🏷 Discover The Best California Movies & TV Shows To Watch Today

425 titles with this tag

California isn’t just a state—it’s a cinematic legend. From sun-soaked beaches to neon-lit cityscapes, the Golden State has inspired some of the most iconic movies and TV shows ever made. Whether you're craving a nostalgic trip through Hollywood’s golden age or a binge-worthy modern drama set against LA’s skyline, California’s entertainment landscape offers endless entertainment. Dive into our curated guide to discover the best films and series that capture the spirit, glamour, and grit of the West Coast.

Cast

Nathan Fillion

Melissa O'Neil

Eric Winter

Alyssa Diaz

The Rookie (2018) TV Show

8.6 3.4K votes

Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama

Country: United States of America, Canada

Seasons: 9

Episodes: 144

Audience: TV-14

Story: Starting over isn't easy, especially for small-town guy John Nolan who, after a life-altering incident, is pursuing his dream of being an LAPD officer. As the force's oldest rookie, he's met with skepticism from some higher-ups who see him as just a walking midlife crisis.

Plot: police chase, police officer, police detective, street crime, lapd, police training, crime investigation, dramedy, ...

Place: los angeles, california

Cast

John Travolta

Samuel L. Jackson

Uma Thurman

Bruce Willis

Pulp Fiction (1994)

8.5 30.4K votes

Genre: Comedy, Crime, Thriller

Country: United States of America

Duration: 154 min.

Audience: R

Story: A burger-loving hit man, his philosophical partner, a drug-addled gangster's moll and a washed-up boxer converge in this sprawling, comedic crime caper. Their adventures unfurl in three stories that ingeniously trip back and forth in time.

Plot: drug dealer, drug crime, gangster, dark comedy, stolen money, crime boss, redemption, theft, ...

Place: los angeles, california

Cast

Kris Jenner

Kourtney Kardashian Barker

Kim Kardashian

Khlou00e9 Kardashian

The Kardashians (2022) TV Show

8.5 2.1K votes

Genre: Reality

Country: United States of America

Seasons: 7

Episodes: 70

Audience: TV-14

Story: The family you know and love is here with a brand new series, giving an all-access pass into their lives. Kris, Kourtney, Kim, Khloé, Kendall, and Kylie bring the cameras back to reveal the truth behind the headlines. From the intense pressures of running billion-dollar businesses to the hilarious joys of playtime and school drop-offs, this series brings viewers into the fold with a rivetingly honest story of love & life in the spotlight.

Plot: sibling relationship, lifestyle, family relationships, family, motherhood, insecure, reality tv, arrogant, ...

Place: los angeles, california

Cast

Freddie Highmore

Fiona Gubelmann

Will Yun Lee

Christina Chang

The Good Doctor (2017) TV Show

8.5 12.9K votes

Genre: Drama

Country: United States of America

Seasons: 7

Episodes: 126

Audience: TV-14

Story: Shaun Murphy, a young surgeon with autism and savant syndrome, relocates from a quiet country life to join a prestigious hospital's surgical unit. Unable to personally connect with those around him, Shaun uses his extraordinary medical gifts to save lives and challenge the skepticism of his colleagues.

Plot: nurse, san francisco, california, medicine, autism, remake, hospital, asperger's syndrome, ...

Lucifer (2016) TV Show

8.4 15.5K votes

Genre: Crime, Science Fiction

Country: United States of America

Seasons: 6

Episodes: 93

Audience: TV-14

Story: Bored and unhappy as the Lord of Hell, Lucifer Morningstar abandoned his throne and retired to Los Angeles, where he has teamed up with LAPD detective Chloe Decker to take down criminals. But the longer he's away from the underworld, the greater the threat that the worst of humanity could escape.

Plot: based on comic, devil, lapd

Place: los angeles, california

Cast

O. J. Simpson

Nicole Brown Simpson

Marcia Clark

Danny Bakewell Sr.

O.J.: Made in America (2016)

8.4 263 votes

Genre: Crime, Documentary, History

Country: United States of America

Duration: 467 min.

Audience: NR

Story: A chronicle of the rise and fall of O.J. Simpson, whose high-profile murder trial exposed the extent of American racial tensions, revealing a fractured and divided nation.

Plot: police brutality, american football, biography, los angeles, california, true crime, racial tension, sports documentary, ...

Cast

Zoey Deutch

Nick Robinson

Ciara Bravo

Nick Offerman

Voicemails for Isabelle (2026)

8.4 576 votes

Genre: Comedy, Romance

Country: United States of America

Duration: 119 min.

Audience: NR

Story: A young woman's hilariously confessional voicemails to her late sister are unknowingly redirected to a stranger, who begins to fall in love from afar.

Style: lighthearted, romantic

Plot: romcom, voicemail, adoring

Place: san francisco, california

Cast

Damson Idris

Carter Hudson

Sergio Peris-Mencheta

Michael Hyatt

Snowfall (2017) TV Show

8.4 783 votes

Genre: Crime, Drama

Country: United States of America

Seasons: 6

Episodes: 60

Audience: TV-MA

Story: Los Angeles. 1983. A storm is coming and its name is crack. Set against the infancy of the crack cocaine epidemic and its ultimate radical impact on the culture as we know it, the story follows numerous characters on a violent collision course.

Plot: central intelligence agency (cia), drug abuse, drug crime, gangster, urban, crack cocaine, los angeles, california, ...

Time: 1980s

Cast

Simon Baker

Robin Tunney

Tim Kang

Rockmond Dunbar

The Mentalist (2008) TV Show

8.4 4.4K votes

Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery

Country: United States of America

Seasons: 7

Episodes: 151

Audience: TV-14

Story: Patrick Jane, a former celebrity psychic medium, uses his razor sharp skills of observation and expertise at "reading" people to solve serious crimes with the California Bureau of Investigation.

Plot: con man, cop, serial killer, criminal investigation, forensic psychology, criminal consultant, police procedural

Place: california

Cast

Edward Norton

Edward Furlong

Beverly D'Angelo

Jennifer Lien

American History X (1998)

8.3 12.7K votes

Genre: Drama

Country: United States of America

Duration: 119 min.

Audience: R

Story: Derek Vineyard is paroled after serving 3 years in prison for killing two African-American men. Through his brother, Danny Vineyard's narration, we learn that before going to prison, Derek was a skinhead and the leader of a violent white supremacist gang that committed acts of racial crime throughout L.A. and his actions greatly influenced Danny. Reformed and fresh out of prison, Derek severs contact with the gang and becomes determined to keep Danny from going down the same violent path as he did.

Plot: prison, neo-nazism, rape, skinhead, sibling relationship, swastika, nazi, brother, ...

Place: los angeles, california

Cast

Sierra Capri

Jason Genao

Brett Gray

Diego Tinoco

On My Block (2018) TV Show

8.3 684 votes

Genre: Comedy

Country: United States of America

Seasons: 4

Episodes: 38

Audience: TV-14

Story: In a rough Los Angeles neighborhood, four smart, funny and streetwise teens find their lifelong friendship tested as they begin high school.

Style: witty, romantic

Plot: high school, coming of age, los angeles, california, teenager, cheerful

Cast

William Holden

Gloria Swanson

Erich von Stroheim

Nancy Olson

Sunset Boulevard (1950)

8.3 3.0K votes

Genre: Drama

Country: United States of America

Duration: 110 min.

Audience: NR

Story: A hack screenwriter writes a screenplay for a former silent film star who has faded into Hollywood obscurity.

Plot: new year's eve, jealousy, loss of sense of reality, screenwriter, butler, delusion, diva, film noir, ...

Place: los angeles, california

High Potential (2024) TV Show

8.2 594 votes

Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery

Country: France, United States of America

Seasons: 3

Episodes: 32

Audience: TV-14

Story: Morgan is a single mom with an exceptional mind, whose unconventional knack for solving crimes leads to an unusual and unstoppable partnership with a by-the-book seasoned detective.

Style: absurd

Plot: intellectually gifted, remake, los angeles, california, single mother, murder investigation, lapd, criminal consultant

Cast

William Zabka

Ralph Macchio

Courtney Henggeler

Xolo Maridueu00f1a

Cobra Kai (2018) TV Show

8.2 6.9K votes

Genre: Action, Comedy, Drama

Country: United States of America

Seasons: 6

Episodes: 65

Audience: TV-14

Story: This Karate Kid sequel series picks up 30 years after the events of the 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament and finds Johnny Lawrence on the hunt for redemption by reopening the infamous Cobra Kai karate dojo. This reignites his old rivalry with the successful Daniel LaRusso, who has been working to maintain the balance in his life without mentor Mr. Miyagi.

Style: nostalgic

Plot: martial arts, karate, sensei, rivalry, dojo, martial artist, father figure, frenemies, ...

Place: california

Cast

Angela Bassett

Jennifer Love Hewitt

Oliver Stark

Aisha Hinds

9-1-1 (2018) TV Show

8.2 2.8K votes

Genre: Action, Crime, Drama

Country: United States of America

Seasons: 9

Episodes: 142

Audience: TV-14

Story: Explore the high-pressure experiences of police officers, paramedics and firefighters who are thrust into the most frightening, shocking and heart-stopping situations. These emergency responders must try to balance saving those who are at their most vulnerable with solving the problems in their own lives.

Plot: police, los angeles, california, terrorism, police officer, firefighter, angry, emergency, ...

Place: california

Cast

Guy Pearce

Carrie-Anne Moss

Joe Pantoliano

Mark Boone Junior

Memento (2000)

8.2 16.4K votes

Genre: Mystery, Thriller

Country: United States of America

Duration: 113 min.

Audience: R

Story: Leonard Shelby is tracking down the man who raped and murdered his wife. The difficulty of locating his wife's killer, however, is compounded by the fact that he suffers from a rare, untreatable form of short-term memory loss. Although he can recall details of life before his accident, Leonard cannot remember what happened fifteen minutes ago, where he's going, or why.

Plot: drug dealer, amnesia, insulin, tattoo, waitress, motel, manipulation, flashback, ...

Place: los angeles, california

Cast

Michael Chiklis

Catherine Dent

Paula Garcu00e9s

Walton Goggins

The Shield (2002) TV Show

8.2 875 votes

Genre: Action, Crime, Drama

Country: United States of America

Seasons: 7

Episodes: 88

Audience: TV-MA

Story: The story of an inner-city Los Angeles police precinct where some of the cops aren't above breaking the rules or working against their associates to both keep the streets safe and their self-interests intact.

Style: intense

Plot: robbery, police brutality, mayor, drug dealer, gang, dirty cop, police corruption, los angeles, ...

Cast

Stephen Baldwin

Gabriel Byrne

Benicio del Toro

Kevin Pollak

The Usual Suspects (1995)

8.2 11.5K votes

Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller

Country: United States of America

Duration: 106 min.

Audience: R

Story: Held in an L.A. interrogation room, Verbal Kint attempts to convince the feds that a mythic crime lord, Keyser Soze, not only exists, but was also responsible for drawing him and his four partners into a multi-million dollar heist that ended with an explosion in San Pedro harbor – leaving few survivors. Verbal lures his interrogators with an incredible story of the crime lord's almost supernatural prowess.

Style: suspenseful, intense

Plot: new york city, robbery, relatives, heist, flashback, police corruption, whodunit, theft, ...

Place: los angeles, california

Cast

James Stewart

Kim Novak

Barbara Bel Geddes

Tom Helmore

Vertigo (1958)

8.1 6.4K votes

Genre: Mystery, Romance, Thriller

Country: United States of America

Duration: 128 min.

Audience: PG

Story: A retired San Francisco detective suffering from acrophobia investigates the strange activities of an old friend's wife, all the while becoming dangerously obsessed with her.

Plot: plan, love of one's life, sense of guilt, san francisco, california, suicide attempt, obsession, bachelor, ...

Cast

Ella Purnell

Aaron Moten

Moisu00e9s Arias

Frances Turner

Fallout (2024) TV Show

8.1 2.9K votes

Genre: Action, Drama, Science Fiction

Country: United States of America

Seasons: 2

Episodes: 16

Audience: TV-MA

Story: The story of haves and have-nots in a world in which there's almost nothing left to have. 200 years after the apocalypse, the gentle denizens of luxury fallout shelters are forced to return to the irradiated hellscape their ancestors left behind — and are shocked to discover an incredibly complex, gleefully weird, and highly violent universe waiting for them.

Plot: capitalism, nuclear war, mutant, vault, bunker, post-apocalyptic future, drug use, alternate history, ...

Place: los angeles, california

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Top Must-Watch Movies Set in California

California’s diverse landscapes and vibrant culture have made it a favorite backdrop for filmmakers. These movies not only entertain but also immerse you in the Golden State’s unique charm and stories.

Classic Films That Define California

Sunset Boulevard (1950) – A noir masterpiece set in Hollywood, exploring the dark side of fame and ambition.
Chinatown (1974) – Jack Nicholson stars in this gripping detective tale set in 1930s Los Angeles, blending corruption and mystery.
Pulp Fiction (1994) – Quentin Tarantino’s cult classic weaves multiple stories across LA, bursting with style and wit.

Modern Gems Showcasing California’s Diversity

La La Land (2016) – A visually stunning musical that celebrates LA’s dreamers, musicians, and artists.
The Social Network (2010) – The rise of Facebook unfolds in Silicon Valley, capturing the tech-driven culture of Northern California.
Drive (2011) – A stylish neo-noir set in LA’s underbelly, featuring Ryan Gosling as a mysterious getaway driver.

Binge-Worthy TV Shows Rooted in California

California’s influence extends to television, where its iconic locations and diverse communities have inspired groundbreaking series. From soap operas to crime dramas, these shows bring the state’s energy to life.

Legendary TV Series Set in California

Mythic Quest (2020–present) – A hilarious Apple TV+ comedy about the chaos behind a video game studio in San Francisco.
Stranger Things (2016–present) – While set in Indiana, key scenes were filmed in California, including the iconic mall chase in Season 1.
90210 (2008–2013) – A modern reboot of the classic Beverly Hills, 90210, diving into the lives of wealthy teens and their struggles.

Hidden Gems and Underrated Shows

Trying (2019–present) – A heartfelt comedy-drama about a couple navigating fertility challenges in LA’s competitive dating scene.
The Ranch (2016–2020) – A lighthearted Netflix series set in a California ranch, blending humor with family dynamics.
Insecure (2016–2021) – Issa Rae’s critically acclaimed series offers an authentic look at Black millennial life in South LA.

Whether you're a film buff or a TV enthusiast, California’s cinematic offerings promise something for everyone. Explore these must-watch titles to experience the Golden State’s magic from the comfort of your screen. Don’t forget to share your favorites with fellow fans and dive deeper into California’s rich entertainment legacy!