Top 250 Tv Shows Like Desperate Lives

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.

A young boy growing up in the suburbs of 1980s Brisbane faces the harsh realities of life — and the looming dangers that threaten his family.

An edge-of-your-seat view into the lives of everyday heroes committed to one of America's noblest professions. For the firefighters, rescue squad and paramedics of Chicago Firehouse 51, no occupation is more stressful or dangerous, yet so rewarding and exhilarating. These courageous men and women are among the elite who forge headfirst into danger when everyone else is running the other way and whose actions make the difference between life and death.

A group of high school students navigate love and friendships in a world of drugs, sex, trauma, and social media.

When a young boy vanishes, a small town uncovers a mystery involving secret experiments, terrifying supernatural forces, and one strange little girl.

Chicagoan Frank Gallagher is the proud single dad of six smart, industrious, independent kids, who without him would be... perhaps better off. When Frank's not at the bar spending what little money they have, he's passed out on the floor. But the kids have found ways to grow up in spite of him. They may not be like any family you know, but they make no apologies for being exactly who they are.

Walter White, a New Mexico chemistry teacher, is diagnosed with Stage III cancer and given a prognosis of only two years left to live. He becomes filled with a sense of fearlessness and an unrelenting desire to secure his family's financial future at any cost as he enters the dangerous world of drugs and crime.

21 Jump Street revolves around a group of young cops who would use their youthful appearance to go undercover and solve crimes involving teenagers and young adults.

Reverend Eric Camden and his wife Annie have always had their hands full caring for seven children, not to mention the friends, sweethearts and spouses that continually come and go in the Camden household.

90210 revolves around several students at the fictional West Beverly Hills High School, including new Beverly Hills residents Annie Wilson and Dixon Wilson. Their father, Harry Wilson, has returned from Kansas to his Beverly Hills childhood home with his family to care for his mother, former television and theater actress Tabitha Wilson, who has a drinking problem and clashes with his wife Debbie Wilson. Annie and Dixon struggle to adjust to their new lives while making friends and yet adhering to their parents' wishes.

Outspoken Kat Stratford couldn't be less like her sister, super sweet, yet kinda conformist Bianca. The only things they seem to have in common are being new at school and their overprotective dad.

After a teenage girl's perplexing suicide, a classmate receives a series of tapes that unravel the mystery of her tragic choice.

When a rising high school football player from South Central L.A. is recruited to play for Beverly Hills High, the wins, losses and struggles of two families from vastly different worlds - Compton and Beverly Hills - begin to collide. Inspired by the life of pro football player Spencer Paysinger.

Young teacher Alfie Wickers is "the worst teacher ever to grace the British education system" – at Abbey Grove School, in Watford, Hertfordshire.

Two dimwitted teenagers discuss TV, heavy-metal music, nachos, and trying to "score with chicks." When the duo aren't sitting on the couch, they try to pick up girls at the local convenience store, slack off at school, or wreak havoc while working at a burger joint.

Follow the lives of a group of teenagers living in the upscale, star-studded community of Beverly Hills, California and attending the fictitious West Beverly Hills High School and, subsequently, the fictitious California University after graduation.

A dramatic thriller that explores the demons lurking beneath the surface of a contemporary American family. The Rayburns are hard-working pillars of their Florida Keys community. But when the black sheep son comes home for the 45th anniversary of his parents' hotel, he threatens to expose the Rayburns' dark secrets and shameful past, pushing his siblings to the limits of family loyalty.

Blossom is an American sitcom broadcast on NBC from January 3, 1991, to May 22, 1995. The series was created by Don Reo, and starred Mayim Bialik as Blossom Russo, a teenager living with her father and two brothers. It was produced by Reo's Impact Zone Productions in association with Witt/Thomas Productions and Touchstone Television.

California Dreams is an American teen-oriented sitcom that aired from 1992 to 1996 on Saturday mornings during NBC's Teen NBC programming block. It was created by writers Brett Dewey and Ronald B. Solomon and executive produced by Peter Engel, all known for their work on Saved by the Bell.

Before she was a fashion icon, before her column in the New York Star, before Mr. Big, Carrie Bradshaw was an innocent 16-year-old girl living in suburban Connecticut.

CLUELESS is a television series spun off from the 1995 teen film of the same name. The series originally premiered on ABC on September 20, 1996 as a part of the TGIF lineup during its first season. The show then spent its last two seasons on UPN ending on May 25, 1999.

This Karate Kid sequel series picks up 30 years after the events of the 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament and finds Johnny Lawrence on the hunt for redemption by reopening the infamous Cobra Kai karate dojo. This reignites his old rivalry with the successful Daniel LaRusso, who has been working to maintain the balance in his life without mentor Mr. Miyagi.

The Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992. The show focuses on the Huxtable family, an upper middle-class African-American family living in Brooklyn, New York.

In the dark megalopolis of Méridiana, the silhouette of a mysterious character named Cybersix emerges, having escaped her creator, Doctor Von Reichter. By day, Cybersix, who adopted the male identity of Adrian Seidelman, is a literature teacher in a local high school and, by night, she 'transforms' back into Cybersix to fight Von Reichter's abominable creations and foil his plans. Soon, she's aided by her surviving brother, now named Data 7, a black bioroid panther.

After moving to a new town with her stressed-out parents and relentlessly popular little sister, Daria uses her acerbic wit and keen powers of observation to contend with the mind-numbingly ridiculous world of Lawndale High.

Dawson's Creek is an American teen drama that portrays the fictional lives of a close-knit group of teenagers through high school and college.

Degrassi Junior High is a Canadian CBC Television teen drama series that was produced from 1987-1989 as part of the Degrassi series. The show followed the lives of a group of students attending the titular fictional school. Many episodes tackled difficult topics such as drug use, child abuse, teenage pregnancy, homosexuality, homophobia, racism, and divorce, and the series was acclaimed for its sensitive and realistic portrayal of the challenges of teenage life. The cast comprised mainly non-professional actors, which added to the show's sense of realism. The series featured many of the same actors who had starred on The Kids of Degrassi Street a few years earlier, including Stacie Mistysyn, Neil Hope, Anais Granofsky, Sarah Charlesworth and others. However, their character names and family situations had been changed, so Degrassi Junior High cannot, therefore, be considered a direct spinoff. The legal counsel for all the episodes was Stephen Stohn who later became the executive producer of Degrassi: The Next Generation. The series was filmed at the unused Vincent Massey Public School in Etobicoke, Ontario.

The lives of several families in the Yorkshire Dales revolve around a farm and the nearby village. With murders, affairs, lies, deceit, laughter and tears, it's all there in the village.

A long-running dramedy centering on the Winslow family, a middle-class African American family living in Chicago, and their pesky next-door neighbor, ultra-nerd Steve Urkel. A spin-off of Perfect Strangers.

Former 1960s flower children Steven and Elyse Keaton raise their conservative son Alex, daughters Mallory and Jennifer, and later, youngest child Andrew.

Stef Foster, a dedicated police officer, and her partner Lena Adams, a school vice principal, have built a close-knit, loving family with Stef's biological son from a previous marriage, Brandon, and their adopted twins, Mariana and Jesus. Their lives are disrupted in unexpected ways when Lena meets Callie, a hardened teen with an abusive past who has spent her life in and out of foster homes. Lena and Stef welcome Callie and her brother, Jude, into their home thinking it's just for a few weeks, until a more permanent placement can be found. But life has something else in store for the Fosters.

The trials and triumphs of life in the small town of Dillon, Texas, where high school football is everything.

Get Real was a short-lived comedy-drama on the FOX Network centering on the fictional Green family of Los Angeles. It ran from September 1999 to April 2000. It starred Eric Christian Olsen and Anne Hathaway in very early roles, as the older siblings to central character of the series, youngest child, Kenny.

Before there were parenting blogs, trophies for showing up, and peanut allergies, there was a simpler time called the '80s. For geeky 11-year old Adam these were his wonder years and he faced them armed with a video camera to capture all the crazy. The Goldbergs are a loving family like any other, just with a lot more yelling.

Children's drama series following the lives of students and teachers at Grange Hill comprehensive school.

Fatherhood has taken on a whole new meaning for Jason Seaver, who has assumed the chores of cooking, cleaning and minding the kids so that his wife, Maggie, can pursue a career in journalism after spending 15 years as a housewife.

Common people discover that they have super powers. Their lives intertwine as a devastating event must be prevented.

Joan Girardi has begun acting a little strange since her family moved to the city of Arcadia. No one knows that various people keep introducing themselves as God, and then giving the teenager specific directions to do things. Unsure of what God wants, and if she's even sane, Joan tentatively begins to follow God's cryptic directives, all the while trying to retain a "normal" teen-aged existence.

Life Goes On is a television series that aired on ABC from September 12, 1989, to May 23, 1993. The show centers on the Thatcher family living in suburban Chicago: Drew, his wife Elizabeth, and their children Paige, Rebecca, and Charles, who is known as Corky. Life Goes On was the first television series to have a major character with Down syndrome.

Life with Derek is a Canadian television sitcom that aired on Family and VRAK.TV in Canada and on Disney Channel in the United States. The series premiered on Family on September 18, 2005, and ran for four seasons, ending its run on March 25, 2009. The series starred Michael Seater and Ashley Leggat as the two oldest children in a stepfamily. It ended with 70 episodes and one spin-off television film, entitled Vacation with Derek.

16-year-old Lux was given up for adoption at birth but never adopted. When she is put back into the custody of her estranged-since-high-school birth parents, Cate and Baze, the three form an unlikely family.

Matt & Amy Roloff enlist the help of their four children Jeremy, Zack, Molly & Jacob to help expand the business of Roloff farms. As the kids grow older, the family grows larger and the Roloffs learn how to keep their family relationships strong.

The daily mishaps of a married woman and her semi-dysfunctional family and their attempts to survive life in general in the city of Orson, Indiana.

A contemporary and culturally resonant drama about a young programmer, Elliot, who suffers from a debilitating anti-social disorder and decides that he can only connect to people by hacking them. He wields his skills as a weapon to protect the people that he cares about. Elliot will find himself in the intersection between a cybersecurity firm he works for and the underworld organizations that are recruiting him to bring down corporate America.

Mr. Young is a Canadian comedy series that premiered on March 1, 2011 on YTV. The series is shot in front of a live audience in Burnaby, British Columbia. The series was created by Dan Signer, and stars Brendan Meyer, Matreya Fedor and Gig Morton as attendants of Finnegan High School. Further main cast includes Kurt Ostlund, Emily Tennant, and Milo Shandel.

The life of a 15 year-old high school student, whose angst-ridden journey through adolescence, friendship, parents, and life teaches her what it means to grow up.

In Tree Hill, North Carolina two half brothers share a last name and nothing else. Brooding, blue-collar Lucas is a talented street-side basketball player, but his skills are appreciated only by his friends at the river court. Popular, affluent Nathan basks in the hero-worship of the town, as the star of his high school team. And both boys are the son of former college ball player Dan Scott whose long ago choice to abandon Lucas and his mother Karen, will haunt him long into his life with wife Deb and their son Nathan.

The Osbournes is an American reality television program featuring the domestic life of heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne and his family. The series premiered on MTV on March 5, 2002, and in its first season, was cited as the most-viewed series ever on MTV. The final episode of the series aired March 21, 2005.

Our Miss Brooks is an American situation comedy starring Eve Arden as a sardonic high school English teacher. It began as a radio show broadcast on CBS from 1948 to 1957. When the show was adapted to television, it became one of the medium's earliest hits. In 1956, the sitcom was adapted for big screen in the film of the same name.

Pelswick is an animated television series produced by Nelvana for CBC Television in Canada and the Nickelodeon cable channel in the United States. The series is about a teenage boy who uses a wheelchair, emphasized how he lived a normal life and was based on the books created by John Callahan. It aired during Nick on CBS on September 14, 2002, then ended in November the same year.

Megan Smith, a smart and quirky young assistant at a glossy magazine, is fired when her Yale education proves detrimental to getting ahead in the world of tabloid journalism. Her boss takes pity on her and arranges an interview with the wealthy Laurel Limoges to be a live-in tutor for her twin teen granddaughters. The beautiful and rebellious twins are less-than-thrilled with their new tutor, but Megan is determined to win them over as she enjoys the perks of her new job - breathtaking private suite, gorgeous car and live-in chef.

Quintuplets is a quirky ensemble comedy about the trials and tribulations of two parents raising 15-year-old quintuplets in a three-bedroom home.

On her sixteenth birthday, Sabrina Spellman discovers she has magical powers. She lives with her 600-year-old aunts Hilda and Zelda as well as talking cat Salem in the fictional town of Westbridge, Massachusetts.

Lovable schemer Zack Morris leads his pals on adventures at California's Bayside High School. The friends navigate relationships, final exams, school dances, breakups and more while frequently frustrating their principal, Mr. Richard Belding, who does his best to keep them in check.

Amy and her friends at Grant High learn to define themselves while they navigate the perilous waters of contemporary adolescence. Between their love triangles, secrets, drama, accusations, gossip, confusion, and scandalous rumors, there's never a dull moment.

Sweet Valley High is an American comedy-drama series

The story of two teenage girls who discover they were accidentally switched as newborns in the hospital. Bay Kennish grew up in a wealthy family with two parents and a brother, while Daphne Vasquez, who lost her hearing at an early age due to a case of meningitis, grew up with a single mother in a working-class neighborhood. Things come to a dramatic head when both families meet and struggle to learn how to live together for the sake of the girls.

The chaotic lives, loves and drinking sessions of a group of hapless teachers. They might be qualified to teach, but they've still got a lot to learn...

Teachers is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC. The show ran for six episodes until its cancellation on May 2, 2006. Loosely based upon a UK series of the same name, it was developed by Matt Tarses, co-executive producer of the medical comedy Scrubs.

Scott McCall, a high school student living in the town of Beacon Hills has his life drastically changed when he's bitten by a werewolf, becoming one himself. He must henceforth learn to balance his problematic new identity with his day-to-day teenage life. The following characters are instrumental to his struggle: Stiles, his best friend; Allison, his love interest who comes from a family of werewolf hunters; and Derek, a mysterious werewolf with a dark past. Throughout the series, he strives to keep his loved ones safe while maintaining normal relationships with them.

Waterloo Road is a UK television drama series the first broadcast was in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 9 March 2006. Originally set in a troubled comprehensive school in Rochdale, England, the location of the show was moved to the former Greenock Academy in Greenock, Scotland in 2012. The series focuses on the lives of the school's teachers and students, and confronts social issues such as extramarital affairs, abortion, divorce, child abuse, and suicide. Waterloo Road is produced by Shed Productions, the company responsible for Bad Girls and Footballers' Wives.

After the unexpected death of her husband, a suburban mom resorts to selling weed to support her family.

The rivalries, romances, hopes and fears of the residents of the fictional Midwestern metropolis, Genoa City. The lives and loves of a wide variety of characters mingle through the generations, dominated by the Newman, Abbott, Baldwin and Winters families.

The daily soap that follows the loves, lives and misdemeanours of a group of people living in the Chester village of Hollyoaks where anything could, and frequently does, happen...

Set in a quiet town where locals and summer visitors mingle, and relationships change as quickly as the tide. Will the hot days of summer prove long enough to resolve the abundant seduction and scandal of Falcon Beach?

Five brothers and sisters are determined to stay together following the tragic loss of their parents.

Hangin' with Mr. Cooper is an American television sitcom that originally aired on ABC from 1992 to 1997, starring Mark Curry and Holly Robinson. The show took place in Curry's hometown of Oakland, California. Hangin' with Mr. Cooper was produced by Jeff Franklin Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television, and also became produced by Bickley-Warren Productions by the third season. The show originally aired on Tuesdays in prime time after sister series Full House. The show found its niche as an addition to the already successful TGIF Friday night lineup on ABC, and was part of the lineup from September 1993 to May 1996, before moving to Saturdays for its fifth and final season.

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.

See life through the eyes of Dino, Ben, and Jonathan -- three teens experiencing the joys and pains of growing up. Although different in many ways, these guys have one main thing in common -- women. Together, their attitudes about women are challenged, and they discover there's more to life than meets the eye.

Galaxy High is an American science fiction animated series that premiered on September 13, 1986 on CBS and ran for 13 episodes until December 6, 1986. The series was created by movie director Chris Columbus and featured music and a theme song composed by Eagles member Don Felder. Despite its short run, the show has since become a cult favorite.

Mr. Rhodes is an American television situation comedy which was aired by NBC as part of its 1996-97 lineup. Mr. Rhodes starred comedian Tom Rhodes as an eponymous character who taught at a small-town preparatory school after having failed as a novelist. He found that his high school fantasy girl, Nikki was on the staff as a guidance counselor, and began a relationship with her. Like the title character's writing career, Mr. Rhodes' appearance on network television was a brief one; the program was not picked up for another season and last broadcast in March 1997.

Traffik is a 1989 British television serial about the illegal drugs trade. Its three stories are interwoven, with arcs told from the perspectives of Afghan and Pakistani growers and manufacturers, German dealers, and British users. It was nominated for six BAFTA Awards, winning three. It also won an International Emmy Award for best drama. The 2000 crime drama film Traffic, directed by Steven Soderbergh, was based on this television serial. In turn, the 2004 American television miniseries Traffic was based on both versions.

The lives of three families are woven together across three decades in multi-cultural Britain.

A struggling lawyer, Kenji Sakuragi, takes a position at private school Tatsuyama Gakuen to pay off his debts. Kenji decides to try to turn this hopeless school into one of the elite institutions in Japan to help rejuvenate his career. His barometer of success will be to get five of his students admitted to the prestigious Tokyo University the following year. But rather than cramming them with lots of general information, his down-to-earth class concentrates on unknown techniques for passing the entrance examination and how to live a good life in these turbulent times. His refreshing outlook and strategy may just be what is needed to turn around the future prospects of himself and his students and teach the rest of us a thing or two as well!

Todd and the Book of Pure Evil is a Canadian comedy/horror television series that follows a group of high school students who confront the effects of a demonic book. The series premiered on Space Channel on September 29, 2010 with two back-to-back episodes. The show was created for television by Craig David Wallace, Charles Picco, and Anthony Leo. Todd and the Book of Pure Evil is based on the short film of the same title written by Craig David Wallace and Max Reid, and directed by Wallace. The short film was produced through the Canadian Film Centre’s Short Dramatic Film Programme, and kicked off an international festival tour by premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2003. The series was developed for television through the National Screen Institute's Totally TV Program. A pilot for Todd and the Book of Pure Evil was shot for Space in 2009 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Like the low-budget short film, the series uses supernatural elements, profanity, graphic violence and non-sequitur lines. Sci-fi veteran David Winning directed four episodes. Each episode was produced with two variations of the audio track: a pre-watershed version with "clean" replacement dialogue dubbed in by the actors, and the original uncensored version with profanity.

Drama about a deaf girl who witnesses the audacious murder of a policewoman.

A wild ride through the lives of a group of high school friends stumbling through the mine field of adolescence... and stepping on most of the mines as they go.

R&B superstar-turned-minister Reverend Boyce "The Voice" Ballentine was living the high life in Las Vegas at the top of the music charts when he gets the calling to go from soul singer to soul saver. Relocating to St. Louis with his wife, Lolli and his daughter, Lyric to take over the preaching duties in his father's church, his family is not exactly eager to give up the fabulous superstar life for a humble one.

Educating … is a British documentary television programme produced by Twofour for Channel 4 that has run since 2011. It uses a fly on the wall format to show the everyday lives of the staff and students of various secondary schools around the UK; interspersed with interviews of those involved and featuring narration from the director and interviewer, David Clews. Filmed on location at schools in Harlow, Dewsbury, Walthamstow, Cardiff and Salford respectively, there have been six series to date: Educating Essex (2011), Educating Yorkshire (2013), Educating the East End (2014), Educating Cardiff (2015) and Educating Greater Manchester 1 & 2 (2017 and 2020).

Some Girls is a British comedy series written by Bernadette Davis that airs on BBC Three. The show stars Adelayo Adedayo, Mandeep Dhillon, Alice Felgate, Natasha Jonas, Dolly Wells, Colin Salmon, Jassa Ahluwalia and Franz Drameh. It debuted on 6 November 2012 and the first series ran for six episodes. BBC Three announced at the end of the first series that the show would return for a second series. On 18 September 2013, they confirmed that each episode of the second series will premiere on BBC iPlayer a week ahead of being broadcast on BBC Three. The first episode became available on iPlayer on 23 September and will be broadcast on BBC Three on 30 September with the rest of the series following that trend.

A contemporary take on a seemingly perfect Catholic family, whose lives take an unexpected turn when surprising truths are revealed. Instead of ruining their family, the honesty triggers a new, messier chapter where everyone stops pretending to be perfect and actually starts being real.

A web series that depicts the intersecting lives of several off-beat 21st century teenagers.

Andie is undateable– thanks to her older brother Alec, the most popular guy in high school, who makes sure no guy comes near her. Fortunately, Andie has her three best friends to help her shake the little sister stigma: Dakota, the gay best friend who is more than confident in his own sexuality; Imogen the innocent, fresh-out-of-home-school wallflower; and Courtney, Alec’s girlfriend and last year’s homecoming queen, who can’t let go of her high school days. These four very different personalities help each other navigate the hormone-induced, angst-filled sea of high school.

A dramatic thriller about a broken lawyer who seeks redemption through his investigation into the suspicious suicide of a teenage ballet prodigy.

A new academy school in a Yorkshire mill town merges the lives and cultures of the largely divided white and Asian community

David Slaney escapes from jail and attempts to hook up with his partner for one last deal, while evading the detective on his trail. Based on the novel by Lisa Moore.

Seven young adults go undercover in Highland Park High School in Topeka, Kansas, in an experiment to provide an inside look into the lives of today's teenagers and the issues they face.

A visceral, rarely-seen look into the personal stories of those most affected by ongoing national emergencies.

David Olusoga tells the story of those who lived in one house, from the time it was built until now. Searching through city archives, scouring records, and tracking down their living descendants, presenter David Olusoga tells the untold stories of the people who once lived in the house and gains a unique insight into the making of modern Britain.

Witness the stories of history's most notorious kingpins, their terrifying enforcers, and the men and women who've sworn to bring them down.

Claire Wilson, a young teacher at a suburban Texas high school, begins an affair with her student, Eric Walker. But their relationship accelerates faster than anticipated and the permanent damage becomes impossible to ignore.

Inexperienced Otis channels his sex therapist mom when he teams up with rebellious Maeve to set up an underground sex therapy clinic at school.

A grieving teen finds an unexpected connection with two classmates at her new high school after they all land in the same Shoplifters Anonymous group.

A great student, avid gamer, and voracious fan-fic scribe, Kamala Khan has a special affinity for superheroes, particularly Captain Marvel. However, she struggles to fit in at home and at school — that is, until she gets superpowers like the heroes she’s always looked up to. Life is easier with superpowers, right?

The intertwined fates of the picture-perfect Richardson family and an enigmatic mother and daughter who upend their lives. Explore the weight of secrets, the nature of art and identity, the ferocious pull of motherhood – and the danger in believing that following the rules can avert disaster.

Neighborhood best friends and urban millennials Dan and Kevin hilariously climb the ladder to nowhere in Flatbush, Brooklyn. But even inside the losing, they find there are little wins that come from tackling hipsters, mental health issues and the rising tide of gentrification.

Teens Charlie and Nick discover their unlikely friendship might be something more as they navigate school and young love in this coming-of-age series.

Hello, Wisconsin! It's 1995 and Leia Forman, daughter of Eric and Donna, is visiting her grandparents for the summer where she bonds with a new generation of Point Place kids under the watchful eye of Kitty and the stern glare of Red. Sex, drugs and rock 'n roll never dies, it just changes clothes.

Teen matchmaker Kitty Song Covey thinks she knows everything there is to know about love. But when she moves halfway across the world to reunite with her long-distance boyfriend, she’ll soon realize that relationships are a lot more complicated when it’s your own heart on the line.

A three-part drama set in the murky world of an unscrupulous pharmaceutical company.