Top 250 Tv Shows Like Serial

"Honor thy wife, and everyone else's."

A list of the best tv shows similar to Serial. If you liked Serial then you may also like: Modern Family, House of the Dragon, The Sopranos, Warrior, 7th Heaven and many more great tv shows featured on this list.

movie

A man resists the California fads that his wife, friends and wealthy Marin County neighbors embrace. Based on the serial by Cyra McFadden in the San Francisco Chronicle in the 70s, satirizing the lifestyle trends of the local elite - from open marriages and organic food to New Age cults.

Modern Family

The Pritchett-Dunphy-Tucker clan is a wonderfully large and blended family. They give us an honest and often hilarious look into the sometimes warm, sometimes twisted, embrace of the modern family.

House of the Dragon

The Targaryen dynasty is at the absolute apex of its power, with more than 15 dragons under their yoke. Most empires crumble from such heights. In the case of the Targaryens, their slow fall begins when King Viserys breaks with a century of tradition by naming his daughter Rhaenyra heir to the Iron Throne. But when Viserys later fathers a son, the court is shocked when Rhaenyra retains her status as his heir, and seeds of division sow friction across the realm.

The Sopranos

The story of New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads. Those difficulties are often highlighted through his ongoing professional relationship with psychiatrist Jennifer Melfi. The show features Tony's family members and Mafia associates in prominent roles and story arcs, most notably his wife Carmela and his cousin and protégé Christopher Moltisanti.

Warrior

A gritty, action-packed crime drama set during the brutal Tong Wars of San Francisco’s Chinatown in the second half of the 19th century. The series follows Ah Sahm, a martial arts prodigy who immigrates from China to San Francisco under mysterious circumstances, and becomes a hatchet man for one of Chinatown’s most powerful tongs.

7th Heaven

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.

The Affair

The Affair explores the emotional effects of an extramarital relationship between Noah Solloway and Alison Lockhart after the two meet in the resort town of Montauk in Long Island. Noah is a New York City schoolteacher with one novel published (book entitled A Person who Visits a Place) and he is struggling to write a second book. He is happily married with four children, but resents his dependence on his wealthy father-in-law. Alison is a young waitress trying to piece her life and marriage back together in the wake of the tragic death of her child. The story of the affair is told separately, complete with distinct memory biases, from the male and female perspectives.

Arrested Development

The story of a wealthy family that lost everything, and the one son who had no choice but to keep them all together.

Baywatch

Join the Baywatch lifeguards on their thrilling adventures filled with beautiful beaches and those iconic red swimsuits.

Big Love

The story of Bill Henrickson and his life in suburban Salt Lake City, balancing the needs of his three wives -- Barb, Nicki and Margene-- their seven kids, three new houses and the opening of his newest hardware store. When disturbing news arrives about Bill's father, he is forced to reconnect with his polygamist parents who live on a fundamentalist compound in rural Utah.

The Bold and the Beautiful

Continuing drama combining romance and intrigue set against the glittering backdrop of Beverly Hills and the American fashion industry.

Bonding

A New York City grad student moonlighting as a dominatrix enlists her gay BFF from high school to be her assistant.

Californication

A self-loathing, alcoholic writer attempts to repair his damaged relationships with his daughter and her mother while combating sex addiction, a budding drug problem, and the seeming inability to avoid making bad decisions.

Days of Our Lives

The Horton and Brady broods endure the romantic trials of life in Salem, a Midwestern hamlet filled with evil geniuses, star-crossed lovers and a rich family history.

Desperate Housewives

Looking down on her friends and family isn't a way of life for Mary Alice Young... it's a way of death. One day, in her perfect house, in the loveliest of suburbs, Mary Alice ended it all. Now she's taking us into the lives of her family, friends and neighbors, commenting from her elevated P.O.V.

Dynasty

The saga of a wealthy Denver family in the oil business: Blake Carrington, the patriarch; Krystle, his former secretary and wife; his children: Adam, lost in childhood after a kidnapping; Fallon, pampered and spoiled; Steven, openly gay; and Amanda, hidden from him by his ex-wife, the conniving Alexis. Most of the show features the conflict between 2 large corporations, Blake's Denver Carrington and Alexis' ColbyCo.

Eastbound & Down

Years after he turned his back on his hometown, a burned-out major league ballplayer returns to teach phys ed at his old middle school.

Entourage

Film star Vince Chase navigates the vapid terrain of Los Angeles with a close circle of friends and his trusty agent.

Episodes

A British husband-and-wife comedy writing team travel to Hollywood to remake their successful British TV series, with disastrous results.

The Fortunes and Misfortunes of Moll Flanders

Ever since her birth in Newgate Prison, Moll has survived by her cunning wit, and considerable powers of seduction. She goes through five husbands and countless lovers to escape a life on the streets. In between using and deceiving her besotted paramours, she is not above picking a pocket or two! All the while, though, her heart belongs to the charismatic Jemmy. Inevitably, even the most clever criminal's luck runs out and Moll is soon facing hangman's noose. As her execution day approaches, she devises on last desperate ploy to save not only her own neck, but also the life of her one true love.

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

Will, a street-smart teenager, moves from the tough streets of West Philly to posh Bel-Air to live with his Uncle Philip, Aunt Vivian, his cousins — spoiled Hilary, preppy Carlton and young Ashley — and their sophisticated British butler, Geoffrey. Though Will’s antics and upbringing contrast greatly with the upper-class lifestyle of his extended relatives, he soon finds himself right at home as a loved part of the family.

The F Word

The F Word is a British food magazine and cookery programme featuring chef Gordon Ramsay. The programme covers a wide range of topics, from recipes to food preparation and celebrity food fads. The programme is made by Optomen Television and aired weekly on Channel 4. The theme tune for the series is "The F-Word" from the Babybird album Bugged.

GLOW

In 1980s LA, a crew of misfits reinvent themselves as the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling.

Grace and Frankie

Elegant, proper Grace and freewheeling, eccentric Frankie are a pair of frenemies whose lives are turned upside down - and permanently intertwined - when their husbands leave them for each other. Together, they must face starting over in their 70s in a 21st century world.

Home and Away

Home and Away is set in the fictional town of Summer Bay, a coastal town in New South Wales, and follows the personal and professional lives of the people living in the area. The show initially focused on the Fletcher family, Pippa and Tom Fletcher and their five foster children Frank Morgan, Carly Morris, Steven Matheson, Lynn Davenport and Sally Keating, who would go on to become one of the show's longest-running characters. The show also originally and currently focuses on the Stewart family. During the early 2000s, the central storylines focused on the Sutherlands and later, the Hunters. Home and Away had proved popular when it premiered in 1988 and had risen to become a hit in Australia, and after only a few weeks, the show tackled its first major and disturbing storyline, the rape of Carly Morris; it was one of the first shows to feature such storylines during the early timeslot. H&A has tackled many adult-themed and controversial storylines; something rarely found in its restricted timeslot.

Home Economics

The heartwarming yet uncomfortable relationship between three adult siblings: one in the 1%, one middle-class and one barely holding on.

Insatiable

A bullied teenager turns to beauty pageants as a way to exact her revenge, with the help of a disgraced coach who soon realizes he's in over his head.

Mad Men

Set in 1960-1970 New York, this sexy, stylized and provocative drama follows the lives of the ruthlessly competitive men and women of Madison Avenue advertising.

Masters of Sex

William Masters and Virginia Johnson are real-life pioneers of the science of human sexuality. Their research touched off the sexual revolution and took them from a midwestern teaching hospital to the cover of Time magazine and multiple appearances on Johnny Carson's couch. He is a brilliant scientist out of touch with his own feelings, and she is a single working mother ahead of her time. The series chronicles their unusual lives, romance, and unlikely pop culture trajectory.

The Middle

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.

The O.C.

Ryan Atwood, a teen from the wrong side of the tracks, moves in with a wealthy family willing to give him a chance. But Ryan's arrival disturbs the status quo of the affluent, privileged community of Newport Beach, California.

The Osbournes

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.

Peep Show

Peep Show follows the lives of two men from their twenties to thirties, Mark Corrigan, who has steady employment for most of the series, and Jeremy "Jez" Usbourne, an unemployed would-be musician.

Scream Queens

The super-charged comedy-horror series is a modern take on the classic whodunit with a killer cast. 

Sense8

One gunshot, one death, one moment out of time that irrevocably links eight minds in disparate parts of the world, putting them in each other's lives, each other's secrets, and in terrible danger. Ordinary people suddenly reborn as "Sensates."

The Shannara Chronicles

A young Healer armed with an unpredictable magic guides a runaway Elf in her perilous quest to save the peoples of the Four Lands from an age-old Demon scourge.

The Simpsons

Set in Springfield, the average American town, the show focuses on the antics and everyday adventures of the Simpson family; Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie, as well as a virtual cast of thousands. Since the beginning, the series has been a pop culture icon, attracting hundreds of celebrities to guest star. The show has also made name for itself in its fearless satirical take on politics, media and American life in general.

Six Feet Under

A darkly comic look at members of a dysfunctional L.A. family that run a funeral business.  When death is your business, what is your life? For the Fisher family, the world outside of their family-owned funeral home continues to be at least as challenging as--and far less predictable than--the one inside.

Swingtown

This period and relationship drama takes viewers back to the 1970s for a look at suburban households testing the murky waters of sexual revolution following swingers throughout open marriages, "key parties" and other swingers extravaganzas.

Tripping the Rift

The continuing comic saga of a bizarre gang of misfits who live, work and play on the starship Jupiter 42, which is controlled by a neurotic A.I. known as Spaceship Bob. The ethically-challenged shipmates travel through the galaxy taking on one epic adventure at a time all while looking to make a quick buck and avoid getting thrown in jail.

When We Rise

The personal and political struggles, setbacks and triumphs of a diverse family of LGBT men and women who helped pioneer one of the last legs of the U.S. Civil Rights movement from its turbulent infancy in the 20th century to the once unfathomable successes of today. The period piece tells the history of the gay rights movement, starting with the Stonewall Riots in 1969.

Moral Orel

Orel is an 11-year-old boy who loves church. His unbridled enthusiasm for piousness and his misinterpretation of religious morals often lead to disastrous results, including self-mutilation and crack addiction. No matter how much trouble he gets into, his reverence always keeps him cheery.

Nash Bridges

Fun-loving San Francisco Police Department investigator Nash Bridges is part of the elite Special Investigations Unit. He tackles crime using his keen sense of humor and charm. Joe Dominguez comes out of retirement to become Bridges' wisecracking yet more rule-abiding partner.

Diff'rent Strokes

The series stars Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges as Arnold and Willis Jackson, two African American boys from Harlem who are taken in by a rich white Park Avenue businessman named Phillip Drummond and his daughter Kimberly, for whom their deceased mother previously worked. During the first season and first half of the second season, Charlotte Rae also starred as the Drummonds' housekeeper, Mrs. Garrett.

The L Word

A group of lesbian friends struggle with romance and careers in Los Angeles.

Agony

Agony is a British sitcom that aired on ITV from 1979 to 1981. It starred Maureen Lipman as a successful agony aunt but whose own personal life and marriage is a disaster. It was written by Len Richmond, Anna Raeburn, Stan Hey and Andrew Nickolds. It was made for the ITV network by LWT. Although a comedy, Agony sometimes dealt with issues that were seen as taboo at the time such as drug use, racism, abortion, interracial relationships, and swinging, and was the first British sitcom to portray a gay couple as non-camp, witty, intelligent and happy people. It also openly mocked the government, the ruling classes, and religion, and occasionally contained dark and dramatic storylines.

Married... with Children

Al Bundy is an unsuccessful middle aged shoe salesman with a miserable life and an equally dysfunctional family. He hates his job, his wife is lazy, his son is dysfunctional (especially with women), and his daughter is dim-witted and promiscuous.

The Wonder Years

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.

A Bit of a Do

A Bit of a Do is a British comedy drama series based on the books by David Nobbs. The show starred David Jason and was aired on ITV in 1989. It was made for the ITV network by Yorkshire Television. The show was set in a fictional Yorkshire town. Each episode took place at a different social function and followed the changing lives of two families, the working-class Simcocks and the middle-class Rodenhursts, together with their respective friends, Rodney and Betty Sillitoe, and Neville Badger. The series begins with the wedding of Ted and Rita Simcock's son Paul to Laurence and Liz Rodenhurst's daughter Jenny; an event at which Ted and Liz begin an affair. The subsequent fallout from this affair forms the basis for most of the first series.

Undressed

MTV peek behind closed doors at the intricacies of modern relationships. Each episode features three different fictional stories and follows various characters to see what happened during their most intimate moments. No subject is too taboo.

The Real L Word

This sexy reality series features a fascinating group of smart, gorgeous, and fiercely successful LA ladies ready to make the scene with their uniquely captivating stories and sizzling drama. From love and lust to family and career, these women know what they want and just how to get it.

Boss

Boss is an American political drama television serial created by Farhad Safinia. The series stars Kelsey Grammer as Tom Kane, the mayor of Chicago, who has recently been diagnosed with dementia with Lewy bodies, a degenerative neurological disorder.

Revenge

When Emily Thorne moves to the Hamptons, everyone wonders about the new girl, but she knows everything about them, including what they did to her family. Years ago, they took everything from her. Now, one by one, she's going to make them pay.

The DL Chronicles

The DL Chronicles is a series of short stories about men of color who lead double sex lives. Episode; Wes introduces us to Wes Thomas, an upwardly mobile real estate banker who is overwhelmed by the demands of his marriage, career, and closeted attraction to men. When Wes' sexy but ambivalent brother- in-law stops in for an unexpected stay, he is directly faced with temptation and ultimately falls for the forbidden fruit.

DTLA

The relationships and sex lives of a diverse group of friends who works and lives in the vibrant community of Downtown Los Angeles.

Spartacus

Torn from his homeland and the woman he loves, Spartacus is condemned to the brutal world of the arena where blood and death are primetime entertainment.

Portrait of a Marriage

The remarkable true story of Edwardian writer Vita Sackville-West and her husband Harold Nicolson.

Rogue

Grace, a morally and emotionally-conflicted undercover detective, is tormented by the possibility that her own actions contributed to her son’s death. Grace’s search for the truth is further complicated by her forbidden relationship with Jimmy, the crime boss who may have played a hand in the crime.

Room at the Top

Joe leaves working-class, industrial Dufton behind him and takes a job as senior audit clerk at the town hall in affluent Warley. He takes lodgings at the poshest part of the town and starts to make his mark on local society.

Looking

Three friends in San Francisco who explore the fun and sometimes overwhelming options available to a new generation of gay men.

Hunting Season

Hunting Season is an American LGBT-themed comedy-drama web series created by Jon Marcus. Following the romantic and sexual exploits of Alex and his small group of friends in New York City, the story was inspired by and largely based on the 2005–08 blog The Great Cock Hunt and the 2008 novel of the same name published by Kensington Books.

Wolfpack of Reseda

Ben March’s mundane life is transformed when he becomes convinced he’s been bitten by a werewolf loose in the suburban sprawl of Reseda. As strange events begin to occur, Ben embraces his new “wolfman” identity wholeheartedly. He ascends at work, gets the attention of unattainable women, and becomes a leader amongst his colleagues and friends. Ben forms his very own “wolfpack,” and together they find new confidence and freedom.

Flesh and Blood

Three adult siblings find their family thrown into disarray when their recently widowed mother, Vivien, declares she is in love with a new man. The tension his presence creates threatens to drag the whole family towards tragedy, and perhaps crime.

Neighbors with Benefits

This real-life series follows the residents of an average suburban community in Ohio where the couples maintain a not-so-average way of life. Neighbors are often more than just friends in this seemingly ordinary neighborhood that has become home to the controversial, yet surprisingly common "swinger" lifestyle.

BoysTown

Welcome to BoysTown! A modern gay episodic drama about friendship, sex and relationships exploring the everyday lives of 8 friends and lovers. A cross between a gay Desperate Housewives and Sex & the City, these guys are always getting themselves into situations they can't get out of.

Doctor Foster

A woman suspects her husband of having an affair. After following several lines of enquiries far more unravels including a streak of violence below the surface.

The Path

The Path explores the unknown and mysterious world of the cult-like Meyerist Movement in upstate New York. At the center of the movement lies Eddie, a conflicted husband; Sarah, his devoted wife; and Cal, an ambitious leader. We follow each as they contend with deep issues involving relationships, faith, and power.

You Me Her

An unusual, real-world romance involving relatable people, with one catch - there are three of them! You Me Her infuses the sensibilities of a smart, grounded indie rom-com with a distinctive twist: one of the two parties just happens to be a suburban married couple.

Act of Will

Act of Will is a 1989 mini-series directed by Don Sharp. It the third mini series based on a Barbara Taylor Bradford novel he had directed and was an early lead role for Elizabeth Hurley.

Easy

This eclectic, star-studded anthology follows diverse Chicagoans fumbling through the modern maze of love, sex, technology and culture. First dates, friends with benefits, couples with kids. Whatever your relationship status is, it's always complicated.

Man in an Orange Shirt

A love story in two films charts the very different challenges to happiness for Michael and Thomas in the aftermath of World War 2, and to Adam and Steve in the present day.

Budding Prospects

In 1983, three hapless guys from San Francisco are lured from their sex and drugs lifestyle to the countryside to grow marijuana. They find themselves stuck in a run-down cabin in the middle of nowhere, with harsh and unfriendly growing conditions, nosy neighbours, dangerous locals, and menacing law enforcement.

Vida

Two Mexican-American sisters from the Eastside of Los Angeles who couldn't be more different or distanced from each other are forced to return to their old neighborhood, where they are confronted by the past and surprising truth about their mother’s identity.

Special

A gay man with mild cerebral palsy decides to rewrite his identity as an accident victim and finally go after the life he wants.

Strange Angel

The story of the mysterious and brilliant Jack Parsons in 1940s Los Angeles as by day he helps birth the discipline of American rocketry and by night is a performer of sex magick rituals and a disciple to occultist Aleister Crowley.

WHAT / IF

A pair of cash-strapped newlyweds accept a lucrative but morally dubious offer from a mysterious female benefactor.

The Society

When everyone else mysteriously vanishes from their wealthy town, the teen residents of West Ham must forge their own society to survive.

Why Women Kill

Three women living in three different decades: a housewife in the '60s, a socialite in the '80s and a lawyer in 2018, deal with infidelity in their marriages.

Obliterated

A special forces team thwarts a deadly plot in Sin City and parties accordingly. But when the real threat emerges, they must sober up to save Las Vegas.

Happily Married

In 1974, in the quiet suburb of Sainte-Foy, two discontented couples bring their kids to summer camp. Once home, they must face the pitiful state their marriages are in. Unable to deal with their problems, they become the most infamous criminals in the history of organized crime in Quebec City.

Reckoning

The murder of a teenager and the hunt for a serial killer in a suburban Northern California town sets two fathers on a course of mutual destruction that will reverberate through their quiet community. Starring Sam Trammell and Aden Young.

Sex/Life

A woman's daring sexual past collides with her married-with-kids present when the bad-boy ex she can't stop fantasizing about crashes back into her life.

Little Birds

We arrive with New York heiress Lucy Savage fresh off the transatlantic steamer and ready for love and marriage in exotic climes. But when her husband Hugo does not receive her in the way she expected, she spins off into the surprising, diverse and degenerate world of Tangier in 1955.

It's a Sin

A chronicle of five friends during a decade in which everything changed, including the rise of AIDS.

Helter Skelter: An American Myth

The untold story behind cult leader Charles Manson and his followers' heinous crimes as told through interviews with former members, archival footage, and newly-unearthed images.

White Lines

Zoe Walker leaves her quiet life behind to investigate her brother's disappearance in Ibiza, where she quickly heads down a decadent and dangerous path.

Pivoting

In a small, middle-class town in Long Island, NY, three women – and close-knit childhood friends – cope with the death of the fourth member of their group. When faced with the reality that life is short, these women pivot, and alter their current paths, by way of a series of impulsive, ill-advised and self-indulgent decisions. These pivots will strengthen their bond and prove it’s never too late to screw up your life in the pursuit of happiness.

The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window

For Anna, every day is the same. She sits with her wine, staring out the window, watching life go by without her. But when a handsome neighbor moves in across the street, Anna starts to see a light at the end of the tunnel. That is until she witnesses a gruesome murder… Or did she?

Scenes from a Marriage

A chronicle of the many years of love and turmoil that bind a contemporary American couple, tracking their relationship as it progresses through a number of successive stages: matrimony, parenthood, infidelity, divorce and subsequent partnerships.

Pam & Tommy

This comedic series takes on the true story behind the release of the first ever viral video in history — the sex tape of Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee.

Fatal Attraction

An affair threatens the lives of Dan Gallagher and his wife, Beth, in this deep-dive reimagining of the classic psychosexual thriller which explores fatal attraction and the timeless themes of marriage and infidelity through the lens of modern attitudes toward strong women, personality disorders and coercive control.

Further Tales of the City

Residents of 28 Barbary Lane continue to navigate human life, flawed love, and blind hope in 1980's San Francisco.

More Tales of the City

Lonely inhabitants at 28 Barbary Lane search for love and identity, turning to each other in the hope of finding happiness in San Francisco.

Open House: The Great Sex Experiment

Committed couples come to a luxury retreat to explore whether having open relationships and sex with other people can strengthen their bond.

Uncoupled

Michael thought his life was perfect until his husband blindsided him by walking out after 17 years. Michael has to confront two nightmares — losing his soulmate and suddenly finding himself a single gay man in his mid-40s.

Tales of the City

Mary Ann Singleton, a naïve young secretary from the mid-west, tumbles head first into the colorful world of San Francisco, where carefree chaos revolves around the funky old apartment house at 28 Barbary Lane.

The Real Love Boat

Inspired by the long-running scripted classic about vacationers aboard a luxury Princess Cruises ship, it’s full-steam ahead on CBS for The Real Love Boat. And it’s all about romance, chronicling the adventures of real-life singles brought together for a Mediterranean voyage in search of The One. Assuming they navigate the compatibility and chemistry challenges along the way, only one lucky couple will win a cash bounty and ultimate luxury Princess Cruise. The Real Love Boat —come aboard, they’re expecting you.

Volver a caer

Ana travels to San Gabriel to help her brother with her marriage. Upon arrival she meets Vico, a young musician with whom she seems destined to meet.

The Couple Next Door

Evie and Pete move into an upscale neighborhood and find themselves in a world of curtain twitching and status anxiety. They find friendship in the shape of the couple next door, alpha traffic cop Danny and his wife, glamorous yoga instructor Becka, but after Danny and Evie share a passionate night together there is trouble ahead.

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