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If you’re too stressed to watch election returns tonight, check out these TV shows and movies instead.

No matter who you’re voting for, tonight promises to be a stressful one. The 2024 U.S. presidential election promises to be one of the closest in history, and there will be anxieties to go around as the results come in on Tuesday evening.

If you’ve cast your vote and are ready to take a break from the worries, you can browse a curated list of shows and movies with a political theme below. And if you’d rather take a break from politics altogether, I’ve also got a selection of feel-good-only titles that will help you put the stress in the rearview mirror, at least for tonight.

Related: Everything You Need to Know to Watch 2024 United States Election Night Coverage What Can You Watch Instead of Election Coverage on Tuesday,...

(Welcome to Tales from the Box Office, our column that examines box office miracles, disasters, and everything in between, as well as what we can learn from them.)

"I never liked the title of my own story, and don't to this day." Those are the words of prolific author Stephen King writing in the 2009 book "Stephen King Goes to the Movies." The movie and story in question is the 1994 classic "The Shawshank Redemption." King was attempting to explain why the film -- which is now considered by many to be one of the greatest movies ever made -- was a box office bomb in its day.

While it may be hard to believe, director Frank Darabont's stirring, emotional prison drama was indeed a huge disappointment upon its initial release. For those who weren't regular ticket buyers at the time of this movie's original theatrical run, that must seem unfathomable.

Tim Robbins is strongly condemning conspiracy theorists attempting to link his 1992 political drama Bob Roberts to the assassination attempt of Donald Trump.

Robbins wrote, directed and starred in the film, which chronicles the rise of a populist conservative politician running for a U.S. Senate seat in Pennsylvania. In the film, the fictional Roberts stages being shot by an assassin, and surviving, in order to boost public support and win the election. Some on X (formerly Twitter) have suggested that Trump similarly staged Saturday’s assassination attempt in order to boost his poll numbers, just like in the film Bob Roberts.

Robbins — a longtime progressive activist and no fan of Trump — stated on X: “To anyone drawing a parallel between my film Bob Roberts and the attempted assassination of Trump, let’s be clear. What happened yesterday was a real attempt on a presidential candidate’s life. Those that are...

Actor-director Tim Robbins is calling out the conspiracy theories following the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, including that it was a staged event akin to a plot point in his 1992 movie Bob Roberts.

Robbins wrote on X/Twitter, “To anyone drawing a parallel between my film Bob Roberts and the attempted assassination of Trump, let’s be clear. What happened yesterday was a real attempt on a presidential candidate’s life. Those that are denying the assassination attempt was real are truly in a deranged mindset. A human being was shot yesterday. Another killed. They may not be human beings that you agree with politically but for shame folks. Get over your blind hatred of these people. They are fellow Americans. This collective hatred is killing our souls and consuming whatever is left of our humanity.”

In the movie, Bob Roberts is a right-wing Senate candidate who go through a...

If it’s Tuesday, this must be Election Day in a year when democracy itself is on the ballot. It’s a moment that Jefferson Smith – the naive but idealistic young senator played by Jimmy Stewart – could have appreciated in the Oscar-winning 1939 classic “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” from director Frank Capra. It tops the list of 25 movies that this Gold Derby editor singles out as exemplary staples of the political genre over the past 80-plus years. Most originated on the big screen, but a few were made-for-tv.

Why bring this to you today? Think of it as a distraction tactic at a time when so many of us are overloaded with anxiety over an especially consequential election that will determine control of Congress. The list features biopics, satires, historical dramas and journalism hybrid thrillers as well as fictitious allegories.

SEE15 Best American Political Films

Watch any of these tonight...

“Irresistible” is the second film written and directed by Jon Stewart, but unlike the first, the deadly serious and surprisingly accomplished true-life Iranian prison drama “Rosewater” (2014), this one comes straight out of Stewart’s satirical-political wheelhouse. Set shortly after the 2016 presidential election, it’s a close-to-the-bone tall tale — slightly exaggerated but still basically plausible — of what happens when America’s two ruling political parties descend upon the rural heartland of Deerlaken, Wisconsin, to take over a small-town election for mayor.

At the center of the movie is a cynical sharpie of a campaign consultant, Gary Zimmer (Steve Carell), who combines the philosophy of a liberal, the high-maintenance fussiness of an East Coast lifestyle elitist, and the do-what-it-takes amorality of a corporate sociopath. He’s just coming off his time as “the grand consigliere” of Hillary Clinton’s failed presidential bid, and like most Democrats he’s in a slight state...

DC Universe has released a new featurette for their upcoming Harley Quinn animated series. It includes some interviews with the voice cast of the series and also shows off some new footage that fans are sure to enjoy. The footage features a little bit of comedic vulgarity along with some brutal and bloody action clips. The series is definitely aiming for the R-rated content.

The voice cast of the series includes The Big Bang Theory's Kaley Cuoco as Harley, Lake Bell, Alan Tudyk, Ron Funches (Powerless), Jb Smoove (Curb Your Enthusiasm), Jason Alexander (Seinfeld), Wanda Sykes (Black-ish), Giancarlo Esposito, Natalie Morales (Bojack Horseman), Jim Rash (Mike Tyson Mysteries), Diedrich Bader (Veep), Tony Hale, Chris Meloni.

The first season will consist of 26 half-hour episodes, and here’s the synopsis:

The animated series follows Harley as she breaks things off with the Joker and attempts to make it on her own...

In case you weren’t already aware, Alan Tudyk is providing the voice of The Joker in DC’s upcoming Harley Quinn animated series.

There are have been several voice actors who have voiced the legendary Batman villain over the years, but for most fans, Mark Hamill is the definitive version of the character. He just brought the character to life in a way that no one else has been able to do.

Well, as a fan of Tudyk, I wish him the best as he takes on the role, and I’m excited to see how he makes it is own. The actor is well aware of how fans feel about Hamill’s Joker, and one thing he’s not going to do is try to replicate Hamill’s style.

Tudyk shared a conversation he had with Tony Hale, who also voiced The Joker as well at one point.

The first time movie audiences saw Jack Black, who receives his Walk of Fame star on Sept. 18, he made an impression before he even opened his mouth. Black was 23 and making his film debut in the 1992 political satire “Bob Roberts,” playing a nervous fanboy of Tim Robbins’ right-wing presidential candidate. While his wealthy mom does most of the talking, Black silently commands our focus, staring, swaying, smiling too big, laughing too fast, and glowering at anyone competing for his idol’s attention. He’s unpredictable, electric, and the type of funny that feels like a dare. It’s every character Black would go on to play in one scene: a clown on the knife-edge of danger. Finally, Black gets an opening to speak: “We got a band!” Even that was prophetic.

Black was brand new to the movies, but he’d already known Tim Robbins for a decade. He was raised in Hermosa Beach,...

Did you know Tim Robbins has never been nominated for an Emmy? The Oscar winner hasn’t been as much of a fixture on television screens as he has been on the big screen, but now he could be recognized by the television academy with a Best Drama Actor bid for “Here and Now.” Created by Alan Ball (“True Blood,” “Six Feet Under,” “American Beauty”), this freshman HBO series centers on a multi-racial family whose bond is fractured when one of their children starts seeing things the rest cannot. Robbins plays Greg Boatwright, a philosophy professor and the family patriarch. In honor of his latest small-screen achievement, let’s take a look back at some of his best big-screen outings. Tour through our photo gallery above of Robbins’s 10 greatest films, ranked from worst to best.

Robbins won his Oscar as Best Supporting Actor for playing a former child abuse...