Trump impeachment row: Reel life plays out in real life

US President Donald Trumps impeachment probe is gaining steam in the political domain of the United States, and the moment seems to be a reckoning of numerous reel-life dramas playing out in real world.

There is an impeachment inquiry into Trump over allegations that he sought help from Ukraine to boost his chances of re-election. He is accused of trying to pressure Ukraine into investigating unsubstantiated corruption claims against his political rival, Joe Biden and his son Hunter, who worked with Ukrainian gas company, Burisma. Trump has denied wrongdoing, calling the impeachment inquiry a "witch hunt".

Trump's political era has inspired the narrative for many shows, with some tackling it in a direct way and some going for the subtle way by touching upon issues like nepotism and wealthy people behaving badly. The impeachment drama oft finds a place in the storyline.

"The Good Fight", "Roseanne", "Our Cartoon President", "Saturday Night Live" and "Veep" delved into the political world to entertain people. In fact, Alec Baldwin's impersonation of Trump has been a hit since long.

Shows like "House Of Cards", "Designated Survivor", "Madam Secretary", "Saturday Night Live" and "The President Show" tackled the complexities, conflicts and fickle nature by going deep inside the politics involved.

Robin Wright and the disgraced actor Kevin Spacey's "House Of Cards" brought forward the play of manipulation to strip people in position of power, first by targeting the Vice President and then planning an impeachment campaign to remove the President, making him eventually resign on his own.

There was an impeachment-themed episode in "Madam Secretary", which pondered over whether 25th Amendment of the US Constitution creates a passage to remove a President from office if the Cabinet deems that the President is mentally unfit.

According to "Madam Secretary" creator Barbara Hall, telling a political story in the present "highly charged atmosphere" in the US comes with challenges.

"Obviously we are telling a political story in highly-charged political times here in the US. That has its challenges but it also means that a huge number of people are engaged in political debate so they share a vocabulary with us. Stories that might have been unfamiliar to them before are very recognisable. I always said that I wanted to do a show about politics that wasn't so polarised and polarising. I wanted everyone to come to the discussion, and I feel we've been very successful with that," Hall told IANS recently.

Kiefer Sutherland's "Designated Survivor" delved into political conspiracy, and captured the high-voltage drama when Sutherland's character Tom Kirkman becomes the US President after a terrorist attack kills everyone ahead of him in the presidential line of succession. The fear of impeachment loomed throughout the show, with spotlight on ways to avoid it.

Long before "House Of Cards", "The Handmaid's Tale" and "Designated Survivor", the audience got an inside look at the world of politics, presidential campaigns with shows like "Yes, Minister", "The West Wing", "The Good Wife", "Scandal" and "Tanner '88".

The subject will continue to be explored, with Ryan Murphy soon coming out with the next chapter of "American Crime Story", which is based on the 1998 impeachment of President Bill Clinton.