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Knight Rider poster

Shows that feel likeKnight Rider (1982–1986)

Michael Long, an undercover police officer, is shot while investigating a case and left for dead by his assailants. He is rescued by Wilton Knight, a wealthy, dying millionaire and inventor who arranges life-saving surgery, including a new face and a new identity--that of Michael Knight. Michael is then given a special computerized and indestructible car called the Knight Industries Two Thousand (nicknamed KITT), and a mission: apprehend criminals who are beyond the reach of the law. The series depicts Michael's exploits as he and KITT battle the forces of evil on behalf of the Foundation for Law and Government.

If you loved Knight Rider, the closest series we have are MacGyver (1985), Battlestar Galactica (2004) and Watchmen (2019). Most of the picks below share Knight Rider's kinetic and epic feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Quantum Leap (1989).

★ 7 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗4 seasons · NBCcreated by Glen A. Larsonkineticepiccerebraldreamlikegritty
11 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Amazon Prime Video

Not on subscription streaming right now. Rent or buy below.

If Knight Rider hit the spot, these will too

MacGyver poster
MacGyver
1985–1992 · 7 seasons · ABC
★ 7.6drama · action & adventure · crimeParamount+

A lone do-gooder rolling into trouble and improvising his way out

The difference: Brains over hardware — no gadget car, just duct tape and wits

He's everyone's favorite action hero... but he's a hero with a difference. Angus MacGyver is a secret agent whose wits are his deadliest weapon. Armed with only a knapsack filled with everyday items he picks up along the way, he improvises his way out of every peril the bad guys throw at him. Making a bomb out of chewing gum? Fixing a speeding car's brakes... while he's riding in it? Using soda pop to cook up tear gas? That's all in a day's adventures for MacGyver. He's part Boy Scout, part genius. And all hero.

Battlestar Galactica poster
Battlestar Galactica
2004–2009 · 4 seasons · Syfy
★ 8.7sci-fi & fantasy · action & adventure · dramaParamount+

A thinking machine at the story's heart, from Knight Rider's own creator

The difference: Heavy serialized war drama — grim where Michael and KITT stay light

When an old enemy, the Cylons, resurface and obliterate the 12 colonies, the crew of the aged Galactica protect a small civilian fleet - the last of humanity - as they journey toward the fabled 13th colony, Earth.

Watchmen poster
Watchmen
2019 · 1 season · HBO
★ 8.2drama · crime · sci-fi & fantasyMax

Vigilante justice from outside the system, taken deadly seriously

The difference: Dense, political and grim — none of the breezy episodic fun

Set in an alternate history where “superheroes” are treated as outlaws, “Watchmen” embraces the nostalgia of the original groundbreaking graphic novel while attempting to break new ground of its own.

Marvel's The Defenders poster
Marvel's The Defenders
2017 · 1 season · Netflix
★ 7.2sci-fi & fantasy · action & adventure · crimeDisney+

The same mix in both: momentum, then scale

The difference: Made in the 2010s, in a different era of the craft

Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist join forces to take on common enemies as a sinister conspiracy threatens New York City.

Marvel's The Punisher poster
Marvel's The Punisher
2017–2019 · 2 seasons · Netflix
★ 8.4action & adventure · crime · dramaDisney+

Both are built on the same subject: vigilante

The difference: Trades the ideas of Knight Rider for an angle of its own

A former Marine out to punish the criminals responsible for his family's murder finds himself ensnared in a military conspiracy.

Person of Interest poster
Person of Interest
2011–2016 · 5 seasons · CBS
★ 8.5action & adventure · crime · sci-fi & fantasyPrime VideoPeacock

A man and an all-knowing machine saving strangers week by week

The difference: Grows dark and paranoid — the machine raises questions KITT never did

John Reese, former CIA paramilitary operative, is presumed dead and teams up with reclusive billionaire Finch to prevent violent crimes in New York City by initiating their own type of justice. With the special training that Reese has had in Covert Operations and Finch's genius software inventing mind, the two are a perfect match for the job that they have to complete. With the help of surveillance equipment, they work "outside the law" and get the right criminal behind bars. 

The Shield poster
The Shield
2002–2008 · 7 seasons · FX
★ 8.7crime · drama · action & adventurePrime VideoHulu

Both lean on grit more than on action & adventure

The difference: Takes it somewhere less cerebral than Knight Rider does

The story of an inner-city Los Angeles police precinct where some of the cops aren't above breaking the rules or working against their associates to both keep the streets safe and their self-interests intact.

Wynonna Earp poster
Wynonna Earp
2016–2021 · 4 seasons · Syfy
★ 7.4action & adventure · sci-fi & fantasy · western

A reluctant hero with one special weapon cleaning up her town

The difference: Demons and family curses swap in for car chases and cool tech

Wyatt Earp's great granddaughter Wynonna battles demons and other creatures with her unique abilities and a posse of dysfunctional allies - the only thing that can bring the paranormal to justice.

Quantum Leap poster
Quantum Leap
1989–1993 · 5 seasons · NBC
★ 8.2sci-fi & fantasy · action & adventure · drama

One good man dropped into a stranger's crisis every single week

The difference: Heart over horsepower — gentle time-travel drama, not action

Theorizing that one could time travel within his own lifetime, Dr. Sam Beckett stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator and vanished... He woke to find himself trapped in the past, facing mirror images that were not his own and driven by an unknown force to change history for the better. His only guide on this journey is Al, an observer from his own time, who appears in the form of a hologram that only Sam can see and hear. And so Dr. Beckett finds himself leaping from life to life, striving to put right what once went wrong and hoping each time that his next leap will be the leap home.

Rosario Tijeras poster
Rosario Tijeras
2010 · 1 season · RCN
★ 8action & adventure · crime · drama

Kinetic crime, and it commits to that

The difference: Leans harder into drama than Knight Rider does

This is the story of the legendary Rosario Tijeras, the beautiful warrior from a slum who fell in love with Antonio and Emilio, two handsome and wealthy young men. Antonio, a young architect, desperately rushes the dying Rosario Tijeras to a nearby hospital. The beautiful Rosario has been shot four times by a hitman. While he waits for his beloved Rosario to be saved from her wounds, Antonio recalls how Rosario, a beautiful teenager, became the murderer Rosario Tijeras. And how he, a dashing young man, makes her his obsession. The woman of his dreams.

The Odyssey poster
The Odyssey
1997 · 1 season · NBC
🍅 79%★ 7.1action & adventure · sci-fi & fantasy · dramaPrime Video

A wandering hero surviving on wits through one perilous stop after another

The difference: A one-shot mythological miniseries — grand but over in hours

Warrior Odysseus leaves his idyllic life in the kingdom of Ithaca to fight in the Trojan War. Following victory, he now must endure a lengthy, decade-long return journey, and with all his wits, overcome deadly monsters, powerful forces of nature, seductive enchantresses, and even journey into the bowels of the Underworld.

Hawaii Five-0 poster
Hawaii Five-0
2010–2020 · 10 seasons · CBS
★ 7.4crime · drama · action & adventureNetflixParamount+

Sci-fi & fantasy with a pulse of scale, in both cases

Steve McGarrett returns home to Oahu, in order to find his father's killer. The governor offers him the chance to run his own task force (Five-0). Steve's team is joined by Chin Ho Kelly, Danny "Danno" Williams, and Kono Kalakaua.

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The best-reviewed series that share Knight Rider’s defining feeling.