The Best TV Shows to Watch Like 'Babylon'

The Fall of Babylon is not unique to this film.

There's a lot going on in Damien Chazelle's Hollywood-set Babylon. It's a tribute to the golden age of Silktown, a lament for the end of the silent era, indulgent comedy, and epic tragedy all rolled into one. This movie about movies is filled with tormented characters, instant fame, impending downfall, and wild parties that rival The Wolf of Wall Street and The Great Gatsby. In fact, it was almost a surprise that Babylon didn't star in those films, Leonardo DiCaprio, who recently starred in another nearly three-hour Hollywood film alongside Babylon stars Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie Time death story, Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood.

Known for his films Whiplash and First Man and La La Land, another bittersweet love letter to Hollywood, Chazelle uses Babylon to express many ideas in one coherent story. Between the film's energy, themes, and Hollywood setting of the 20s and 30s, this unique film will leave many fans wanting more. While the aforementioned films are available for those looking for a similar story, style, and setting, there is a reason why one of the films is longer than two hours, and some even longer than The Three Hour Mark: A story like this is great for a long story.

Nothing quite like Babylon, but several TV shows explored similar themes, a few explored the setting of the times, and a few considered the cost of notoriety in Hollywood. Depending on what Babylon fans hope to find on their next TV binge, this list might answer the question of their new favorite show.

Mob City

In 2012, after AMC's The Walking Dead divorced its developer and producer Frank Darabont of The Shawshank Redemption, it was announced that Darabont would adapt John Bunting's novel L.A. Noire , a book about the world of gangsters and the LAPD in the 1940s. It stars The Walking Dead's Jon Bernthal and Jeffrey DeMunn, who, as Bernthal discussed in a recent episode of his podcast, have both Call to drop hit zombie series in solidarity with Darabont. The critically acclaimed six-episode long-forgotten series detailed Bugsy Siegel's (Edward Burns) and Mitch Cohen's (Jeremy Luke) criminal underworld. environment. Despite the series' short life, it relishes its period setting and iconic settings, making it an absolute joy to watch even when it's dark. show Also invited Simon Pegg cameo comedian, blackmail the gangster.

Bojack Horseman

While BoJack Horseman may be one of the more well-known entries on this list, many who know of its existence but haven't watched it may think it's just another crude adult comedy with no depth. This could not be further from the truth. The story of Bojack (Will Arnett plays a character much like his co-star in Flaked) is one to watch. The character's desperate attempt to reclaim his exploits by starring in a '90s sitcom leads the show to explore the same unsettling depths of mind as Brad Pitt's role in Babylon. This animated comedy stars Aaron Paul, Alison Brie, and Amy Sedaris as consistent commentary on Hollywood, self-medication, psychology, and regret, and features some celebrity cameos, sometimes with their own joke. Don't let the cartoon style fool you. Bojack Horseman goes dark and black fast.

Get Shorty

Sitcom guru Ray Romano ("Everybody Loves Raymond") and Chris O'Dowd ("IT Panic") star in this drama about The gangsters team up with a low-budget film director to make a movie. The crime comedy originally aired on Epix and ran for three seasons, although the show was not officially canceled and no fourth season was announced. While the title suggests that the show is related to the 1995 film starring John Travolta and Gene Hackman and is actually based on characters and plots from the novels, the series simply borrows from the showrunners and mobsters. The premise of teaming up, let the antics snowball for as long as possible. For fans of the dark comedy tone of Babylon, this is for you.

Dancing on the Edge

For fans of Jovan Adepo's Sidney Palmer in Babylon storyline, Dancing on the Edge is a 2013 BBC miniseries about black jazz bands in 1930s London. The 6-part story stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, who was nominated for an Oscar in 12 Years a Slave that same year. The story follows the band and their caring but hot-headed manager (Ariyon Bakare) as their success makes them popular among London nobility and even royalty. The band's success only grew from there, spiraling out of control until, as inevitably in these rags-to-riches, rags-to-riches stories, tragedy struck. a lot of As in Babylon, the band's moment in the sun leads to a chain of impending events that puts their careers and potentially their lives in jeopardy. The series won Golden Globe and Satellite Awards for "Best Supporting Actress" and "Best Miniseries" respectively.

Vinyl

Created by filmmaking legends Martin Scorsese, Rich Cohen, Boardwalk Empire creator Terrence Winter and The Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger, this drug-fueled rock 'n' roll Party and the adrenaline rush of the Babylonian party scene while still discussing the double-sword of showbiz. It follows Bobby Cannavale's Richie Finestra, a '70s record executive as he desperately tries to navigate the ever-changing music scene. Drawing on themes of Babylon's changing industries, and the lost souls who were cast aside along the way, Vinyl explores the toil and desperation of Babylonian characters, even starring Babylonian actor P. J. Byrne (who also starred in Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street) and Olivia Wilde.

Hollywood

Those who particularly liked Ryan Murphy's work in Glee may like Hollywood. It follows a group of actors and filmmakers who engage in (sex-positive) prostitution to fulfill their showbiz dreams. the show features murphy regular darren Chris (The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story) and Dylan McDermott (American Horror Story) as well as some familiar new faces on Murphy's roster, such as The Big Bang Theory's Jim Parsons and Blake Crane Sman's Laura Harrier. But while the Netflix series has an all-star cast and is set in post-World War II Hollywood, this motley cast finds more endings than one might expect in real life, especially in Babylon. The ending is much happier. Where Babylon confronted the inevitable negativity, Hollywood rewrote history to make it more uplifting.

Babylon Berlin

Less Hollywood and more Babylonian themes, this German neo-noir series, set in Berlin from 1929, follows a police officer (Wolker Bruch) on a covert mission to dismantle a blackmail gang. The story is based on Volker Kutscher's Gereon Rath series of novels, which sold over a million copies worldwide and won the author the Krimi-Fuchs Crime Writer's Prize in Berlin in 2011. The show itself (produced for Sky, but exclusively on Netflix in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) has also drawn due praise, including In 2019, the European Film Academy awarded the series its inaugural Achievement Award at the European Film Awards. This dark and thrilling tale of crime and seduction not only bears a similar name to Babylon, but is highly recommended for those looking for a more sombre tone and aesthetic to match Babylon's final act rather than the first.