Can't wait for The Bear season 3? Watch these 6 intense TV dramas on Netflix, Max, Prime Video, and more
It's been more than a year since the The Bear season two roared its way onto Hulu and Disney Plus to become one of the best Hulu shows, and now fans and critics can't wait for the highly anticipated third season to premiere on June 26. Luckily, the next chapter of the Emmy award-winning show is being served three-hours earlier than expected, which means you'll be able to tuck into the food-based drama even sooner.
Given that both seasons of The Bear have flawless Rotten Tomatoes ratings (season one scored 100%, while season two has a near-perfect 99%,) we can expect The Bear season three will receive an equally sizzling reception for this Jeremy Allen White-starring workplace comedy-drama series.
If you're all caught up on The Bear's two installments, though, you might be on the hunt for more tension-fueled workplace dramas. Below, we've rounded up six of the best on the world's best streaming services, which will fill The Bear-shaped void in your life as you wait for season three.
Succession
Where to stream it: Max (US), Sky/Now TV (UK) and Binge/Foxtel (Australia)
What better place to start than the show that's been king of the workplace dramas over the last five years?
Succession deserved every plaudit and award it earned during its four-season run, which only ended in May. The show tells the story of the Roy family, the owners of multimedia empire Waystar RoyCo, and the vicious familial battle that ensues between the adult children of Logan Roy, its patriarch and CEO of the entertainment behemoth.
It's an incredibly engrossing watch, with plenty of R-rated humor, suspense-filled drama, shock value, jaw-dropping performances and stunning production design across the board. Few shows come close to matching its might – not just as a comedy-drama, but a series across the whole television industry. You'll be hooked from its opening episode and, before you know it, you'll have binged an entire season in a single day. One of the best Max shows ever made, period.
Seasons on Max: Four
Severance
Where to stream it: Apple TV Plus
If not for Succession, this sci-fi-centric series would easily be the best workplace drama of the last decade.
Developed by Dan Erickson and part-directed by Ben Stiller, Severance follows the employees of Lumon Industries, who agree to undergo a medical-based "severance" program where they join the mysterious biotech firm. In short, the procedure keeps employees' work and non-work memories separate, meaning these aspects of their lives never overlap. That's until one worker named Mark (Adam Scott), unearths a mass conspiracy at the heart of Lumon, however, which sets the series' main events in motion.
A thrilling, foreboding, and creatively daring TV show, Severance is must-see television. Like Succession, every aspect of this series has been carefully curated and developed to ensure it's operating at 100% throughout its nine-episode first season run, and it shows. A stunning piece of craftsmanship, acting and writing that only makes the wait for Severance season 2 feel even longer. One of the best Apple TV Plus shows ever made.
Seasons on Apple TV Plus: One
Suits
Where to stream it: Netflix (also available on Peacock in the US)
Meghan Markle was catapulted into the global stoplight when it was revealed she was dating Prince Harry in 2016. However, the British Royal was the breakout star of this legal drama in the early 2010s, which ran for nine seasons between 2011 and 2019.
Suits primarily focuses on Mike Ross (Patrick J Adams), whose photographic memory helps to land him an associate's job at a prestigious albeit fictional law firm. That's despite Ross never attending law school, but it doesn't prevent him from helping the firm's best lawsuit closer Harvey (Gabriel Macht) or from climbing the ranks. Markle played a prominent supporting role as ambitious paralegal Rachel Zane until her departure in season sever.
Built on the captivating chemistry between its main and supporting cast, Suits makes for great television. It can be a bit too wordy at times, but Suits largely sticks the landing through its legal-based drama and the strength of the relationships between its characters. One to add to our best Netflix shows list? We'd say so.
Seasons on Netflix: Nine
The Consultant
Where to stream it: Prime Video
This workplace thriller might not immediately spring to mind when you think of similar genre shows, but The Consultant definitely demands your attention.
Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained, No Time to Die) stars as the enigmatic titular character, who joins a mobile gaming company to revive its fortunes. Unsurprisingly, there's more than meets the eye with the series' unnamed protagonist, who slowly sets about changing the company's workflow and structure, and begins setting its employees with extremely uncomfortable tasks.
A show that deserves its place on our best Prime Video shows, The Consultant is a gripping, claustrophobic watch from start to finish. Led by a charismatically unhinged performance from the ever-stupendous Waltz, it's a slick, atmospheric and at-times disturbing TV program that'll make you look at your superiors in a different light once the final credits roll.
Seasons on Prime Video: One
The Newsroom
Where to stream it: Max (US), Sky/Now TV (UK) and Binge (Australia)
From the creative mind of Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network, Trial of the Chicago 7), this HBO TV show is a politically charged animal that took some time to find its feet.
The Newsroom stars Jeff Daniels (Dumb and Dumber) as the news anchor of a fictional cable network, who sets out to bring a unique news show to audiences, despite corporate, political, commercial and personal pressures. Dev Patel, Olivia Munn, Alison Pill and Emily Mortimer are among its esteemed ensemble cast.
Following the mixed reception its first season received, The Newsroom won audiences over in its second and third seasons. It can be a bit too preachy for its own good, and the cynicism of its characters might not be entirely palatable to some. Fans of Sorkin's previous works, though, will find plenty to like here, as will TV aficionados who enjoy biting wit and satisfying sophistication from the shows they watch.
Seasons on Max: Three
Mad Men
Where to stream it: AMC (US/Australia), Amazon Freevee/Sky (UK) and Stan (Australia)
Mad Men's positioning as a period workplace drama gives it a distinctive flavor among its peers on this list. In some ways, that makes it a more intense watch, with the series's 1960s setting allowing it to lean heavily into (and explore) the decade's offensive and distressing (but unfortunately commonplace) societal issues, including racism, misogyny, adultery and homophobia.
Jon Hamm stars as Don Draper, the eccentric but charming creative director of advertising firm Sterling Cooper. Over the course of seven seasons, viewers watch as Draper's empire grows exponentially before slowly falling into disrepair, with Draper and his employees enjoying the highs and lows of the boom and bust nature of the industry.
With mesmeric performances from Hamm, Christina Hendricks, Elisabeth Moss, January Jones, John Slattery and Vincent Kartheiser among many others, Mad Men is one of those rare shows without a weak link in its cast. In fact, there are few holes you can poke in its entire makeup, with its period costume and set design on point among many other brilliant aspects of its production. Little wonder, then, that it won 79 of the 297 awards, including 16 Emmys and five Golden Globes, it was nominated for.
For more TV streaming-based coverage, read our guides on the best Hulu shows, best Disney Plus shows, and best Paramount Plus shows.
