15 Best Shows Like Big Little Lies And Little Fires Everywhere Update 04/2024

Shows Like Big Little Lies And Little Fires Everywhere

The HBO drama Big Little Lies has people talking nonstop. These other TV shows are well worth your attention and time spent in front of the TV.

Hugely popular on television right now, Big Little Lies has become a household name. Following five different women and their families in a wealthy California society, the first season was critically acclaimed. A murder occurs in the middle of the story as the characters deal with their tumultuous and often dark personal lives.

With Meryl Streep joining the already impressive cast in Season 2, the intrigue and drama only get more intense. The show is incredibly addictive, delving deeper and deeper into this beautiful but disturbed society with each new episode. For those who like the show and want more of it, there are similar shows to choose from.

Kristen Palamara made the following update on January 5th, 2021:

With a strong female cast, Big Little Lies has a compelling story about four women who form a bond that will last the rest of their lives. A close-knit community forms allegiances and rumors quickly go out of control on the show, which has a lot of secrets. To our list of shows like Big Little Lies, we’ve added a few more, each with a similar cast of actors and memorable characters and riveting drama, all of which combine to make for some truly unmissable television.

1. Succession

Succession

As a result of all the in-house feuding and family plotting, the Roys find themselves at the center of the Succession series. Season two sees alliances form both within and outside the family, and the audience is never quite sure who to believe.

Like Big Little Lies, this show depicts a unique world full of secrets and distrust while also revealing shocking information at various points throughout.

2. 14 This Is Us

As the Pearson family’s lives shift between the past, present, and the future, the show This Is Usdoes the same. When it comes to their father’s past life with them, the family presents a perfect front, but the show is full of intrigue and drama.

This Is Us has a lot in common with Big Little Lies in that the characters like to keep secrets from each other and take sides when disagreements arise in the family.

3. Show Me A Hero

Show Me A Hero

Show Me a Hero, an HBO miniseries based on true events, depicts the introduction of public housing in a small New York town during the 1970s. Those living in the neighborhood fight against a new law mandating the construction of public housing, which they believe must be implemented by the Mayor of the town, played by Oscar Isaac.

As the series progresses, the stakes rise, making it a lot like Big Little Lies in terms of ugliness and overwhelmingness.

4. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel revolves around a woman named Midge Maisel who, in the 1950s, was determined to pursue her dream of being a stand-up comedian despite the fact that it was a male-dominated field. After finding out that her husband was having an affair with another woman, she

Midge is a self-starter who gets a job at a department store and works on her stand-up comedy routine despite the criticism she receives. In the Big Little Lies universe, Midge would be a great addition to the cast of strong, independent women.

5. Fleabag

Fleabag

A tragic event occurs in Fleabag’s life, and she must navigate it while dealing with self-destructive behavior. She has a dry, witty sense of humor and doesn’t hold back when it comes to speaking her mind. She has an unusual relationship with her father and godmother, and she has an interesting yet deeply caring relationship with her sister.

With its focus on female relationships, plot twists, and well-developed female characters, Big Little Lies feels a lot like Big Little Lies.

6. Pretty Little Liars

The fact that Pretty Little Liars is on this list doesn’t come from the show’s confusingly similar title. According to the books and television series, this Freeform show was about a group of popular high school girls whose friendship fell apart when their leader vanished. However, after being contacted by an enigmatic figure, they run the risk of their most sinister secrets being revealed.

Despite the fact that both shows are original, there are many points of convergence between them. Fans of Big Little Lies will enjoy these adaptations for a variety of reasons, including the strong female protagonists and the sinister undertones.

7. Jessica Jones

Jessica Jones
Marvel’s Jessica Jones

Despite the fact that Jessica Jones fits neatly into the superhero genre, there is a lot more going on than meets the eye. Krysten Ritter played the titular private investigator with superhuman strength in the Netflix series. However, her one-woman show was far superior to her role in Netflix’s The Defenders.

Jones is a damaged hero who can match wits with just about anyone else in the Marvel universe, despite her superhuman strength. The series, like Big Little Lies, depicts abuse and the aftereffects of such an experience in some very intense places.

8. The O.C

Big Little Lies isn’t the first show to capitalize on the general interest in affluent lifestyles. There was a Fox drama series called The O.C. about a troubled young man who was adopted by a wealthy family in Orange County, California, after his mother and father had been killed in a car accident.

To depict the excesses of a wealthy lifestyle as well as the seedier side of such a society was an absolute joy for the show. The O.C. featured a slew of crimes, scandals, and betrayals. Much like Big Little Lies, it could appeal to the same demographic despite being a soap opera on prime time.

9. The Handmaid’s Tale

Based on Margaret Atwood’s best-selling novel of the same name, The Handmaid’s Tale is a critically acclaimed Hulu series. A dystopian future in which women are only allowed to have children is the setting for this story. The wealthy men of society carry their children on the backs of selected Handmaidens.

While the show’s disturbing nature may seem fanciful, it does address a number of issues and abuses that are unfortunately all too real in today’s world. This show, like Big Little Lies, aims to tell the hard truths about how society mistreats women.

10. Desperate Housewives

Desperate Housewives

Another prime-time soap opera is Desperate Housewives. Each of the women in the series has a dark secret, despite living in a seemingly idyllic suburban community. Similarly to Big Little Lies, the story begins with a murder that seems to have no explanation.

Although Desperate Housewives is a lot lighter and zanier than the majority of the other shows on this list, it has an air of Big Little Lies about it. The women take center stage in their idyllic neighborhood, and they are the subject of all the neighborhood’s salacious intrigue.

 11. Killing Eve

On the current television landscape, Killing Eve is one of the most compelling shows to watch. The second season of this darkly comedic tale of an MI6 agent on the trail of a female assassin has just concluded. They become enamored with each other through their dangerous cat-and-mouse game.

It’s a fast-paced thrill-ride in comparison to Big Little Lies, which takes place in a more evocative and slower-paced setting. However, there are some striking similarities in the way they portray the modern woman’s life, including the potentially dangerous relationships she finds herself in as well as murder.

12. Revenge

Big Little Lies does an excellent job of illuminating the murky underbelly of society’s elite. There is no such thing as good or evil; everyone is just a flawed human being trying to do the best they can given the circumstances. The focus of Revenge is on the villainy of the rich and powerful, and the show has a great time with it.

The story revolves around a young woman who wants to infiltrate the wealthy Hamptons elite in order to exact vengeance on those who murdered her father and framed him. This series, too, is full of mysteries. It delves into the world of sex, murder, and deception that surrounds these wealthy individuals.

13. Veronica Mars

Veronica Mars

Veronica Mars has developed such a devoted fan base that it defies all attempts to keep it off the air. Veronica Mars returned for a movie after being canceled at the end of its third season in 2007, and now a fourth season is premiering.

The show centers on Kristen Bell, a young private investigator who works in an affluent California town to solve mysteries. It is through her investigations that she is able to learn about the town’s most dangerous secrets. Darker themes from Veronica’s past are also explored in the show.

14. Sharp Objects

In recent years, the storytelling possibilities of television have drawn some incredible talent, as Big Little Lies demonstrates. The miniseries Sharp Objects, starring Amy Adams and based on the novel by Gillian Flynn, is another excellent example. Big Little Lies director Jean-Marc Vallée also directs this episode.

A reporter with a troubled past returns to her hometown to look into the deaths of two young girls. The show follows Adams as she investigates the case. Even though these two shows are vastly different, their focus on a family’s darkest secrets and the aesthetic of Vallée’s direction make them feel like a single production.

15. The Affair

The Affair

After a murder investigation, Big Little Lies goes back in time to show how these characters came to be in this position. A man from a wealthy family has an affair with a troubled girl, and their relationship leads to a murder in The Affair, which uses a similar technique.

When the same events are told from the perspectives of different people, inconsistencies and lies are revealed. It’s hard not to see echoes of Big Little Lies in the family drama surrounding the affair and the subsequent drama that ensues as a result of it.

Lists

a lot of small lies

Senior Screen Rant Writer Colin McCormick has been with the company since 2019 and is proud to be a part of the team. Colin also writes for Game Rant, where he contributes news, features, and reviews. Since the first time he saw The Lion King in a theater, Colin has had a deep love and obsession for movies. Colin also watches a lot of TV, so he’s well-versed in both movies and shows. While he is always on the lookout for new projects, he has a particular fondness for crime films with a dark sense of humor, a la Elmore Leonard, one of his favorite writers.