Shows like Silicon Valley bring the world of computer programmers and tech geniuses to the general masses. The Mike Judge-created comedy series revolved around a group of down-on-luck programmers who wish to make it big in Silicon Valley, competing against several other programmers and companies who harbor similar dreams. Rather than delving into familiar underdog narratives, the show takes a more realistic turn leaving no stone unturned in satirizing corporate drama and cracking intellectually superior jokes that many techies might relate to.
However, despite its technical jargon, it makes for great deadpan and situational humor, bolstered by performances of actors like Thomas Middleditch, Kumail Nanjiani, and Martin Starr. Running for six seasons, Silicon Valley was definitely a major entry in the pantheon of technological dramas and workplace comedies. While Silicon Valley may have ended several years ago, its influence is still felt. Mike Judge's Emmy-nominated parody of tech moguls pushed the limits of workplace comedy, but not all shows like Silicon Valley go for the same tone as this former HBO comedy.
19 Avenue 5 (2020-2022)
- Stream now on HBO Max
Not all shows like Silicon Valley are even earthbound. The teaming of Hugh Laurie with Veep creator Armando Iannucci is a far cry from Laurie's Tom James. In the hilarious and highly quotable Avenue 5, Laurie's character is a fraud and not even a good one. This leads to a feeling that the crew of his spaceship is in constant danger, practically always on the verge of death thanks to some easily preventable malfunction. Compare that to Silicon Valley, where very valuable code can be erased courtesy of a misplaced tequila bottle.
18 Ted Lasso (2020-)
- Stream now on Apple TV
Apple TV+'s Ted Lasso features one of the most warmly-written characters of the past decades. In this way, Lasso is fairly different from shows like Silicon Valley. In the latter show, the protagonists were funny but exclusively self-serving, and not exactly likable. The shows do have similarities in of the concept of a struggling business, though. Silicon Valley is about a startup in a cutthroat industry, while Ted Lasso is about a once-famous organization that's again starting up in a cutthroat industry.
17 Nathan For You (2013-2017)
- Stream now on HBO Max & Paramount+
This awkwardly comedic show from Comedy Central featured Nathan Fielder playing an exaggerated version of his own comedic persona and positing unique suggestions to struggling business owners. One of Comedy Central's better shows from the 2010s, if not the best, Fielder's very unique cringe humor makes this series come alive. Like Silicon Valley, Nathan for You was a small business-related comedy with subversive ideas on problem-solving, e.g. Silicon Valley's phallus algorithm.
16 Space Force (2020-2022)
- Stream now on Netflix
Netflix's Space Force feels more like an off-brand variation of Armando Iannucci's brilliant repartee-focused workplace comedy style. Unlike Iannucci's space-set Avenue 5, though, Space Force takes a more true-to-life approach: the creation of what is now an actual military branch. Space Force is similar to shows like Silicon Valley in that the stars have genuine chemistry. Stars Steve Carell and John Malkovich work well off each other as do Carell and Diana Silvers, who stars as his character's daughter.
15 Mythic Quest (2020-)
- Stream now on Apple TV+
Mythic Quest is an Apple TV+ show that follows a group of employees in charge of making and marketing an extremely popular multiplayer video game. There are tech and coding issues brought up, egos get in the way, and there are more emotional moments between the characters as well. Mythic Quest is very similar to shows like Silicon Valley because of its wacky workplace environment that brings together co-workers for more serious moments as well. Add in the tech aspects of both shows, and they are a lot more similar than not.
14 Succession (2018-2023)
- Stream now on HBO Max
Succession is similar to shows like Silicon Valley because of the high stakes and at times cutthroat business world it portrays. Succession centers on a powerful family in the news industry and infighting between of the family in order to gain power in business. Silicon Valley looks in depth at the at times cutthroat culture the tech valley has garnered over the years and the infighting between tech employees that it has created. However, there is a very different feel concerning the stakes, as Succession is a much darker look at these themes.
13 Vice Principals (2016-2018)
- Stream now on HBO Max
Vice Principals is another series that features characters with, at times, questionable morals, while balancing drama and comedy similar to shows like Silicon Valley. Although this show focuses on the much smaller world of one high school, it's still a vicious fight between two potential vice-principals to get the newly opened spot of principal. The two main vice-principal characters seem pretty normal at first, but they slowly descend into fighting dirty to get what they want. Comparing these two men to the people fighting for their places in Silicon Valley is eerily similar.
12 Party Down (2009- )
- Stream now on Starz & Prime Video
Party Down is another sitcom that fans of shows like Silicon Valley would most likely enjoy. Although the series isn't in the tech world, it follows a group of co-workers just trying to get through the day at their catering jobs while pursuing some other hobby outside of work. Party Down also stars actor Martin Starr who portrayed Gilfoyle in Silicon Valley and fans might enjoy seeing his comedic work in this show as well. After picking up two seasons in 2009 and 2010, a third season arrived in 2023, proving the popularity carried through an entire decade.
11 Veep (2012-2019)
- Stream now on HBO Max
Veep is another series that delves deep into an intense work environment as it follows the lives of the Vice President's inner circle and employees that often play second to the President's staff, similar to Pied Piper always battling Hooli. Both the employees on Silicon Valley and Veep seem out of their depth in their technological or political fields and both shows focus on both the comedy and drama of the situations the characters are put in. Lasting seven seasons, Julia Louis-Dreyfus won six straight Primetime Emmy Awards for her role as the Vice President of the United States.
10 The IT Crowd (2006-2013)
- Buy now on Prime Video & Apple TV
The IT Crowd might be the closest alternative to shows like Silicon Valley. The British sitcom stars Richard Ayoade, Chris O'Dowd, and Jen Barber as three bumbling workers of a company's IT department. It might seem like a goofy comedy on the surface, but The IT Crowd's cult status was largely due to the lead performances and its dry wit. The side plots involving the behind-the-scenes functioning of the company's executives also provide further entertainment, with Martin Berry delivering a stand-out performance as the brash CEO of the company.
