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Rome poster

Shows that feel likeRome (2005–2007)

A down-to-earth account of the lives of both illustrious and ordinary Romans set in the last days of the Roman Republic.

If you loved Rome, the closest series we have are The Magnificent Century (2011), Black Sails (2014) and Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan (2018). All three share Rome'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 Descendants of the Sun (2016).

★ 8.7 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗2 seasons · HBOcreated by John Miliuskineticepiccontemplative
9 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · Amazon Prime Video · Hulu
Stream it:HBO Max ↗
Buy seasons:Amazon see price ↗Apple TV$9.99 buyRome, Seasons 1 & 2 · Apple price as of 2026-10-12

If Rome hit the spot, these will too

The Magnificent Century poster
The Magnificent Century
2011–2014 · 4 seasons · Show TV
★ 7.1drama · action & adventure

One thread runs through both: historical drama

At the age of 26, when his reign began, Sultan Süleyman sought to build an empire more powerful than Alexander the Great and to render the Ottomans invincible. Throughout his 46-year reign, his fame as the greatest warrior and ruler of his age spreads both to the East and West. With his companion Pargalı İbrahim, Süleyman achieves great victories, and makes his name known in the Muslim World. Süleyman called İbrahim his brother, friend and advisor. The television series shows Süleyman's consolidation of his power: Pargalı İbrahim being grand minister of state, reinforcing the rule of law throughout the empire, meeting foreign diplomats, and preparing for military campaigns, all set against the backdrop of the tension between Christian Europe and the Ottoman Empire.

Black Sails poster
Black Sails
2014–2017 · 4 seasons · STARZ
★ 8.2drama · action & adventureStarz

Kinetic where it counts, epic underneath

The pirate adventures of Captain Flint and his men twenty years prior to Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic “Treasure Island.” Flint, the most brilliant and most feared pirate captain of his day, takes on a fast-talking young addition to his crew who goes by the name John Silver. Threatened with extinction on all sides, they fight for the survival of New Providence Island, the most notorious criminal haven of its day – a debauched paradise teeming with pirates, prostitutes, thieves and fortune seekers, a place defined by both its enlightened ideals and its stunning brutality.

Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan poster
Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan
2018–2023 · 4 seasons · Prime Video
★ 8action & adventure · dramaPrime Video

Contemplative action & adventure in both cases

When CIA analyst Jack Ryan stumbles upon a suspicious series of bank transfers his search for answers pulls him from the safety of his desk job and catapults him into a deadly game of cat and mouse throughout Europe and the Middle East, with a rising terrorist figurehead preparing for a massive attack against the US and her allies.

Station 19 poster
Station 19
2018–2024 · 7 seasons · ABC
★ 7.1drama · action & adventureHulu

Drama built on momentum, twice over

A group of heroic firefighters at Seattle Fire Station 19—from captain to newest recruit—risk their lives and hearts both in the line of duty and off the clock. These brave men and women are like family, literally and figuratively, and together they put their own lives in jeopardy as first responders to save the lives of others.

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

Action & adventure with a pulse of scale, in both cases

The difference: Sits closer to crime than Rome 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.

Battlestar Galactica poster
Battlestar Galactica
2003 · 1 season · Syfy
🍅 83%★ 8.5action & adventure · drama · sci-fi & fantasyParamount+

Contemplative drama, and it commits to that

The difference: Leans harder into sci-fi & fantasy than Rome does

A re-imagining of the original series in which a "rag-tag fugitive fleet" of the last remnants of mankind flees pursuing robots while simultaneously searching for their true home, Earth.

SEAL Team poster
SEAL Team
2017–2024 · 7 seasons · CBS
★ 7.9action & adventure · drama · war & politicsNetflixParamount+

Both are built on the same subject: soldier

Military drama following the professional and personal lives of the most elite unit of Navy SEALs as they train, plan and execute the most dangerous, high stakes missions our country can ask of them.

Descendants of the Sun poster
Descendants of the Sun
2016 · 1 season · KBS2
★ 8.2drama · action & adventure

Both keep coming back to the same thing: soldier

After a chance meeting in a hospital, an ardent soldier falls for a gifted surgeon. Opposing philosophies tear them apart, but fate has other plans.

Merlin poster
Merlin
2008–2012 · 5 seasons · BBC One
★ 7.9action & adventure · drama · sci-fi & fantasyPrime Video

Both lean on momentum more than on action & adventure

The unlikely friendship between Merlin, a young man gifted with extraordinary magical powers, and Prince Arthur, heir to the crown of Camelot.

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

Epic drama, and it commits to that

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.

MacGyver poster
MacGyver
2016–2021 · 5 seasons · CBS
★ 5.5drama · action & adventureParamount+

The shared currency is stillness

20-something Angus MacGyver creates a clandestine organization where he uses his knack for solving problems in unconventional ways to help prevent disasters from happening.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles poster
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
2008–2009 · 2 seasons · FOX
★ 7.6sci-fi & fantasy · drama · action & adventure

The action & adventure is handled with the same confidence

The series picks up four years after the events of Terminator 2: Judgment Day with John and Sarah Connor trying to stay under-the-radar from the government, as they plot to destroy the computer network, Skynet, in hopes of preventing Armageddon.

In the mood for more kinetic?

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