The ultra rich are fascinating and it isn’t because of their money alone. The lives they lead, the relationships they form and the behaviours they exhibit are intriguing, and it’s because of our collective intrigue and curiosity that shows like The White Lotus and Succession are created. Humans are inherently curious creatures, and our nosiness means we are fascinated by spaces that we see as exclusive, inaccessible or off-limits. In the end, we all want to take a peek behind the proverbial curtain.

Lucky for us and our nosiness, there are plenty of shows to dive into that explore the lives of the ultra rich. And so, we’ve rounded up some of the best TV shows about rich people behaving badly.

The White Lotus

Whether on volcano-lined shores or across the gilded floor of a hotel lobby, there is nothing we love more than watching the rich and privileged swan around and, ultimately, get their comeuppance. And The White Lotus has always given us both, in bucket-loads. A show that truly proves that rich people are extremely chaotic and messy. We honestly never want the third season to end.

Watch The White Lotus on NOW

Succession

Succession’s four-season run is now over, and to be frank, we still aren’t too sure what to do with ourselves. But we can simply watch it all over again (as I am currently doing). The series follows the Roys, who own the fifth largest media conglomerate in the world, and are battling for its survival. There are boardroom blow-ups, luxury yachts and cocaine aplenty.

Watch Succession on NOW

The Perfect Couple

This series was one of my favourites of 2024 and is the ultimate rich people doing bad things TV show. In the lead-up to Benji and Amelia’s big fat rich wedding, a body washes up on the beach. And the death looks just like something taken from the pages of one of novelist Greer Garrison Winbury’s thrillers… leading to fracturing suspicions, long-held secrets and NDAs coming out of the woodwork.

Watch The Perfect Couple on Netflix

Palm Royale

Loosely based on Juliet McDaniel’s 2018 novel Mr. And Mrs. American Pie, the series follows Maxine Simmons as she sets her sights on breaking into Palm Beach high society. Set during the powder keg year of 1969, Maxine attempts to cross that impermeable line between the haves and the have-nots, fighting for a chance to truly belong. Palm Royale asks the question: “How much of yourself are you willing to sacrifice to get what someone else has?”

Watch Palm Royale on Apple TV+

Big Little Lies

Big Little Lies tells the story of a group of parents whose children all attend the same school in the moneyed, seaside community of Monterey in California. On the surface, all of them have perfect lives. But all is most definitely not what it seems. As we meet each character, the episodes are spliced through with footage of a murder mystery. Someone is dead. And the police think that the Monterey Five – Celeste, Madeleine, Jane, Bonnie and Renata – did it.

Watch Big Little Lies on NOW

Gossip Girl

The original Gossip Girl is packed to the brim with rich people behaving very badly. And as the seasons go on, this behaviour only takes a turn for the worse. These hyperprivileged Manhattan private-school kids seem to get away with everything. Well, except an anonymous blogger is watching their every move.

Watch Gossip Girl on Netflix

Dynasty

This series follows two of America’s wealthiest families, the Carringtons and the Colbys, as they fight for control over their fortune and their children. Told through the eyes of two women at odds – Fallon Carrington, daughter of billionaire Blake Carrington, and her soon-to-be stepmother, Cristal – Dynasty features all the glam and gloss of extreme wealth, whilst also exposing the underlying corruption of their world.

Watch Dynasty on Netflix

Billions

The US attorney Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti) is embroiled in a high-stakes game of predator vs. prey with Bobby Axelrod (Damian Lewis), an ambitious hedge-fund king. Rhoades has never lost an insider trading case, but when criminal evidence turns up against Axelrod, he carefully builds the case against Axelrod, who employs Rhoades’ wife, psychiatrist Wendy, as a performance coach for his company. Both men use their wealth, power and influence to outdo the other in this battle over billions.

Watch Billions on NOW

Images: HBO; Netflix; Apple TV+