Best tv shows like This Is England '86
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
This Is England '86 is a 2010 British drama miniseries written by Shane Meadows and Jack Thorne, a spin-off from the 2006 film This Is England. Shaun has just finished his final exams and he realizes he is no longer a kid. It's mid 80's England, a World Cup summer, and the gang are back, looking for a laugh, a job, and something that resembles a future.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 47 min
Plot tags: emotional, sentimental, touching, disturbing, serious, realistic, gloomy, sexual, retro, rough
Best tv shows and movies like This Is England '86 (2010):
Similar in 78%
16 Years of Alcohol (2003)
Plot Summary:
16 Years of Alcohol is a 2003 drama film written and directed by Richard Jobson, based on his 1987 novel. The film is Jobson's first directorial effort, following a career as a television presenter on BSkyB and VH-1, and as the vocalist for the 1970s punk rock band The Skids.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: psychological, serious, touching, realistic, suspense, gloomy, freeze frame
Similar in 90%
Brassic (2019)
Plot Summary:
A group of working-class friends finding unconventional ways to win at life in northern suburbia. These lads have dealt, scammed, bribed and conned their way through adolescence, but now, on the brink of adulthood, their dealing and stealing is catching up with them and a whole load of trouble is heading their way.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 43 min
Plot tags: realistic, talky, humorous, funny, dark comedy
Similar in 84%
Boon (1986)
Plot Summary:
Boon is a British television drama and modern-day western series starring Michael Elphick, David Daker, and later Neil Morrissey. It was created by Jim Hill and Bill Stair and filmed by Central Television for ITV. It revolved around the life of a modern-day Lone Ranger and ex-firefighter, Ken Boon.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 983
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: detective, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 90%
Public Enemies (2012)
Plot Summary:
Drama exploring the relationship between a convicted murderer and his probation officer.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 757
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, captivating, realistic, detective, gloomy, masterpiece
Similar in 86%
This Is England '88 (2011)
Plot Summary:
Set during Christmas 1988, Lol is haunted by the devastating events that took place two and a half years before. She and Woody both find themselves struggling to cope with their lives without each other after he leaves the gang. Lol is carrying the burden of her guilt, whilst Woody is trying to build a domestic life with a new girlfriend and a potential promotion at work. Shaun has started drama college and, although still in a relationship with Smell, he has grown close to a girl performing in his Christmas play.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 70 min
Plot tags: touching, rough, bleak, serious, emotional, realistic, retro, gloomy, period drama, masterpiece
Similar in 78%
Gavin & Stacey (2007)
Plot Summary:
Gavin is an ordinary boy from Billericay, Essex. Stacey is an ordinary girl from Barry Island, South Wales. They’ve spoken on the phone every day at work for months but they’ve never actually met… until now.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 22000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 29 min
Plot tags: sitcom, sentimental, feel good, semi serious, touching, humorous, realistic, captivating, dark comedy, clever
Similar in 90%
This Is England '90 (2015)
Plot Summary:
Following on from This Is England ’86 and ‘88, this much-anticipated final chapter finds the gang embracing the rave scene of a new decade. But the utter hilarity and unadulterated joy of the second ‘summer of love’ soon gives way to a war torn winter. As the stark reality of life takes hold and, ultimately, takes life.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 55 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, emotional, realistic, retro, rough, bleak, gloomy, period drama
Similar in 77%
Cass (2008)
Plot Summary:
The incredible true story of how an orphaned Jamaican baby, adopted by an elderly white couple and brought up in an all white area of London, became one of the most feared and respected men in Britain.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: psychological, rough, serious, realistic, powerful, captivating
Similar in 84%
The Outcast (2015)
Plot Summary:
Set in post-war Britain, ten year-old Lewis Aldridge is grief-stricken as he struggles to cope with the death of his beloved mother. Left under the care of his emotionally distant father Gilbert, whom he barely knows and who quickly remarries, Lewis is forced to bury his feelings.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 179 min
Plot tags: touching, captivating, atmospheric, psychological, serious, realistic, gloomy, period drama
Similar in 90%
Shameless (2004)
Plot Summary:
The story of a young group of siblings pretty much abandoned by their parents, surviving by their wits - and humor - on a rough Manchester council estate. Whilst they won't admit it, they need help and find it in Steve, a young middle class lad who falls for Fiona, the oldest sibling, and increasingly finds himself drawn to this unconventional and unique family. Anarchic family life seen through the eyes of an exceptionally bright fifteen year old, who struggles to come of age in the context of his belligerent father, closeted brother, psychotic sister and internet porn star neighbors.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: humorous, emotional, realistic, cynical, captivating, sitcom, hilarious, erotic, feel good, social
Similar in 86%
A Passionate Woman (2010)
Plot Summary:
1950's, Leeds: Betty (Billie Piper) is a wife and mother, whose life is changed forever after falling hopelessly and dangerously in love with her charismatic Polish neighbour, Alex Crazenovski, better known as Craze . Against her principles, she soon abandons herself to a world of untapped thrills and passion, a world that has been so desperately missing from her own conventional and claustrophobic marriage. But 30 years later, an older Betty (Sue Johnston) comes to realise that her compulsive passion of the past and its consequences have created ripples that spill far into the future, finally reaching crisis point on her beloved son s wedding day.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 309
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: sincere, atmospheric, thought provoking, bleak, serious, emotional, realistic, gloomy, period drama
Similar in 86%
The Buddha of Suburbia (1993)
Plot Summary:
The Buddha of Suburbia is a 1993 British four-part television serial, directed by Roger Michell. Based on the novel of the same name by Hanif Kureishi, the programme starred Naveen Andrews as the main character, Karim Amir. The programme's music was written and performed by David Bowie. Karim Amir is a mixed-race 17-year-old who lives in a South London suburb during the 1970s. With an English mother and a Pakistani father, Karim is uncertain of his cultural identity. As his father becomes a kind of spiritual guru to the surrounding middle-class neighbours, Karim begins to explore his cultural roots with hopes that he will achieve sexual and racial self-realisation.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 516
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 222 min
Plot tags: erotic, controversial, sentimental, sincere, serious, realistic, witty, talky, semi serious
Similar in 86%
Made in Britain (1982)
Plot Summary:
Trevor sometimes-violent skinhead with no regard for authority, and would rather spend his time stealing cars than sitting in the detention centre to which he is sent. His social worker, Harry Parker, tries to do his best, but Trevor is only interested when there’s something that he can get out of it. The authorities within the centre try to make Trevor conform to the norms of society, but he takes no notice, and would rather speak in a torrent of four-letter words and racial abuse.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 76 min
Plot tags: disturbing, controversial, cult classic, powerful, terrifying, rough, bleak, serious, captivating, realistic
Similar in 84%
Awaydays (2009)
Plot Summary:
On the Wirral in the grim early years of Margaret Thatcher's premiership, the opportunities for thrill seeking young men looking to escape 9 to 5 drudgery are what they've always been: sex, drugs, rock n' roll, fashion, football and fighting.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, suspenseful, tense, bleak, realistic, gloomy, cult film
Similar in 86%
Spacked Out (2000)
Plot Summary:
Film following four teenage girls around Hong Kong. The story centers around a young girl who is dealing with a pregnancy.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 186
Genere: Crime, Drama, Family
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, disturbing, bleak, sexual, sexy
Similar in 87%
Mutual Friends (2008)
Plot Summary:
Martin's comfortable world is upturned by his friend's mid-life crises, beginning with his best friend's suicide, and the secret affair he had with Martin's wife.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 254
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: humorous, semi serious, sentimental, realistic
Similar in 78%
Puberty Blues (2012)
Plot Summary:
Based on Kathy Lette and Gabrielle Carey's iconic novel, Puberty Blues tells the story of two girls, Debbie and Sue, of innocence lost and experience gained against the backdrop of Australia in the 1970s.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Australia
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: realistic, touching, sincere, captivating, sentimental, serious
Similar in 83%
The Red Band Society (2011)
Plot Summary:
Polseres vermelles and Pulseras Rojas in Spanish, is a Catalan television show. The first season aired on TV3 in 2011, with a second season planned for 2013. The show was created by Albert Espinosa and draws on his childhood experiences as a hospital patient. Espinosa and director-producer Pau Freixas had previously worked together on the film Herois. The show tells the story of a group of Catalan children and teenagers who meet as patients in the children's wing of a hospital. Themes include friendship, the will to live, and the desire to overcome adversity. The show was originally planned for four seasons, with the second one premiering on January 2013. In October 2011, it was announced that Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks and Marta Kauffman had reached an agreement with TV3 for an American remake of Polseres Vermelles. The Spanish channel Antena 3 aired the first season, dubbed into Spanish as Pulseras rojas, in summer 2012. On 11 December 2012, TV3 announced 14 January 2013 as the premiere date for its second season. Antena 3 will premiere it dubbed later in 2013.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Spain
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: serious, touching, humorous, medical drama, rough, realistic, semi serious, feel good
Similar in 88%
Jack & Jill (1999)
Plot Summary:
A lighthearted romantic comedy about post-collegiate life, love and career in New York City.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: touching, humorous, realistic, semi serious, sitcom, talky, sexual
Similar in 90%
SoulBoy (2010)
Plot Summary:
1974. Amidst power cuts, strikes and boot-boy aggro on the football terraces, Joe McCain is bored of a life that's going nowhere. Enter hair-dresser Jane: blonde, beautiful, and moving to the beat of a whole new world of sound, movement and all-nighter dancing at The Wigan Casino - the home of Northern Soul. Swept along on this tide of pulsating dance and lust, Joe becomes embroiled in the darker side of soul scene that will put his friendship to the test.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Music
Country: UK
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: humorous, psychological, captivating, contemplative, sentimental, touching, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 84%
This Is England (2006)
Plot Summary:
A story about a troubled boy growing up in England, set in 1983. He comes across a few skinheads on his way home from school, after a fight. They become his new best friends even like family. Based on experiences of director Shane Meadows.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 127000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: emotional, political, depressing, stylized, harsh, rough, cult classic, social, tense, sincere
Similar in 78%
Fresh Meat (2011)
Plot Summary:
A group of six students about to embark on the most exciting period of their lives so far: university!.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, semi serious, feel good, light, entertaining, erotic, dark comedy, sensual, realistic
Similar in 86%
Coming of Age (2007)
Plot Summary:
A frank look into the outrageous world of a group of sixth form students living in Abingdon as they enjoy a final romp with adolescence.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 841
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: touching, feel good, humorous, realistic, sitcom, semi serious
Similar in 84%
Skins (2011)
Plot Summary:
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.
IMDB Rating: 3.8
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Canada, UK
Duration: 42 min
Plot tags: realistic, sincere, sexy, touching, semi serious, sexual, sex comedy, teen, controversial
Similar in 88%
Adulthood (2008)
Plot Summary:
After serving six years for killing his schoolmate, a young man learns that someone is out for revenge.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: hood, rough, serious, realistic, cult classic, gloomy, bleak
Similar in 81%
City of Men (2002)
Plot Summary:
City of Men is a Brazilian television programme created by Kátia Lund and Fernando Meirelles, the directors of the film City of God. The series was watched by 35 million viewers in Brazil and was released internationally on DVD shortly after the film. In 2007, a feature length film based on the series was released. It is often cited as a 'spin-off' of the film; City of Men is a less violent and more light-hearted affair with dramedy elements. However, the two do share some common aspects: the directors, some of the actors, and the setting of the Brazilian favela with its background of gangsters and poverty. The programme tells the stories of Luis Claudío and Uolace, better known by their nicknames Acerola and Laranjinha, respectively, who are two best friends who live in a notorious Rio slum, in a community of drug-dealers, hustlers, and teenagers struggling to fulfill their dreams.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Drama
Country: Brazil
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: stylized, atmospheric, rough, serious, captivating, realistic
Similar in 79%
Meantime (1983)
Plot Summary:
A working-class family in London's East End is struggling to stay afloat during the recession under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's premiership. Only the mother Mavis is working; father Frank and the couple's two sons Colin, a timid, chronically shy individual and Mark, an outspoken, headstrong young man, are on the dole. This situation is contrasted by the presence of Mavis's sister Barbara, and her husband John, whose financial and social loftiness appears to be a comfortable facade over the unspoken soreness of a lackluster marriage.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: mysterious, surreal, independent film, cult classic, touching, humorous, realistic, gloomy, semi serious, crying
Similar in 90%
State of Grace (2001)
Plot Summary:
State of Grace is an American comedy-drama series that ran for two seasons on the Fox Network's Fox Family channel during 2001 and 2002.
IMDB Rating: 8.6
IMDB Votes: 741
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, humorous, semi serious, retro, sitcom, realistic
Similar in 75%
My Mad Fat Diary (2013)
Plot Summary:
Set in 1996 in Lincolnshire, the show tells the tragic and humorous story of a very troubled young girl Rae, who has just left a psychiatric hospital, where she has spent four months after attempting suicide, begins to reconnect with her best friend Chloe and her group, who are unaware of Rae's mental health and body image problems, believing she was in France for the past four months.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 47 min
Plot tags: touching, sincere, sentimental, emotional, semi serious, dark comedy, funny, controversial, sitcom, light hearted
Similar in 79%
Top Boy (2011)
Plot Summary:
A thrilling and raw crime drama following a gang of drug dealers in Hackney, London - an honest and gripping rendition of inner-city drug and gang culture.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 37000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: serious, sincere, suspenseful, rough, crime drama, dramatic, anime, hood, tense, bleak