Shows Like
Shows Like House of the Dragon for Fantasy Diehards
By Jordan A. · · 2 min read
House of the Dragon is doing something harder than Game of Thrones ever did. It's telling a civil war story where you already know who dies and it still has to keep you hooked. The way it pulls that off is patience. Scenes breathe. Rooms get quiet. People say one thing and mean another. If that's the specific flavor you're looking for more of, here's the list that actually delivers.
The slow-burn historical dramas
Shōgun is first, last, and loudest on this list. Ten episodes, maximum patience, maximum payoff. If you haven't watched it yet, you're missing the best thing on television in the last two years.
Wolf Hall (and the new sequel The Mirror and the Light) is Mark Rylance in a Tudor-court drama that's all whispers and long looks. This is the cleanest stylistic match for House of the Dragon outside of actual fantasy.
The Crown is about a very different throne but the energy is identical. Watch any season cold.
The fantasy that earns it
The Last Kingdom ran for five seasons and a movie. It treats warfare like a math problem and character like a long game.
The Witcher: Blood Origin is a prequel miniseries that got mixed reviews but scratches the specific dynasty-drama itch.
His Dark Materials season three finally lets the story be as big as the books promised.
For the family politics
Succession is the other show where the question is which kid gets the chair. Replace the dragons with helicopters and it's the same show.
Tokyo Vice is the quiet crime drama most people missed. It lives in the same patient headspace.
The Americans is a marriage drama about people who can't stop making terrible choices for good reasons.
The period dramas that still work
Rome is two seasons and it sits next to the best of Game of Thrones with no apologies.
Borgia: Faith and Fear (the European version, not the Showtime one) is underrated.
Deadwood is a western, but if you miss scenes where people talk for ten minutes straight and it still feels like a fight, start here.
For the dragons specifically
The Rings of Power season two is a real improvement and worth another look.
The Wheel of Time is Amazon's other big fantasy. Seasons two and three are a different show from season one.
Shadow and Bone got cancelled, but what's there is fun.
Between House of the Dragon seasons is a long wait. BingeNext can take this list and rank it against what you can actually stream tonight, so you don't waste forty-five minutes of your night picking before you even start watching.
House of the Dragon is the quiet fantasy show a lot of us were waiting for. The shows above share its gravity. That's the rarest thing on TV.
Topics covered: house-of-the-dragon, fantasy, dynasty
About the author
Jordan A., Founder, BingeNext
Jordan A. is the founder of BingeNext and writes every guide on this site. He built the recommendation engine after one too many nights lost to the streaming menu, and he still tests every pick the hard way: by watching it.