Even though The CW has already renewed Dynasty for Season 5, it might be a while before we check back in on the Carringtons, since Season 4 just wrapped up earlier this month. If you’re longing for a series that has that same feel and are eager to see rich people fighting over money and power, all the while being complete dicks to each other… well, we’ve got some great news: there’s a bunch of other series to fill that void.
So get ready to look like a million bucks, call your driver and let’s take a ride: we’re counting down our picks for shows about the 1% you need to watch.
Gossip Girl (The CW/HBO Max)
You don’t need to go too far into the CW world to find a show similar to Dynasty. The teen hit series that aired between 2007 and 2012 on the network followed a bunch of super rich kids that spent their free time in Europe, got engaged to monarchs, had their own companies and, of course, went to top teaching institutions. In this case, the fictional Constance Billard St. Jude's School. In the story, the world of New York Upper East siders was rocked when an anonymous figure called Gossip Girl started to follow the Manhattan elite in order to register and reveal all their dirty secrets on the internet. Even though the answer to who was Gossip Girl was wildly far-fetched, we still got to see some great looks and navigate the scandalous lives of Manhattan’s wealthiest families before the show went downhill.
In 2021, Gossip Girl got a new version that serves as both reboot and sequel series: old characters like Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively) are still mentioned and are out there, somewhere, but the show centers once again on high school kids with unlimited money who fight over popularity and are kings and queens of social media. Season 1 returns for its second part this November on HBO Max.
Revenge (ABC)
Nothing makes a revenge plan sweeter than unlimited funds to make it happen. Amanda Clarke (Emily VanCamp) was only a kid when she witnessed her father getting arrested after being framed by the Graysons. She then spends the next two decades planning an elaborate revenge, and it starts with buying a house at the Hamptons in order to befriend the family she hates most.
Revenge has everything you expect from a show about wealthy people: weekly, glamorous parties, money being thrown around as the solution for most problems, alliances being formed and broken and a good dose of plotting and scheming. Plus, you get to keep the telenovela tropes of Dynasty such as characters coming back from the dead, long-lost family members being discovered, love triangles and family secrets.
Empire (Fox)
Lucious Lyon’s (Terrence Howard) story mirrors the ones lived by great rappers of our time. After releasing a demo and becoming internationally famous, Lucious became a hip hop mogul with his own record label. Success, however, made him forget where he came from and turned him into an emotionally distant father who is incredibly harsh on his three kids - one of which he will chose to inherit Empire Records.
Empire shows how money can corrupt people who will do whatever it takes not to lose their wealth and power. Lucious is a figure who is reluctant to relinquish his position and isn’t open to change in a world where taking risks is mandatory to remain ahead of the curve. That’s why he’s always at war with his ex-wife Cookie (Taraji P. Henson), who went to jail for him and comes back immediately after she is set free to claim her share of the profits and demand a seat at the board. A spin-off centered around Cookie is currently in the works.
Greenleaf (OWN/Netflix)
If there is a worse combination than money and power, it’s money, power and religion. In Greenleaf, the title family commands a whole Christian community in Memphis. On top of believing they were appointed by God himself, the Greenleafs hide crimes and bad deeds that are done for what they think is the greater good. All of this changes when an estranged daughter, Grace (Merle Dandridge) comes back home for her sister’s funeral and decides she will investigate and expose the crimes committed by her family.
Greenleaf premiered on Oprah Winfrey Network in 2016 and featured the network owner herself as a guest star. Even though the series ended in 2020 with Season 5, a spin-off has already been ordered by OWN and is set to bring more religious intrigue, scheming, and power plays to screens.
Devious Maids (ABC)
Status is the most important feature for the characters of ABC’s Devious Maids, who will do anything to secure their positions and relevance in Beverly Hills. So what happens when a maid is found killed during a party for wealthy people? Nothing, of course. When the one percent could care less about the assassination of “the help”, it’s up to Marisol (Ana Ortiz) to work as a maid for rich families in order to figure out what happened to the dead maid – and why her son was framed for her murder.
In Devious Maids, wealthy individuals resort to scheming, blackmailing and flat-out killing each other in order to keep their secrets and not lose their influence in the community. They form a very particular group of millionaires: a world-famous actress with a cruel demeanor, a businessman with kinky habits, a socialite who likes to pretend her maid is her best friend – and those are the nice ones!
Small caveat: Devious Maids was abruptly cancelled by ABC, so the series ends in a major cliffhanger which is never resolved.
Billions (Showtime)
You know those people who will buy an $80 million mansion just out of spite, or will buy a whole building just to put their name on it? Well, that’s the type of thing Bobby Axelrod (Damian Lewis) does, and he doesn’t feel guilty about it for a second. The billionaire made his fortune through hedge funds and, of course, insider trading. When Season 1 of Billions starts, he decides that he has spent too much time living in fear of the SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) and now he will finally enjoy spending his money on whatever he wants.
If you want to watch a show about wealthy people trying to see the extent of their power and how much they can get away with, Billions is for you. The show also features a cat-and-mouse chase let by U.S. Attorney Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giammatti) who is determined to find a flaw in Axelrod’s operations in order to put the billionaire behind bars.
Tip: if you like binge-watching, Season 6 is set to premiere on January 23, 2022, so you have time to catch up.
Succession (HBO)
If you think it’s fun seeing wealthy people being horrible to each other, then you need a tall order of HBO’s hit series Succession. The show follows the Roy family, owners of a global media and entertainment conglomerate. The four Roy siblings barely get along, and they all start going head to head when the family patriarch, Logan Roy's (Brian Cox) health starts to falter and they all want to claim his spot for control of the company.
As you will discover if you start watching, Succession has its best moments when the Roy “kids” are going at each other’s throats, which is extremely fun to watch and at the same time provide a satire of how wealthy people may lose their humanity when they are unwilling to budge even an inch in order to not lose their privilege. In 2020, Succession won the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series, along with eight other prizes. Season 3 is streaming now on HBO and HBO Max.