Television series

A Very British Coup

Name: A Very British Coup
Genre: Drama
Released: 1988
Cast: Ray McAnally, Alan MacNaughtan, Keith Allen, Geoffrey Beevers, Philip Madoc

A taut political thriller about a Labour PM's battle against the establishment. Ray McAnally commands the screen as Harry Perkins, a genuine radical in Downing Street whose nuclear disarmament and neutrality policies terrify the press, the Americans, and MI5. It's a paranoid, credible nightmare about democracy's fragility—tense without melodrama, urgent without shouting.

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love political thrillers that treat ideas as the engine, where the tension comes from institutions closing ranks and a decent man refusing to play dirty, like the slow-burn Cold War paranoia of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

Skip it if you want a fast plot or a hero who gets to swing a punch; this is talky, procedural and built on meetings, memos and whispered deals rather than action.

What it asks of you: Three hour-long episodes, so a tidy weekend commitment, but it asks you to keep track of a long roster of civil servants, editors and spooks and to sit with long stretches of quiet argument.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

In the Loop2009

Armando Iannucci's savage comedy about institutional incompetence and the machinery that grinds toward war. The satire bites harder because the systems it mocks are real, and the dialogue crackles with genuine wit about power.

But It's relentlessly cynical and crude in ways that might feel exhausting if you're looking for something cathartic rather than darkly comic.

The Thick of It2005

Iannucci's earlier series captures the same paranoia about spin, backbiting, and the distance between policy and reality. Malcolm Tucker's profanity is a weapon, and the scripts are surgical about how power actually works.

But The aggression never lets up. If you need moments of warmth or hope, this will feel relentless.

Yes Minister1980

The ancestor of all British political satire. A Conservative minister discovers he's a puppet of his permanent secretary. Hilarious and depressing, it explains how bureaucracy really functions—the show aged brilliantly.

But The comedy is cerebral and wordy. If you prefer action or visual humour, it might feel like dinner-party chat.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from A Very British Coup

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb1964

Both use nuclear policy as the hinge on which institutional power turns. Both ask what happens when rational people confront irrational systems.

Kubrick's nuclear satire about systems too powerful to stop. A socialist PM concerned about disarmament would find this darkly clarifying—it shows exactly why Perkins' enemies fear him. Hilarious and terrifying simultaneously.

But It's absurdist rather than realistic. The comedy comes from exaggeration, not mimicry, so if you wanted realism it might feel silly.

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb poster

Brazil1985

Gilliam's masterpiece about a functionary crushed by totalitarian bureaucracy. Paranoia, dark humour, surrealism, and genuine dread. It imagines a world where the system wins—completely—and makes it nightmarishly funny.

But It's visually overwhelming and deliberately meandering. The chaos is the point, but if you like clarity you'll find it exhausting.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy2011

Le Carré's Cold War espionage novel, perfectly cast and photographed. Slow-burn paranoia about moles, betrayal, and the invisible hand of institutional corruption. Every frame feels designed to unsettle.

But It moves at a glacial pace and assumes you're paying attention to small plot details. It refuses to explain itself clearly.

Network1976

Chayefsky's prophetic satire about ratings, power, and the media's hunger for chaos. It predicted everything, which is both thrilling and depressing. Peter Finch's meltdown anchors the social commentary brilliantly.

But It's preachy by design. If you don't want your political satire so explicitly argued, this won't work for you.

The West Wing1999

Sorkin's idealist counterpoint: a Democratic administration trying to do good against genuine opposition. Fast-talking, clever, optimistic about democratic possibility. It's the anti-cynicism play, and Sheen is magnetic.

But It's aggressively hopeful in ways that can feel naive. If you've seen how institutions actually work, the earnestness might frustrate you.

All the President's Men1976

Methodical, gripping journalism procedural about Woodward and Bernstein taking down Nixon. It believes in institutions working when they should. The paranoia is earned and the vindication real.

But It's a procedural about research and phone calls, not action. If you need pace and excitement, it will feel slow.

The Killing2011

Both treat institutional corruption not as a conspiracy but as structural reality. Both ask whether democracy can protect you from power.

Danish noir about a murder investigation that dissolves into political corruption and institutional compromise. Methodical, grey, relentlessly serious. It shares the same belief that systems protect themselves above all, and that individuals cannot beat them.

But It's Scandinavian misery: slow, dark, subtitled, and ultimately hopeless. Nothing feels fun about it, ever.