Top 250 Tv Shows Like The Bench
He has a life, he isn't proud of, and a past that he doesn't want to remember.
A list of the best tv shows similar to The Bench. If you liked The Bench then you may also like: This Is Us, Boy Swallows Universe, Rick and Morty, Friends, Euphoria and many more great tv shows featured on this list.
Kaj is a stubborn man with a great deal of pride. The former chef lives in a council flat. He has wasted his life and is now on a council job training scheme for the long-term unemployed, where he refuses to let the foreman of the activation project boss him about. When Kaj's daughter, with whom he has not been in touch for nineteen years, moves into the same council estate on the run from her violent husband, a change comes over Kaj. His initial instinct is to avoid her, but by chance he ends up helping to look after Jonas, her six-year-old son. For the first time for years Kaj need not survive on his own devices. Now he has responsibilities and a family of his own.
The Bench
Boy Swallows Universe
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.
Rick and Morty
Rick is a mentally-unbalanced but scientifically gifted old man who has recently reconnected with his family. He spends most of his time involving his young grandson Morty in dangerous, outlandish adventures throughout space and alternate universes. Compounded with Morty's already unstable family life, these events cause Morty much distress at home and school.
Shameless
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.
2 Broke Girls
Comedy about the unlikely friendship that develops between two very different young women who meet waitressing at a diner in trendy Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and form a bond over one day owning their own successful cupcake business. Only one thing stands in their way – they’re broke.
All American
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.
Big Little Lies
The tale of three mothers of first graders whose apparently perfect lives unravel to the point of murder.
Blossom
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.
The Bold and the Beautiful
Continuing drama combining romance and intrigue set against the glittering backdrop of Beverly Hills and the American fashion industry.
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.
The Casagrandes
The Casagrandes tells the story of Ronnie Anne, an independent, adventurous, 11-year-old who explores city life with her big, loving, multi-generational Mexican-American family.
Cory in the House
It's a brand new life for Cory Baxter when his dad, Victor, becomes the personal chef to the President of the United States. Cory's entrepreneurial scheming reaches new heights as he mingles amongst high-powered Washington D.C. elite.
The Cosby Show
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.
Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood
The life of 4-year-old Daniel Tiger and his friends as they learn fun and practical strategies and skills necessary for growing and learning.
Dawson's Creek
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.
Downton Abbey
A chronicle of the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants in the post-Edwardian era—with great events in history having an effect on their lives and on the British social hierarchy.
EastEnders
The everyday lives of working-class residents of Albert Square, a traditional Victorian square of terrace houses surrounding a park in the East End of London's Walford borough.
Family Matters
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.
Father Knows Best
Family man Jim Anderson copes with the everyday problems among his wife Margaret and their three children as they experience day-to-day changes.
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.
George Lopez
George raises daughter Carmen and dyslexic son Max with his wife Angie, after surviving a miserable, dysfunctional childhood at the hands of his neglectful alcoholic mother Benny.
The Goldbergs
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.
Grace Under Fire
Grace Kelly is a tough woman with kids to raise. A recently divorced recovering alcoholic, Grace struggles with the pressures of being a single mother supporting three children. Grace doesn't always handle situations with, well, grace, but she does get results.
Growing Pains
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.
Intervention
People whose uncontrollable addiction to drugs, alcohol or compulsive behavior has brought them to the brink of destruction and has devastated their family and friends are presented with a life-changing opportunity of intervention and rehab. Each addict must confront their darkest demons in order to begin their journey to recovery in the hopes that they can turn their lives around before it’s too late.
Kingdom
A raw family drama set against the world of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) in Venice, California. Alvey Kulina owns Navy St. MMA with the help of his girlfriend Lisa Prince. He is willing to go through extraordinary means to make sure his fighters are taken care of, but all of this responsibility comes at a steep price. He has complicated relationships with both of his sons, Jay and Nate, who are both struggling with their own identities and places within Alvey’s life and gym.
Last of the Summer Wine
Unencumbered by wives, jobs or any other responsibilities, three senior citizens who've never really grown up explore their world in the Yorkshire Dales. They spend their days speculating about their fellow townsfolk and thinking up adventures not usually favored by the elderly. Last of the Summer Wine premiered as an episode of Comedy Playhouse in 1973. The show ran for 295 episodes until 2010. It is the longest running comedy Britain has produced and the longest running sitcom in the world.
Life Unexpected
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.
Made for Love
Thirty-something Hazel Green tries to escape a suffocating marriage — until she realizes her tech billionaire husband has implanted a revolutionary tracking device, the Made for Love, in her brain.
Man About the House
Sitcom exploring the trials and tribulations created by one man and two women flat-sharing in the 70s.
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.
Minder
This comedy drama series featured Terry McCann, a former boxer with a conviction for G.B.H., and Arthur Daley, a second-hand car dealer with an eye for a nice little earner. Alongside his many business ventures, Arthur would regularly hire Terry out as a minder or bodyguard, later replaced by nephew, Ray Daley.
Mom
Aan irreverent and outrageous take on true family love‐and dysfunction. Newly sober single mom Christy struggles to raise two children in a world full of temptations and pitfalls. Testing her sobriety is her formerly estranged mother, now back in Christy's life and eager to share passive-aggressive insights into her daughter's many mistakes.
My Family
Ben Harper is a moderately successful family man and dentist. He is also undergoing a mid-life crisis and trying to cope with the bizarre reality of raising teenage children. His wife Susan seems quite happy, enjoys her job as a London tour guide, however at home her ability to find her way around a cookbook or pantry is less successful. Their three children Nick, Janey, and Michael are as different as chalk and cheese. Nick (19) is on his gap year, but doesn't get much further than the sofa or job centre, Janey is as sharp as a tack and 16 going on 25, while Michael is a very bright, computer-nerdish 12 year old who is just discovering girls.
One Tree Hill
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.
Pride and Prejudice
Set in England in the early 19th century, Pride and Prejudice tells the story of Mr and Mrs Bennet's five unmarried daughters after the rich and eligible Mr Bingley and his status-conscious friend, Mr Darcy, have moved into their neighbourhood. While Bingley takes an immediate liking to the eldest Bennet daughter, Jane, Darcy has difficulty adapting to local society and repeatedly clashes with the second-eldest Bennet daughter, Elizabeth.
Punky Brewster
An abandoned waif and her dog are taken in by a cranky apartment manager who becomes her guardian in this family-friendly sitcom.
The Secret Life of the American Teenager
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.
Step by Step
Step by Step is an American television sitcom with two single parents, who spontaneously get married after meeting one another during a vacation, resulting in them becoming the heads of a large blended family
Till Death Us Do Part
Following the chronicles of the East End working-class Garnett family, headed by patriarch Alf Garnett, a reactionary working-class man who holds racist and anti-socialist views.
Twin Peaks
The body of Laura Palmer is washed up on a beach near the small Washington state town of Twin Peaks. FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper is called in to investigate her strange demise only to uncover a web of mystery that ultimately leads him deep into the heart of the surrounding woodland and his very own soul.
The Shining
A new caretaker moves with his family into the mysterious Overlook Hotel for the winter.
Two and a Half Men
A hedonistic jingle writer's free-wheeling life comes to an abrupt halt when his brother and 10-year-old nephew move into his beach-front house.
2Point4 Children
They're just your average family. Stressed mum Bill, daft dad Ben, and two troublesome teens. Plus just a few crazy ideas, escapades and mishaps. The classic 90s sitcom.
The Book of Daniel
Rev. Daniel Webster, an unconventional Episcopalian priest who not only believes in Jesus, but actually sees him and discusses life with him, is challenged on many levels as he struggles to be a good husband, father and minister, while navigating an often rocky relationship with the church hierarchy.
It's All Relative
Bobby's a bartender and the only son of gregarious, salt-of-the-earth Irish Catholic parents from Boston. His fiancée, Liz, is a toney Harvard student and she's Protestant (no, that's not the problem). Liz has two dads, not one, and they're a worldly pair of well-heeled gay men.
Rude Awakening
An alcoholic former soap opera actress joins AA and tries to stay sober while dealing with an overbearing family and romantic entanglements.
In Sickness and in Health
Sequel to 'Till Death Us Do Part' with the bad tempered Alf Garnett, who has not mellowed with the years and is as bigoted as ever.
Bottom
Richie Richard (socially awkward, sexually inexperienced) and Eddie Hitler (carefree alcoholic ) are two social outcasts living on the dole. Trapped together in a squalid flat in Hammersmith, London they are perpetually skint, bored and sexually frustrated. They spend their days scheming, bickering, and being nasty and sadistic to each other.
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.
Brideshead Revisited
Charles Ryder, an agnostic man, becomes involved with members of the Flytes, a Catholic family of aristocrats, over the course of several years between the two world wars.
Les Bougon, c'est aussi ça la vie !
They’re dirty, vulgar, dishonest, grouchy, uncultured. They’re also a big, happy family. The Bougon are a joyous bunch of scoundrels who live on the margins of society, doing whatever it takes to scam their way through life, thinking up new schemes for avoiding work, and never conforming to the system.
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.
Lark Rise to Candleford
Set in the small hamlet of Lark Rise and the wealthier neighbouring market town, Candleford, the series chronicles the daily lives of farm-workers, craftsmen and gentry at the end of the 19th Century. Lark Rise to Candleford is a love letter to a vanished corner of rural England and a heart-warming drama series teeming with wit, wisdom and romance.
Traffik
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.
Happily Divorced
After eighteen years of marital life, Fran is shocked when her husband reveals that he is gay. Living under the same roof, the two of them date various men.
Political Animals
Former first lady and current Secretary of State Elaine Barrish Hammond try to keep her family together while simultaneously dealing with crises of the State Department and fending off the hungry DC journalist who is bent on destroying her career.
Hostages
A high-octane suspense drama that centers on Dr. Ellen Sanders, a premier surgeon thrust into a chilling political conspiracy when she and her family are held captive in their home by rogue FBI Agent Duncan Carlisle, a desperate man doing the wrong thing for the right reasons, who orders Dr. Sanders to assassinate the President when she operates on him.
WPC 56
Drama following WPC Gina Dawson, the first Woman Police Constable to join Brinford Constabulary, a fictional police force in the West Midlands, in 1956. The show focuses on WPC Gina Dawson's struggle to gain acceptance in the male-dominated police station whilst having to deal with the sexist attitudes that were commonplace at the time.
Benefits Street
This documentary series reveals the reality of life on benefits, as the residents of one of Britain's most benefit-dependent streets invite cameras into their tight-knit community
The Furchester Hotel
Welcome to this (nearly) world-class hotel run by (incompetent) Muppets. They are joined by Elmo and the Cookie Monster (guest reader on Bedtime Stories) who has landed his dream job as a waiter.
Schitt's Creek
Formerly filthy rich video store magnate Johnny Rose, his soap star wife Moira, and their two kids, über-hipster son David and socialite daughter Alexis, suddenly find themselves broke and forced to live in Schitt's Creek, a small depressing town they once bought as a joke.
Animal Kingdom
17-year-old Joshua "J" Cody moves in with his freewheeling relatives in their Southern California beach town after his mother dies of a heroin overdose. Headed by boot-tough matriarch Janine "Smurf" Cody and her right-hand Baz, who runs the business and calls the shots, the clan also consists of Pope, the oldest and most dangerous of the Cody boys; Craig, the tough and fearless middle son; and Deran, the troubled, suspicious "baby" of the family.
Follow the Money
'Follow the Money' is a crime drama that explores what happens to people who are corrupted by greed and ambition. The series shows viewers the complex world of economic crime that takes place in banks, the stock exchange, and in boardrooms.
Feed the Beast
For two friends on the brink of losing everything, a dusty pipe dream of opening up an upscale restaurant in their hometown of the Bronx is all they have left to turn their lives around. Together, they take on the insanity of the New York restaurant world, and navigate its underbelly of petty criminals, corrupt officials and violent mobsters.
Girlfriends
After the dramatic and sudden death of Linda's husband Micky, childhood friends Linda, Sue and Gail find themselves back together again. Each has their own problems to face; from a looming divorce from the husband she still loves and the loss of a high-powered job through age discrimination, to juggling the endless responsibilities of their grandchildren and aging mothers.
Patrick Melrose
A critical and often humorous look at the upper class, tracking the protagonist's harrowing odyssey from a deeply traumatic childhood through adult substance abuse and, ultimately, toward recovery.
The Young Offenders
Coming-of-age drama about lovable rogues Conor and Jock as they navigate their awkward teenage years, hatching plans and adventures to help distract from their tough home lives and their inability to stay out of trouble at school.
Ordeal by Innocence
The black sheep of the Argyll family, Jack Argyll, was accused of murdering their matriarch a year ago, but now a man shows up on their doorstep claiming Jack’s innocence. The family must come to terms with this news and the fact that the real killer might still be among them.
The Haunting of Hill House
The Crains, a fractured family, confront haunting memories of their old home and the terrifying events that drove them from it.
Almost Home
Having a hard time making ends meet after her divorce, Millicent Torkelson moves her three children to Seattle, where she becomes the nanny to the spoiled Morgan children.
Let the Right One In
Mark and his 12-year-old daughter’s lives were changed forever 10 years earlier when she was turned into a vampire. Locked in at age 12, perhaps forever, Eleanor lives a closed-in life, able to go out only at night, while her father does his best to provide her with the minimal amount of human blood she needs to stay alive.
Double Life
Amanda and Alex have a fling going on as they find out that their parents are getting a divorce. To complicate things, Amanda's father has met a new woman and that woman is... Alex's mother.
When the Dust Settles
The equally important and heartbreaking story of eight strangers whose lives and fates intertwine after a tragic terrorist attack shocks Copenhagen.
Grow
When newly graduated stockbroker Adam discovers his father has died, he leaves his stressful life to return to his roots, taking on his father's role as the leader of a biker gang. At the same time, Adam's brother Jakob has left this messy family and taken a job with the police anti-drug department. This Danish thriller sees the two brothers ending up on a collision course with each other as they choose opposite paths in life.
Flatbush Misdemeanors
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.
Face to Face
Bjørn investigates the killing of his daughter. People around him believe she might have committed suicide, but he doesn't accept that. Both the stakes and the suspense rise relentlessly as Bjørn inches closer to the truth.
The Watcher
A family moves into their suburban dream home, only to discover they've inherited a nightmare.
A Friend of the Family
The harrowing true story of the Broberg family, whose daughter Jan was kidnapped multiple times over a period of years by a charismatic, obsessed family "friend." The Brobergs — devoted to their faith, family, and community — were utterly unprepared for the sophisticated tactics their neighbor used to exploit their vulnerabilities, drive them apart, and turn their daughter against them. This is the story of how their lives were permanently altered — and how they survived.
Justified: City Primeval
Having left the hollers of Kentucky 15 years ago, Raylan Givens is now based in Miami, balancing life as a marshal and part-time father of a 15-year-old girl. A chance encounter on a Florida highway sends him to Detroit and he crosses paths with Clement Mansell, aka The Oklahoma Wildman, a violent sociopath who’s already slipped through the fingers of Detroit’s finest once and wants to do so again.
Killer Sally
Interviews with friends, family and Sally McNeil herself chart a bodybuilding couple’s rocky marriage — and its shocking end in a Valentine's Day murder.
Extended Family
Jim and Julia are happily divorced, co-raising their kids while staying best friends and close confidants. But the situation gets hilariously more complicated when the owner of Jim's favorite sports team enters the picture... and wins Julia's heart.
This Is Us
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.