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The Magnificent Century poster

Shows that feel likeThe Magnificent Century (2011–2014)

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.

If you loved The Magnificent Century, the closest series we have are Rome (2005), Station 19 (2018) and Merlin (2008). All three share The Magnificent Century's contemplative and kinetic feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Timeless (2016).

★ 7.1 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗4 seasons · Show TVcreated by Timur Savcıcontemplativekineticepic
11 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Amazon Prime Video

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

If The Magnificent Century hit the spot, these will too

Rome poster
Rome
2005–2007 · 2 seasons · HBO
★ 8.7action & adventure · dramaMax

Both keep coming back to the same thing: historical drama

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

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

Contemplative and kinetic in the same breath

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.

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

The same preoccupation in both: royal family

The difference: Sits closer to sci-fi & fantasy than The Magnificent Century does

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

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

Both lean on scale more than on drama

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.

Continuum poster
Continuum
2012–2015 · 4 seasons · Showcase
★ 7.6sci-fi & fantasy · action & adventure · dramaPrime VideoPeacock

Drama built on momentum, twice over

The series centers on the conflict between a group of rebels from the year 2077 who time-travel to Vancouver, BC, in 2012, and a police officer who accidentally accompanies them. In spite of being many years early, the rebel group decides to continue its violent campaign to stop corporations of the future from replacing governments, while the police officer endeavours to stop them without revealing to anyone that she and the rebels are from the future.

Marvel's Inhumans poster
Marvel's Inhumans
2017 · 1 season · ABC
★ 4.9drama · sci-fi & fantasy · action & adventureDisney+

One thread runs through both: royal family

After the Royal Family of Inhumans is splintered by a military coup, they barely escape to Hawaii where their surprising interactions with the lush world and humanity around them may prove to not only save them, but Earth itself.

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

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

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.

Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn poster
Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn
2012 · 1 season · YouTube
★ 6.7sci-fi & fantasy · action & adventure

Kinetic action & adventure, and it commits to that

The difference: Trades the stillness of The Magnificent Century for an angle of its own

UNSC Cadet Thomas Lasky must conquer his inner fears and join forces with super-soldier John-117 to take down a massive faction of the Covenant.

Timeless poster
Timeless
2016–2018 · 2 seasons · NBC
★ 7.6drama · action & adventure · sci-fi & fantasyPrime Video

Both lean on stillness more than on drama

A mysterious criminal steals a secret state-of-the-art time machine, intent on destroying America as we know it by changing the past. Our only hope is an unexpected team: a scientist, a soldier and a history professor, who must use the machine's prototype to travel back in time to critical events. While they must make every effort not to affect the past themselves, they must also stay one step ahead of this dangerous fugitive. But can this handpicked team uncover the mystery behind it all and end his destruction before it's too late?

FBI poster
FBI
2018– · 9 seasons · CBS
★ 7.1crime · action & adventure · dramaParamount+

Both sit in the same epic register

The New York office of the FBI brings to bear all their talents, intellect and technical expertise on major cases in order to keep their city and the country safe.

The Last Kingdom poster
The Last Kingdom
2015–2022 · 5 seasons · Netflix
★ 8.5action & adventure · drama · war & politicsNetflix

Common ground: historical

A show of heroic deeds and epic battles with a thematic depth that embraces politics, religion, warfare, courage, love, loyalty and our universal search for identity. Combining real historical figures and events with fictional characters, it is the story of how a people combined their strength under one of the most iconic kings of history in order to reclaim their land for themselves and build a place they call home.

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