TV series
The documentary series explores different political figures throughout history.
Streaming, rental and purchase options
Checked Jul 22, 2026
How to Become a Tyrant is available to stream on Netflix in United States. Use the direct links below to open the provider.
The documentary series explores different political figures throughout history.
Choose an episode, then use the watch options above for the show.
Episode 1
Interested in becoming a tyrant? There are rules, and the playbook for a rise to dictatorship starts with one of history's most brutal: Adolf Hitler.
Guest stars Adolf Hitler, Muammar Gaddafi, Kim Jong-il, Kim Il-sung
Episode 2
You've secured your place at the top, but maintaining power means watching your back. Nobody did that better or more ruthlessly than Saddam Hussein.
Guest stars Saddam Hussein, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin
Episode 3
When keeping your population under control, is it better to be loved or feared? Idi Amin certainly thought he knew the right answer to that question.
Guest stars Adolf Hitler, Idi Amin, Kim Jong-il, Asha Rangappa
Episode 4
Through public relations spin, revisionist history and censorship. Soviet autocrat Joseph Stalin found a certain flexibility with the truth useful.
Guest stars Fidel Castro, Joseph Stalin, Asha Rangappa
Episode 5
Free speech? Right to assembly? Rebel-turned-dictator Muammar Gaddafi realized that civil liberties had to go when reshaping society. But he got soft.
Guest stars Muammar Gaddafi, Madeleine Albright, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Vladimir Putin, Ban Ki-moon, Asha Rangappa
Episode 6
Seizing power is hard, but keeping it is harder. In North Korea, the Kim dynasty unlocked the secret to ruling forever: They declared themselves gods.
Guest stars Kim Jong-un, Kim Jong-il, Kim Il-sung
Episode information updated Jul 23, 2026
Peter DinklageSelf - Narrator (voice)
Saddam HusseinSelf (archive footage)
Adolf HitlerSelf (archive footage)
Idi AminSelf (archive footage)
Fidel CastroSelf (archive footage)
Muammar GaddafiSelf (archive footage)
Madeleine AlbrightSelf
George W. BushSelf (archive footage)
NetflixMore shows like How to Become a Tyrant.
Available nowShared themes
Available nowSimilar story and audience
Available nowSimilar story and audience
Available nowSimilar story and audience
Available nowSimilar story and audience
Available nowSimilar story and audience