The 2024 US presidential election is less than two weeks away. Right this second, news commentators across the globe are weighing up the potential possible outcomes. Will Kamala Harris or Donald Trump come out as the victor? While you might presume that the best use of my time would be to consider important questions such as: how will swing states affect this election? And what might the future of the US look like under each administration? I have a slightly different query: what TV shows should I be watching to prepare myself for the absolute dumpster fire that’s about to go down?

Let me walk you through five TV shows, and a couple movies, that need to be on your watch list this voting season.

Of course, I had to include The West Wing, created by Aaron Sorkin. As one of the most influential dramas of the aughts, The West Wing follows the fictional President Bartlet, along with his coterie of advisors and staffers. It’s a brilliant drama, with sharp dialogue and lovable albeit flawed characters. Admittedly, the quality dropped after screenwriter Sorkin left at the end of season four, but the whole seven seasons are worth watching! It’s also informative: it was my introduction to American politics, watching DVD box sets back when I was about 16. Throughout its era, there’s a naivety to its politics that doesn’t feel believable today. However, the final season sees the fight for his successor and ends with a good, satisfying bang.

Veep is one of the funniest shows of the century if you ask me. Created by Armando Iannucci, with many of the same writers as The Thick of It, Julia Louis-Dreyfus plays the narcissistic, chaotic VP Selina Catherine Meyer, winning a record-breaking six consecutive Primetime Emmys. It has also become somewhat prophetic of the current situation: the first female vice president who goes on to run for president against a cartoonish right-winger. Sometimes the satire becomes startlingly real, for instance when a Republican dismisses what he calls “Muslim Math”—because we use Arabic numerals. Again, the final season sees a tight and tense presidential campaign, where the results are revealed in the series finale.

I should also mention In the Loop, Ianucci’s first film, which looks at Anglo-American relations and features some familiar characters from The Thick of It—but is far more successful than just a spin-off, or dry run for Veep.

Incidentally, Ianucci’s newest TV satire, The Franchise, debuted this week to rave reviews, with new episodes weekly. Here, he moves on from politics and takes aim at superhero movies instead.

The American remake of the classic British political drama House of Cards was a runaway hit for Netflix. House of Cards was the first ever major television show to be made by a streaming service. Then gradually, it became bigger, weirder, and progressively more unhinged. The election interference of the fifth season is carefully rooted in constitutional law but was difficult to believe, until 2020 at least.

Afterwards, it seemed like the show aptly predicted the 6 January riots at the Capitol. Of course, the series falls apart in the final season—perhaps fitting, given the name of the show—after Kevin Spacey was removed from the series following multiple allegations of sexual misconduct and assault. It feels difficult to rewatch in the wake of this. The British series speaks less to the current moment but holds up far better overall.

My mum calls this show “Stupid President,” because the show is so stupid. This is the premise: at every State of the Union speech, where the President addresses both houses of the US Congress, a member of the cabinet has to sit out, just in case the Capitol is attacked and all of the major figures in the presidential line of succession—Vice President, Speaker of the House, House Majority Leader, etc—are wiped out in one fell swoop. Can you already see where this is headed? Precisely this disaster occurs and suddenly, Kiefer Sutherland’s Thomas Kirkman ascends from Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to, drumrolls, President.

The third season follows Kirkman’s attempt to actually be elected to President following a relatively successful first term. The show also digs social media and culture wars in a way that The West Wing couldn’t but was cancelled twice, first by ABC, and then by Netflix, after the third season aired.

Maybe it’s a step too far to suggest that a second Trump presidency would lead to Gilead. But after Dobbs v. Jackson overturned Roe v. Wade—during Biden’s term but as a result of Trump filling the Supreme Court with far-right fundamentalists—it’s not a stretch to imagine the further erosion of reproductive healthcare should Trump make it into the White House for round two. Project 2025, a political initiative published by uber-conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, lays out a clear plan for the former President to erode various freedoms and consolidate executive power to form an autocratic state. It’s a terrifying prospect and with polls still very tight, it’s worth preparing for the worst.

https://twitter.com/Barkingskwerl/status/1848137631764476339

There are plenty of iconic movies about presidential elections: I’d recommend George Clooney’s The Ides of March and Adam McKay’s Vice in particular.

In terms of movies by presidents or with guest appearances by them, let’s not forget the occasional movie star Ronald Reagan: he starred in The Winning Team ,1952, alongside Doris Day, and Bedtime for Bonzo ,1951, with Diana Lynn and a chimpanzee named Peggy.

The Obamas now have a production company, Higher Ground Productions. American Factory won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature and Rustin, 2023, is a genuinely brilliant biopic of civil rights activist Bayard Rustin.

It’s almost Christmas movie time (November is allowed, right?), so I should mention Home Alone 2 Lost In New York, one of the greatest Christmas movies, which famously features a cameo from Donald Trump.

donald trump if he hadn’t been on home alone 2 pic.twitter.com/Aen32jtmdG

— marti ⋆⋆⋆ gomens 3 spoilers (@aceraphale) October 21, 2024

And speaking of the ex-President, a new biopic is currently in cinemas that follows Trump’s early years, as he was mentored by notorious lawyer and prosecutor Roy Cohn. The Apprentice (which Trump tried to delay the release of, until after the election) acts as a villain’s origin story for the former, and perhaps future, US President.

The election takes place on 5 November 2024, with results coming in overnight into the next day. As with the 2020 election, it’s unlikely a definitive result will come in overnight: nonetheless, there will be through-the-night coverage across all major channels in the UK.

The BBC has announced coverage led by US Chief Presenters Caitríona Perry and Sumi Somaskanda, alongside US special correspondent Katty Kay, BBC News presenter Christian Fraser, and the Social Media Investigations Correspondent Marianna Spring. Clive Myrie will host the 10 O’clock News live from Washington D.C.

Channel 4 has Emily Maitlis and Krishnan Guru-Murthy, with Jeremy Vine providing infographics and analysis from the London data hub, and guests including Stormy Daniels (exciting) and Boris Johnson (ew). It’s their first overnight US election coverage since 1992, following critical acclaim of 2024 UK election coverage.

Sky has presenters Anna Botting, and Gillian Joseph and US correspondents Martha Kelner, James Matthews and Mark Stone, lead by Mark Austin and Yalda Hakim in Washington.