Shows Like Pan Am
If you loved Pan Am's Drama storytelling, these series deliver a similar experience — chosen for tone, narrative quality, and viewer satisfaction. Each includes where to stream it now.
★ Top Picks
Wings
Brothers Brian and Joe Hackett attempt to run an airline on the New England island of Nantucket while surrounded by their various wacky friends and employees.
The Waltons
The Waltons live their life in a rural Virginia community during the Great Depression and World War II.
Simon & Simon
A.J. Simon is a polished fellow with a taste for classic cars and tailored suits. Rick Simon is his less refined (but still pleasant) older brother who has a taste for cowboy boots and four-wheel drive pickups. The two of them live in San Diego, where they own a private detective agency.
Parenthood
The trials and tribulations of the very large, colorful and imperfect Braverman family.
Anne with an E
A coming-of-age story about an outsider who, against all odds and numerous challenges, fights for love and acceptance and for her place in the world. The series centers on a young orphaned girl in the late 1890s, who, after an abusive childhood spent in orphanages and the homes of strangers, is mistakenly sent to live with an elderly woman and her aging brother. Over time, 13-year-old Anne will transform their lives and eventually the small town in which they live with her unique spirit, fierce intellect and brilliant imagination.
Upstairs, Downstairs
Upstairs: the wealthy, aristocratic Bellamys. Downstairs: their loyal and lively servants. For nearly 30 years, they share a fashionable townhouse at 165 Eaton Place in London’s posh Belgravia neighborhood, surviving social change, political upheaval, scandals, and the horrors of the First World War.
This Is Us
Follows the lives and families of three adults living and growing up in the United States of America in present and past times. As their paths cross and their life stories intertwine in curious ways, we find that several of them share the same birthday - and so much more than anyone would expect.
SkyMed
Life, death and drama at 20,000 feet. The series weaves together intense character journeys and high-stakes medical rescues, as we follow the triumphs, heartbreaks and tribulations of budding nurses and pilots flying air ambulances in remote Northern Canada. They’re all in over their heads, and on their own, with no one to rely on but each other.
More Shows Like Pan Am
Julia
Through Julia Child’s life and her singular joie de vivre, the series explores a pivotal time in American history – the emergence of public television as a new social institution, feminism and the women's movement, the nature of celebrity and America's cultural evolution.
Masters of the Air
During World War II, airmen risk their lives with the 100th Bomb Group, a brotherhood forged by courage, loss, and triumph.
The Guardian
Nick Fallin is a hotshot lawyer working at his father's ultrasuccessful Pittsburgh law firm. Unfortunately, the high life has gotten the best of Nick. Arrested for drug use, he's sentenced to do 1,500 hours of community service, somehow to be squeezed into his 24/7 cutthroat world of mergers, acquisitions and board meetings. Reluctantly, he's now The Guardian - a part-time child advocate at Legal Aid Services, where one case after another is an eye-opening instance of kids caught up in difficult circumstances.
Mad Men
Set in 1960-1970 New York, this sexy, stylized and provocative drama follows the lives of the ruthlessly competitive men and women of Madison Avenue advertising.
Departure
Follow the mystery of Flight 716 - a passenger plane that vanishes over the Atlantic Ocean. Following the mysterious crash, recently widowed, brilliant aviation investigator Kendra Malley is called in to investigate by her former boss and mentor Howard Lawson.
Gilmore Girls
Set in the charming town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut, the series follows the captivating lives of Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, a mother/daughter pair who have a relationship most people only dream of.
Masters of Sex
William Masters and Virginia Johnson are real-life pioneers of the science of human sexuality. Their research touched off the sexual revolution and took them from a midwestern teaching hospital to the cover of Time magazine and multiple appearances on Johnny Carson's couch. He is a brilliant scientist out of touch with his own feelings, and she is a single working mother ahead of her time. The series chronicles their unusual lives, romance, and unlikely pop culture trajectory.
Dear Edward
A 12-year-old boy becomes the lone survivor of a plane crash. As he and others affected by the tragedy try to make sense of what happened, unexpected friendships, romances, and communities are formed.
The Wonder Years
The story of Kevin Arnold facing the trials and tribulations of youth while growing up during the 1960s and 70s. Told through narration from an adult Kevin, Kevin faces the difficulties of maintaining relationships and friendships on his enthralling journey into adulthood.
Titanic
A heart-wrenching journey through Titanic's last moments, featuring both fictional and historical characters, ranging from steerage passengers and crew to upper class guests and staff.
My Life with the Walter Boys
When a tragedy disrupts her life, a teen moves in with her guardian's big family in a small town and learns new lessons about love, hope and friendship.
Blossom
Blossom Russo is a highly intelligent and spunky teenager. The youngest of three, she lives with her divorced musician father, Nick, eldest brother and recovering substance abuser Anthony, and decidedly not-so-bright middle brother Joey. Along for the ride is Blossom's ditzy best friend, Six, who sometimes shows flashes of great perception.
Why These Shows Are Similar
These recommendations share core qualities with Pan Am (2011): Drama themes, similar pacing, and comparable production quality. NoBadPicks uses TMDB collaborative filtering, genre matching, and AI analysis to surface series most likely to resonate with fans of Pan Am.
See full details for Pan Am (2011)