Television series
House of Lies
- Satire
- Relentless
House of Lies follows a brilliant, charismatic management consultant and his team as they bend ethics, manipulate executives, and close lucrative deals through charm and ruthlessness. Fast-paced and darkly funny, it's a scathing satire of corporate America where everyone has an angle and morality is negotiable. Perfect for anyone who loves watching clever people do questionable things.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you enjoy slick, cynical workplace comedy where the fun is watching clever people hustle each other, and you don't need anyone to be likeable to stay hooked on the banter.
Skip it if you want warmth or a hero to root for, since almost everyone here is compromised and the moral temperature stays chilly for most of its run.
What it asks of you: Half-hour episodes that move quickly, with dense rapid dialogue you need to keep up with; it rewards close attention more than casual channel-surfing.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Succession2018
Ruthless power players scheme through corporate machinations with wit and cruelty. It has the same DNA as House of Lies—ambitious, morally flexible people operating at the highest stakes—but deeper and more theatrical.
But It's slower and more deliberately paced, building dread over spectacle. If you want constant momentum, this meditates instead.

Mad Men2007
Don Draper selling dreams to America has the same seductive appeal as Marty selling nonsense to CEOs. Both are about charm as a weapon and the cost of constant performance.
But It's a period piece that prioritizes mood over plot momentum. The pacing is leisurely, almost hypnotic.

The Wolf of Wall Street2013
Excess, manipulation, and the thrill of the con told with energy and dark humor. It captures the same intoxicated amorality—the high of talking your way to the top.
But Three and a half hours of relentless debauchery. If you want restraint or moral reckoning, this doesn't offer either.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from House of Lies
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
In Good Company2004
Both explore ambitious people in corporate environments, but this one asks what happens when the system fails and you have to choose between winning and being decent.
A magazine company on the brink employs brilliant hustlers trying to keep it afloat. It's about the same collision of idealism and expedience, corporate pressure and personal loyalty, but in a dying industry trying to matter.
But It's a mid-budget romantic dramedy, not cynical. Some will find it earnest rather than cutting.

More like this (7)
Billions2016
Smart people playing high-stakes games with money and power. Hedge fund games, management consultancy—both are about being smarter and faster than everyone else.
But It can feel overstuffed with plot. Sometimes narrative momentum tramples character.

Glengarry Glen Ross1992
Salesmen destroying each other for commission. The same brutal, cutthroat energy—survival of the most persuasive. Mamet's dialogue is a masterclass in manipulation.
But It's stagey and claustrophobic, mostly one room of men screaming. No relief valve.

American Psycho2000
A satire of corporate ambition and masculine performance where the con is the entire point. Dark, funny, and genuinely disturbing about the emptiness under the polish.
But It's deliberately artificial and slow-burn. Some will find it dated or too on-the-nose about its satire.

Damages2007
Lawyers playing psychological chess with towering stakes. Like House of Lies, it's about smart people using every tool to win, with real consequences creeping in.
But The narrative structure—jumping between timelines—can feel gimmicky. Some plots become convoluted.

The Thick of It2005
Profane, brilliant spin doctors manipulating everyone around them. Same mordant humor about power and performance, just in Westminster instead of Manhattan.
But It's heavily British and often improvised; the dialect and pacing are deliberately disorienting.

Thank You for Smoking2005
A silver-tongued lobbyist talks his way through absurdity with charm and zero principles. It has the same lightweight, clever tone about making the indefensible seem reasonable.
But It's lighter and more farcical than House of Lies. Some find the satire too broad to sting.

Corporate2018
Same target, same contempt, but sketch format lets it be weirder and meaner—it doesn't need to make sense, just sting.
A sketch-comedy anthology where each episode skewers a different corporate nightmare. Anarchic and precisely targeted—surrealist abuse of corporate logic that makes House of Lies' satire look gentle.
But It's sketch comedy, not narrative. If you need characters and continuity, this is deliberately disjointed and jarring.

People
Cast
Writing
- Matthew CarnahanCreator
Production
- Anne M. UemuraAssociate Producer
- Tom KeefeAssociate Producer
- Alice WestCo-Executive Producer
- David WalpertCo-Executive Producer
- Devon ShepardCo-Executive Producer
- Kate GarwoodCo-Executive Producer
- Kay LibermanCo-Executive Producer
- Lenore ZermanCo-Executive Producer
- Wesley S. Nickerson IIICo-Producer
- Don CheadleExecutive Producer
- Jessika BorsiczkyExecutive Producer
- Matthew CarnahanExecutive Producer
- Stephen HopkinsExecutive Producer
- Karin GistSupervising Producer