Back in 2024, we made a few recommendations for TV shows that have older actors as lead characters. (Those recommendations still stand, by the way. A few of the shows are still running, and the others are worth watching even if they aren’t “new.”)
The streaming era ushered in a new market for big-budget productions, offering opportunities for broader storytelling that might not have translated well onto the big screen. As a result, many older A-list actors made the move to the small screen, drawn by intriguing, meaty roles they could really sink their teeth into. (It certainly helps that “prestige TV” became a thing at the same time, making it less of a faux pas to make the jump from movies to television.)
After seeing the success of a few pioneering gray-haired showrunners, more and more shows are getting made that feature older thesbians, to everyone’s benefit. Characters with more years under their belts offer ample opportunity for writers to craft juicy backstories, traumatic pasts, and satisfying character arcs. Other times, age visually translates to wisdom, giving a role more heft than it might have had if it was played by another dewy-faced ingenue.
And, in a testament to “aging gracefully,” many of the actors that are finding success after 50 are the ones who avoided falling prey to Hollywood’s obsession with maintaining the illusion of youth at all costs. (Jane Fonda might be the exception to this rule, but she’s an exception to most rules. She is perfection, and we will not hear any slander of her name!) The actors who can realistically take on gritty cowboy roles, or curmudgeonly characters we can’t resist loving, or experts in their field that fall from grace — they have wrinkles, and lines, and unruly gray hairs that speak as testaments to their experiences. Even in high-definition, these “imperfections” only make them feel more real.
So, without further ado, here are three more TV shows starring older protagonists that are definitely worth a watch.
Shrinking
Most of the actors in Shrinking are old by Hollywood standards. Harrison Ford, who plays Dr. Paul Rhoades, is 84. Christa Miller, (Liz) is 61, and her onscreen husband Derek is played by the 67-year old Ted McGinley (of Married…With Children fame). Paul’s neurologist and eventual lover (!) Dr. Julia Baram is played by Wendie Malick, a 75-year-old. But Shrinking isn’t about being old; it just happens to feature people in different stages of their lives.
The main character is Jimmy Laird (Jason Segel), a psychiatrist experiencing a total breakdown after the death of his wife. The first few episodes show Jimmy at rock bottom, while those in his life — his nextdoor neighbors Liz and Derek, his co-workers Gaby (Jessica Williams) and Paul — try to get through to him in his grief, if only to help with his teenage daughter.
As the show progresses, we are treated to richly developed characters and well-composed plotlines. Although we might not have liked many of them in the first few episodes, by the end of the first season we are so firmly engulfed in the characters’ stories that it’s hard to remind ourselves we’re not all friends in real life.
Beyond the excellent writing and award-winning performances, the Apple TV+ show works because it represents such a spectrum of viewpoints. Ford’s Paul is the oldest, experiencing declining health and all the obstacles that can present. Liz and Derek are new empty-nesters, struggling with their sense of purpose and trying to redefine their relationship post-kids. Jimmy is in his 40s, raising a teenage girl and trying to find himself after tragedy, while Gaby is balancing her career, dating, and caring for an aging mother all while coming to terms with a difficult past of her own.
And lest this all sounds too heavy, let us remind you that above all, Shrinking is a comedy. The show is wickedly funny, but also poignant, challenging, and highly engaging.
Slow Horses
Slow Horses is a British spy thriller television series based on the Slough House novels by Mick Herron, and adapted for television by the English comedian and writer Will Smith (you might recognize his work as the co-writer and co-producer of the HBO sitcom Veep).
Slough House is a bureaucratic dumping ground, where discredited MI5 agents are sent to eke out their days in drudge work under the leadership of the slovenly Jackson Lamb, played by Gary Oldman. But we quickly realize, for all his offputting behaviors, Jackson Lamb is a secret spycraft genius, and his team of misfit agents somehow become responsible for protecting the British Commonwealth from all manner of foes.
Unlike other spy stories, which tend to heavily rely on sex appeal, Slow Horses goes sharply in the other direction. As a result, the actors in the show are able to get down with their bad selves, really let their freak flags fly, if you will. And when you let Oscar winners and nominees like Oldman, Kristen Scott Thomas, and Jonathan Pryce do that, you get absolute gold.
In an interview with entertainment magazine The Wrap, Oldman shared that he loves playing a “farting slob.” “He’s got no filter, he doesn’t care about being judged and there’s really nothing to lose. There’s something very freeing and liberating about playing someone who really doesn’t give a f-k.” (This role has led to numerous hilarious interviews about Jackson Lamb’s flatulence, including this clip from Stephen Colbert.)
For all the humor laced through the show, Slow Horses isn’t all farting and jokes. It’s a finely-tuned, suspenseful thriller that will make you mistakenly binge the first five seasons way faster than you intended to. The sixth series is set to premiere on Apple TV+ on September 16th, 2026.
Hacks
It’s generally considered poor form to recommend a show right after it airs its last episode, but we couldn’t take the risk that you might miss watching this gem of a series. (And part of the appeal to streaming is that we can watch it on any time table, right?)
Hacks is a dark comedy drama starring Jean Smart as Deborah Vance, a stand-up comedian who is compelled to work with prickly comedy writer Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder). The unlikely personal and professional pairing is an attempt to salvage endangered careers; Vance’s residency in Las Vegas has gotten stale, and Daniels made an insensitive tweet that she can’t seem to bury. The unavoidable clashes between Boomer and Millennial sensibilities begin in Season 1 with a predictable rhythm and eventually grow into something more poignant by Season 3, allowing the show to provide intelligent commentary on everything from art to aging.
With undeniable chemistry, Smart and Einbinder are a joy to follow through five seasons of “a platonic love story of a mismatched couple with little in common but the ability to crack each other up,” as the New York Times astutely put it.
Hacks is available to watch with a subscription to HBO Max, YouTube Primetime, or Hulu through add-on channel subscriptions.
*Featured image created in CANVA
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