10 Best Wall Street Films and TV Shows
February 17, 2026
Financial markets are endlessly fascinating, defined by high-stakes decisions, meteoric successes, and dramatic collapses. From ruthless traders to ethical dilemmas and billion-dollar bets, Wall Street has inspired some of the most gripping films and TV series of the last few decades. In this blog, we break down the Best Wall Street Films and TV Shows to watch, exploring the stories that capture the ambition, excess, and reality of life in finance.
Financial Related Movies
The Big Short (2015)
The Big Short focuses on the events leading up to the 2007–2008 subprime mortgage crisis, which created a housing bubble and ultimately caused a major global economic collapse.
Watch Tom Turner, an ex-investment banker, review The Big Short breaking down the iconic Jenga block scene. Tom discusses how the analogy explains the housing market crash of 2008 and explains the industry terminology and concepts discussed throughout the movie.
Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
While it is exaggerated, the Wolf of Wall Street is grounded in real practices, both legitimate and illegal. The film is loosely based on Jordan Belfort a stockbroker working for Stratton Oakmont who ran a “boiler room” operation that defrauded investors of approximately $200 million through “pump and dump” schemes. Many of Stratton Oakmont’s actions would be far harder in today’s compliance‑heavy environment, but fraud still happens. The movie is engaging because underneath the excess, much of the behavior really did occur.
Watch the founder of Financial Edge and ex-J.P. Morgan investment banker, Alastair Matchett, review The Wolf of Wall Street to examine how accurate its representation of sales and trading is from iconic scenes in the movie. Alastair gives an expert’s insight into what’s happening in the film, breaking down terminology used. Alastair also discusses what’s missing from the film, and how things work today.
Inside Job (2010)
Inside Job is a documentary movie investigating the causes and consequences of the 2008 global financial crisis. A pacy and thrilling documentary, it explores deregulation and political influence, conflicts of interest, systemic corruption, and ethical failures within the financial sector.
Margin Call (2011)
Margin Call is set over a tense 24‑hour period at the beginning of the 2008 financial crisis. The movie follows a fictional investment bank whose employees discover that the firm is exposed to catastrophic losses due to the deteriorating value of its mortgage‑related assets.
Watch FE instructor, Deborah Taylor’s (ex- Barclays) review of Margin Call. Deborah breaks down key scenes, explaining key terminology and concepts covered in the movie, covering risk management, trading mechanics, mortgage‑backed securities, banking culture, and crisis‑era decision making. She also explains how things work in reality vs how the film depicts them.
Wall Street (1987)
Wall Street is an iconic movie about the 1980s finance boom, The movie follows a young stockbroker who becomes involved with Gordon Gekko, a corporate raider and his idol. Known for its famous ‘greed is good’ speech, the film explores insider trading, greed, and ambition.
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010)
The sequel to the 1987 movie Wall Street. The movie beings with Gordon Gekko being released from prison for insider trading and securities fraud. The movie covers the unravelling of major financial institutions, market manipulation, with the backdrop of the looming 2008 financial crisis.
Dumb Money (2023)
Dumb Money dramatizes the 2021 GameStop short squeeze, where GameStop’s share price unexpectedly surged from $17 to $483 in weeks, due to a huge wave of buying by retail investors. It happened during the pandemic, when hedge funds were placing large short bets against GameStop, and new trading apps like Robinhood made trading cheap and accessible. The movie shows the battle between everyday individuals “dumb money” and Wall Street hedge funds “smart money”.
Watch Deborah Taylor’s (ex-Barclays) review of the movie. She reveals the real story behind the GameStop short squeeze and how it disrupted Wall Street. Deborah discusses the clash between retail traders and hedge funds, what really went on behind the scenes, and explains the financial terminology used.
Too Big to Fail (2011)
A dramatized biopic, Too Big to Fail depicts the unravelling of the U.S. financial system in 2008 from the perspective of the U.S. Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve, and the leaders of Wall Street institutions. It covers the collapse of Lehman Brothers, toxic assets and regulatory hurdles, government interventions, and the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).
Finance Related TV Shows
Industry (2020 – Present)
Industry, a financial thriller TV series created by two former investment bankers, follows the professional and personal lives of group of young graduates who join Pierpoint & Co, a prestigious and fictional investment bank in London.
Industry Season 4
Watch Financial Edge Founder and ex-J.P. Morgan investment banker, Alastair review Industry season 4. Drawing on his experience training at the world’s leading financial institutions, Alastair explains the technical concepts and distinguishes from real-world banking and what you see on screen. The first episode discussed here explores short‑selling mechanics, hedge‑fund redemption rules, material non‑public information (MNPI) insider‑trading risk, and liquidity constraints.
Industry Season 3
Watch Financial Edge instructor, Deborah Taylor’s, (ex-Barclays) review Industry season 3. She dissects the high-stakes drama, exploring the intense world of finance, power plays, and career-defining decisions. Series 3 explores ESG investing and greenwashing, IPOs, research recommendations, and bankruptcy.
Billions (2016 – Present)
Billions is the high‑stakes finance drama exploring New York’s hedge funds, with conflict between wealth and regulation. The show covers short squeezes, quant strategies, insider trading, and compliance loopholes.
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