal aide, Lizzy Caplan as De Niro’s daughter and current Congressional representative, Joan Allen as De Niro’s wife who is up for a judgeship, Conne Britton who works as De Niro’s chief of staff for the cybersecurity commission he puts together, Dan Stevens as a radical radio host, Bill Camp as the Director of the CIA, and Matthew Modine as the Speaker of the House.

The show highlights paranoia around cyberattacks, showing how one could possibly take down massive parts of public works and transportation. The series was created by Noah Oppenheim, Eric Newman, and Michael Schmidt. Oppenheim is also the writer of A House of Dynamite.

‘Traffic’ (2000)

A tension-building masterpiece by Steven Soderbergh, Traffic was met with critical acclaim when it premiered in 2000. It focuses on the illegal drug trade going in and out of the United States, with multiple storylines ultimately linking together. There are three main storylines, taking place in Mexico, Ohio/Washington D.C, and San Diego. The Mexico storyline stars Benicio del Toro and Jacob Vergas as Federales trying to take down a hitman for a Tijuana cartel. The Ohio/Washington D.C. storyline features Michael Douglas as an Ohio judge appointed as the nation’s drug czar and his family’s struggles with addiction. The San Diego storyline is about DEA agents who put a drug lord on trial, and the drug lord’s wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones) stopping at nothing to get her husband freed.

The movie is as dramatic as it gets, with different underlying messages about governments across the world and the drug trade. It features stalwart performances from those mentioned above, plus Don Cheadle, Luis Guzman, Amy Irving, Erika Christensen, Topher Grace, James Brolin, Steven Bauer, Miguel Ferrer, Salma Hayek, Dennis Quaid, Benjamin Bratt, and Albert Finney. It won Soderbergh Best Director at the Oscars.

‘Munich: The Edge of War’ (2021)

Munich: The Edge of War takes a look at Germany in 1938 when Adolf Hitler agrees to meet with British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and French Prime Minister Edouard Daladier in Munich. Some in the German government are looking to overthrow Hitler and stop him from invading Europe. The film focuses on the relationship between German Paul von Hartmann (Jannis Niewöhner) and Brit Hugh Legat (George Mackay). The two were friends at Oxford University, and currently Hartmann works in the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs while Legat is Neville Chamberlain’s private secretary.

The two men are both working on their own sides to try and stop Hitler and must rendezvous with one another to achieve their goals. Directed by Christian Schwochow and written by Ben Power, the intensity of each espionage situation between the two storylines is palpable. Both men feel as though they are doing something incredibly important, and their actions could have global effects.

‘Article 370’ (2024)

Article 370 was a massively successful film when it premiered in 2024, and it earned eight nominations at the Filmfare Awards, which are given to the best Indian-Hindi language films. The movie stars Yami Gautam Dhar as an NIA agent, NIA being the counterterrorism agency in India. She eliminates a target without proper authority, and the unrest caused by this action leads to her transfer. She ultimately works with government officials to try and abrogate Article 370 of the Constitution of India, which granted autonomous status to Jammu and Kashmir.

She and Rajeshwari Swaminathan, the Prime Minister’s Office Joint Secretary (played by Priyamani), work to get rid of the separatist networks and corruption in the region. It takes place during the years of unrest in India in 2019, with the two performing covert operations to restore the nation’s sanctity. It’s a particularly long film and is fully in Hindi.

‘Official Secrets’ (2019)

Keira Knightley has played some fascinating roles in the past few years in thriller series and movies. She starred in Netflix’s Black Doves as a spy and in Boston Strangler for Hulu, trying to catch a serial killer. She also stars in Official Secrets, where she plays a whistleblower who uncovers an illegal spying operation. It’s based on the true story of Katharine Gun, who obtained information about a joint operation by the U.S. and British governments to spy on United Nations diplomats from countries who were going to vote on a resolution of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.

The film also stars Matt Smith as the journalist Martin Bright, who investigates the scandal. Ralph Fiennes plays Gun’s lawyer, who must defend her when she’s charged with breaking the Official Secrets Act. The movie then shifts from government coverups to Gun being on trial. Official Secrets was directed by Gavin Hood, who also cowrote the screenplay alongside Gregory and Sara Bernstein.

‘Bodyguard’ (2018)

A six-part miniseries created by Jed Mercurio, Bodyguard stars Richard Madden as a British Army veteran suffering from PTSD who is assigned to be on the personal protection detail of the current Home Secretary, played by Keeley Hawes. The show starts with Madden’s character David Budd foiling a suicide bomber’s plan to blow up a train, and it doesn’t stop building the tension from there.

Hawes’ Julia Montague is a progressive-minded bureaucrat who has controversial views, making her a target for opposing forces. As the series continues, Budd is forced to think quickly on his feet and thwart plans to attack Montague. There is an underlying romance plot that builds, but the action stays strong, and Madden won a Golden Globe for his role.

‘Spy Game’ (2001)

A spy thriller featuring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt, Spy Game was directed by Tony Scott. Set during the final days of the Cold War, Pitt is a CIA operative captured in China and set to be executed. The CIA calls Redford out of retirement to look into the situation. Pitt and Redford have a past, and the movie tells the story of their previous history working together. It’s told through flashback as well as showing what’s going on currently.

Redford pulls out all the stops to try and get Pitt freed. It’s a fun thriller as brilliant operatives play both sides to ultimately get what they need. The story was concocted by Michael Frost Beckner, who wrote the screenplay with David Arata. The film also stars Catherine McCormack, Stephen Dillane, Larry Bryggman, Ken Leung, and Charlotte Rampling.

‘Silverton Siege’ (2022)

Based on a true story, Silverton Siege recounts the tale of three anti-apartheid freedom fighters who were planning on sabotaging a power plant in Pretoria. However, once the police are tipped off, the three hole up in a bank and continue their fight. It turns into a hostage situation, despite the fighters not trying to harm anyone. There are other forces at bay trying to stop the men from getting the imprisoned Nelson Mandela freed.

The movie features tense sequences, with a mole subplot and SWAT teams trying to take them down. It stars Thabo Rametsi, Noxolo Diamini, and Stefan Erasmus as the three freedom fighters. In reality, the Silverton Siege helped spark the Free Mandela campaign that swept through South Africa for a decade before his release. The three lead actors provide nuanced performances that make the audience really understand why they are fighting.

‘The Spy’ (2019)

Created by Gideon Raff, the creator of Homeland, The Spy premiered in 2019 and stars Sacha Baron Cohen. It is based on the life of Mossad agent Eli Cohen, who went undercover and infiltrated the Syrian Ministry of Defense. It covers Cohen’s early years in espionage and how he went undercover to create his double life. The show leads up to the Six-Day War in 1967 between Israel and Syria.

Cohen was actually appointed as Syria’s Deputy Defense Minister and was well-regarded by high society in the country, all while feeding secrets back to Israel. The series also features Hadar Ratzon-Rotem, Yael Eitan, Noah Emmerich, Nassim Lyles, and Alexander Siddig. Cohen was lauded for his performance, showing off his dramatic talents.

‘Designated Survivor’ (2016-2019)

For any State of the Union address in the U.S., there is one member of the Cabinet who stays behind and doesn’t attend the meeting in the Capitol Building. They are known as the Designated Survivor, in case something happens to the President, Vice President, Speaker of the House, and all the other members of the Federal government who are in attendance. Designated Survivor stars Kiefer Sutherland as Thomas Kirkman, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, who ascends to the role of President after an attack during the State of the Union kills everyone else in the line of succession.

The series focuses on Kirkman trying to learn on the job and seem like a legitimate President to the rest of the world as well as the American people. The show also stars Natasha McElhone, Adam Canto, Kal Penn, Maggie Q, LaMonica Garrett, Italia Ricci, Jake Epstein, and Tanner Buchanan. The political thriller started on ABC before being picked up by Netflix.