Best tv shows like Pretty Little Liars
Last updated March 2024
Looking for tv shows like Pretty Little Liars? Share your knowledge to direct others discover tv series and films you've already seen that might suit them too. Boost the cohort of people recommending videos to one another. We value your contribution!
Plot Summary:
Based on the Pretty Little Liars series of young adult novels by Sara Shepard, the series follows the lives of four girls — Spencer, Hanna, Aria, and Emily — whose clique falls apart after the disappearance of their queen bee, Alison. One year later, they begin receiving messages from someone using the name "A" who threatens to expose their secrets — including long-hidden ones they thought only Alison knew.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 176000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 44 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, serious, realistic, teen, soap opera, slasher, saga, relaxing, thrilling, teen horror
Best tv shows and movies like Pretty Little Liars (2010):
Similar in 80%
Dani Who? (2019)
Plot Summary:
The disappearance of a girl in the fictitious town of San Gregorio brings together a group of classmates who thought the only thing they had in common was their school. A network of lies, a covert disappearance and a possible assassination unleash the suspense. Soon, the classmates will become inseparable accomplices and will discover that they have more in common than they thought, including special abilities. This will lead them to believe that they may not be of this world, and that their history hides even darker and deeper secrets than they ever imagined.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 129
Genere: Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: Mexico
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspenseful, detective
![blank](http://wpfc.ml/b.gif)
Similar in 80%
Famous in Love (2017)
Plot Summary:
Ordinary college student Paige gets her big break after auditioning for the starring role in a Hollywood blockbuster. She must now navigate her new star-studded life and the highs and lows that come with being the new It Girl in town as well as balancing her college workload.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 42 min
Plot tags: romantic, light, sexy, realistic, talky, semi serious
Similar in 89%
Switched at Birth (2011)
Plot Summary:
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.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 26000
Genere: Drama, Family, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, sentimental, captivating, realistic, teen, light, nostalgic
Similar in 81%
Mistresses (2013)
Plot Summary:
Meet Savi, a successful career woman working toward the next phase in her life -- both professional and personal -- simultaneously bucking for partner at her law firm while she and her husband, Harry, try to start a family of their own. Savi's free-spirited and capricious baby sister, Josselyn, couldn't be more different - living single, serial dating and partying, and regularly leaning on her big sister along the way. Their common best friend, April, a recent widow and mother of two, is rebuilding her life after tragedy and learning to move forward, with the support and guidance of her closest girlfriends. And friend Karen, a successful therapist with her own practice, reconnects with the girls after her involvement in a complicated relationship with a patient goes far too deep.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 43 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, tense, sexy, dramatic, soap opera, melancholic
![blank](http://wpfc.ml/b.gif)
Similar in 89%
East Los High (2013)
Plot Summary:
East Los High is not your typical high school. Dance, sex, romance, and mystery are at the heart of this inner city school in East LA where two teenage cousins—Jessie, a 16-year-old virgin and Maya, a troubled runaway with a violent past —fall in love with Jacob, a popular football player. From this forbidden love triangle, Maya, Jessie and Jacob, along with their close friends must face true-to-life decisions during a single dramatic and breath-taking year that will mark their lives forever.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 855
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 26 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic, exciting, melancholic, suspense, suspenseful
Similar in 83%
Devious Maids (2013)
Plot Summary:
The series centers on four Latina maids working in the homes of Beverly Hills’ wealthiest and most powerful families, and a newcomer who made it personal after a maid was murdered and determined to uncover the truth behind her demise, and in the process become an ally in their lives.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 25000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: exciting, captivating, humorous, entertaining, enigmatic, tense, offbeat, soap opera, deep
Similar in 79%
The Lying Game (2011)
Plot Summary:
Emma, a kind-hearted foster kid who can't catch a break, finds out she has an identical twin sister, Sutton, who - unlike Emma - was adopted by wealthy parents and is seemingly living an ideal life. After their initial meeting, Sutton talks Emma into stepping into her life for a few days while she pursues a lead on their birth mother. Initially excited to do this favor for her sister, Emma soon learns that Sutton has gone missing and could be in trouble. Now, Emma must decide whether to come clean to Sutton's family and risk her own safety in the hope of uncovering her twin sister's true whereabouts, along with the truth about why they were separated in the first place.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 44 min
Plot tags: realistic, suspenseful, teen, serious
![blank](http://wpfc.ml/b.gif)
Similar in 82%
The Secret Circle (2011)
Plot Summary:
After her mother dies in a fire, Cassie Blake moves in with her grandmother in the beautiful small town of Chance Harbor, Washington. As Cassie gets to know her high school classmates, including sweet-natured Diana and her boyfriend Adam, brooding loner Nick, mean-girl Faye and her sidekick Melissa, strange and frightening things begin to happen. They are all descended from powerful witches, and they've been waiting for Cassie to join them and complete a new generation of the Secret Circle. What Cassie and the others don't yet know is that darker powers are at play, powers that might be linked to the adults in the town - and that Cassie's mother's death might not have been an accident.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 48000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Romance
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: captivating, mysterious, enigmatic, supernatural thriller, exciting, dark, juvenile, teen, serious, nostalgic
Similar in 77%
Gossip Girl (2021)
Plot Summary:
Eight years after the original website went dark, a new generation of New York private school teens are introduced to the social surveillance of Gossip Girl.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: enigmatic, realistic, stylized, semi serious, intense, queer cinema
![blank](http://wpfc.ml/b.gif)
Similar in 81%
One Tree Hill (2003)
Plot Summary:
Set in the fictional small town of Tree Hill, North Carolina, this teen-driven drama tells the story of two half brothers, who 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. Until now, Dan has managed to keep his two sons far from each other. But the past and present collide sharply when Tree Hill's basketball coach recruits Lucas for his team, much to the chagrin of Nathan and Daddy Dan. And the siblings natural rivalry only intensifies when they set their sights on the same girl, Peyton Sawyer. The residue of the past lingers far into the future for the residents of Tree Hill, even as a new generation is rising. Tree Hill follows the lives and loves of these two brothers, their friends and their family as they navigate high school, marriage, and finally... adulthood.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 86000
Genere: Drama, Romance, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, realistic, touching, teen, soap opera, feel good, sweet, entertaining, action adventure
Similar in 84%
Twisted (2013)
Plot Summary:
A one-hour mystery full of twists and turns that follows Danny Desai, a charismatic 16-year-old with a troubled past who returns to his hometown after spending five years in juvenile detention. Immediately branded an outcast, Danny attempts to reconnect with his two childhood best friends, Jo and Lacey. But when a fellow student is found dead in her home, Danny instantly becomes the prime suspect and town spirals into a frenzy of suspicion and mystery. Jo and Lacey must decide if their childhood friend is unforgivable, or if he's really a victim being persecuted for his own twisted secrets.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, serious, enigmatic, suspense, detective, teen, realistic, odd
Similar in 75%
The Carrie Diaries (2013)
Plot Summary:
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.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 29000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 42 min
Plot tags: exciting, captivating, semi serious, humorous, erotic, teen, realistic, light, retro
![blank](http://wpfc.ml/b.gif)
Similar in 81%
The O.C. (2003)
Plot Summary:
The series centers on Ryan Atwood, a troubled youth from a broken home who is adopted by the wealthy and philanthropic Sandy and Kirsten Cohen. Ryan and his surrogate brother Seth, a socially awkward yet quick-witted teenager, deal with life as outsiders in the high-class world of Newport Beach. Ryan and Seth spend much time navigating their relationships with girl-next-door Marissa Cooper, Seth's childhood crush Summer Roberts, and the fast-talking loner Taylor Townsend. Story lines deal with the culture clash between the idealistic Cohen family and the shallow, materialistic, and closed-minded community in which they reside. The series includes elements of postmodernism, and functions as a mixture of melodrama and comedy.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 95000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 44 min
Plot tags: touching, soap opera, witty, teen, exciting, entertaining, sad, anime, serious, realistic
Similar in 76%
90210 (2008)
Plot Summary:
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.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 46000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: realistic, romantic, captivating, teen, humorous, entertaining, serious, sentimental, telenovela, teen comedy
Similar in 90%
Ravenswood (2013)
Plot Summary:
Ravenswood is a spin-off of Pretty Little Liars set in Ravenswood, a town near Rosewood. The town has been suffering from a curse for generations. Five strangers suddenly feel connected by this fatal curse and feel the need to dig in the town's mysterious and horrible history before it's to late for each one of them.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 43 min
Plot tags: realistic, suspenseful, enigmatic, anthology
Similar in 80%
Revenge (2011)
Plot Summary:
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.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 124000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 44 min
Plot tags: captivating, serious, soap opera, realistic, suspenseful, thrilling, exciting, deep, psychological, psychological thriller
Similar in 82%
Scream: The TV Series (2015)
Plot Summary:
What starts as a YouTube video going viral, soon leads to problems for the teenagers of Lakewood and serves as the catalyst for a murder that opens up a window to the town's troubled past. Everyone has secrets. Everyone tells lies. Everyone is fair game.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 44000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: slasher, scary, suspenseful, semi serious, realistic, anthology, horror comedy, spooky, psychological, sitcom
Similar in 89%
T@gged (2016)
Plot Summary:
t@gged is a modern day thriller that explores the terrifying risks of social media in a world of anonymity.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 18 min
Plot tags: suspense, suspenseful, tense, enigmatic, captivating, disturbing, neurotic, psychological thriller
Similar in 77%
Riverdale (2017)
Plot Summary:
Set in the present, the series offers a bold, subversive take on Archie, Betty, Veronica and their friends, exploring the surreality of small-town life, the darkness and weirdness bubbling beneath Riverdale’s wholesome facade.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 153000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: captivating, suspenseful, tense, biting, surprise ending, suspense, dramatic, intense, enigmatic, bleak
Similar in 76%
Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists (2019)
Plot Summary:
In Beacon Heights, a seemingly perfect town, a group of three college friends struggle with the stress of being overachievers. In the aftermath of the town’s first murder, each Perfectionist hides behind a secret, a lie and an alibi.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: surprise ending, tense, enigmatic, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 87%
Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin (2022)
Plot Summary:
Twenty years ago, a series of tragic events almost ripped the blue-collar town of Millwood apart. Now, in the present day, a group of disparate teen girls finds themselves tormented by an unknown Assailant and made to pay for the secret sin their parents committed two decades ago, as well as their own.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration:
Plot tags: slasher, tense, captivating, suspense, disturbing, thrilling
Similar in 75%
Gossip Girl (2007)
Plot Summary:
Gossip Girl is an American teen drama television series based on the book series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series, created by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, originally ran on The CW for six seasons from September 19, 2007 to December 17, 2012. Narrated by the omniscient blogger "Gossip Girl," voiced by Kristen Bell, the series revolves around the lives of privileged young adults on Manhattan's Upper East Side in New York City.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 189000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 42 min
Plot tags: romantic, soap opera, talky, stylized, serious, witty, teen, erotic, sexy, intellectual
Similar in 75%
Faking It (2014)
Plot Summary:
A romantic comedy about two best friends who love each other -- in slightly different ways. After numerous failed attempts to become popular, the girls are mistakenly outed as lesbians, which launches them to instant celebrity status. Seduced by their newfound fame, Karma and Amy decide to keep up their romantic ruse.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 21 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, sitcom, teen, light, disturbing, not serious, teen comedy, queer cinema
Similar in 88%
Desperate Housewives (2004)
Plot Summary:
Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama-mystery series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. It aired Sundays at 9 P.M. Eastern/8 P.M. Central, on ABC from October 3, 2004, until May 13, 2012. Executive producer Cherry served as showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season included Bob Daily, George W. Perkins, John Pardee, Joey Murphy, David Grossman, and Larry Shaw. The main setting of the show was Wisteria Lane, a street in the fictional American town of 'Fairview' in the fictional 'Eagle State'. The show followed the lives of a group of women as seen through the eyes of a dead neighbor who committed suicide in the very first episode. The storyline covers thirteen years of the women's lives over eight seasons, set between the years 2004–2008, and later 2013–2017. They worked through domestic struggles and family life, while facing the secrets, crimes and mysteries hidden behind the doors of their — at the surface — beautiful and seemingly perfect suburban neighborhood. The show featured an ensemble cast, headed by Teri Hatcher as Susan Mayer, Felicity Huffman as Lynette Scavo, Marcia Cross as Bree Van de Kamp, and Eva Longoria as Gabrielle Solis. Brenda Strong narrated the show as the deceased Mary Alice Young, appearing sporadically in flashbacks or dream sequences.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 137000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Mystery, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: witty, humorous, sexy, soap opera, sexual, stylized, exciting, cynical, biting, cliffhanger
Similar in 87%
13 Reasons Why (2017)
Plot Summary:
After a teenage girl's perplexing suicide, a classmate receives a series of tapes that unravel the mystery of her tragic choice.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 311000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: emotional, psychological, thought provoking, serious, suspenseful, dramatic, realistic, teen, tragic ending, exciting
Similar in 88%
The Originals (2013)
Plot Summary:
A spin-off from The Vampire Diaries and set in New Orleans, The Originals centers on the Mikaelson siblings, otherwise known as the world's original vampires: Klaus, Elijah, and Rebekah. Now Klaus must take down his protégé, Marcel, who is now in charge of New Orleans, in order to re-take his city, as he originally built New Orleans. Klaus departed from the city after being chased down by his father Mikael, while it was being constructed and Marcel took charge. As Klaus has returned after many years, his ego has provoked him to become the king of the city. "Every King needs an heir" says Klaus, accepting the unborn child. The child is a first to be born to a hybrid and a werewolf.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 145000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: exciting, tense, captivating, stylized, gothic, supernatural thriller, gloomy, humorous, bloody, grindhouse
Similar in 87%
The Vampire Diaries (2009)
Plot Summary:
The story of two vampire brothers obsessed with the same girl, who bears a striking resemblance to the beautiful but ruthless vampire they knew and loved in 1864.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 343000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 43 min
Plot tags: romantic, suspenseful, stylized, teen, gothic, sexy, bloody, disturbing, serious, humorous
Similar in 87%
Teen Wolf (2011)
Plot Summary:
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.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 160000
Genere: Action, Drama, Fantasy, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 41 min
Plot tags: touching, suspenseful, serious, humorous, atmospheric, semi serious, teen, supernatural thriller, dread, juvenile
Similar in 87%
House of Anubis (2011)
Plot Summary:
House of Anubis is a jointly Nickelodeon British, American, and Belgian mystery television series based on the Dutch-Belgian television series Het Huis Anubis aired in the Netherlands and Belgium. The series was created by Hans Bourlon and Gert Verhulst and premiered on Nickelodeon on New Year's Day 2011 in the United States and on 25 February 2011 in the United Kingdom. The series is the first Nickelodeon series to be filmed overseas, the first soap opera created by Nickelodeon and the channel's first soap opera aimed at children and teenagers. As of 25 February, the program will be broadcast on TeenNick. The show has since concluded its third season and as of 28 September 2013 Nickelodeon has not announced a fourth season.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 15 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, light, semi serious, humorous, enigmatic, captivating, slasher, teen, telenovela
Similar in 87%
Bates Motel (2013)
Plot Summary:
A "contemporary prequel" to the 1960 film Psycho, depicting the life of Norman Bates and his mother Norma prior to the events portrayed in Hitchcock's film, albeit in a different fictional town and in a modern setting. The series begins after the death of Norma's husband, when she purchases a motel located in a coastal Oregon town so she and Norman can start a new life.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 115000
Genere: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, suspenseful, tense, psychological, serious, slasher, psychological thriller, spooky, realistic, thrilling