26 shows similar to Game of Thrones to watch next

24. The Borgias

One thing we haven’t discussed overmuch on this list is the roiling chaos that religious conflicts often sow in society. Enter The Borgias, a show that dramatizes the scandalous rise of Pope Alexander VI — formerly, Rodrigo Borgia — and his family in Renaissance-era Italy. The Borgias are sometimes referred to as the world’s first “crime family,” because of the long list of underhanded methods they used to climb the social ladder and seize power within the Roman Catholic Church, including bribery, simony (aka selling church positions and icons), and murder.

The Borgias aired for three seasons on Showtime from 2011-2013, and while some aspects of it may feel a little dated nowadays, it’s still a really compelling drama. Jeremy Irons plays the patriarch of the dysfunctional Borgia family, and he brings all the gravity to the role you’d expect. His children Cesare (François Arnaud), Juan (David Oakes), and Lucrezia (Holliday Grainger) feature heavily in the show as well, and they’re…well, I did say dysfunctional, didn’t I? Duels and incest and plenty of other shocking things that Game of Thrones fans are familiar with lie here. Ye hath been warned.

Opposing Rodrigo and his family is Cardinal della Rovere (Colm Feore), a member of the church who is determined to oust the Borgias and claim the papacy for himself through some pretty violent means. In this show, there are no heroes.

All three seasons of The Borgias is available to watch on Netflix and Showtime.