If You Liked That, Watch This! 6 New Shows Just Like Your Old Favorites (PHOTOS)
If you liked: thirtysomething
Watch: A Million Little Things
With a large cast tackling myriad heavy issues, ABC’s groundbreaking 1987–91 yuppie drama played like an episodic extension of The Big Chill. A similarly intimate, almost voyeuristic vibe runs through the slyly comic ensemble drama Things. (More overlap: a cancer-survivor storyline and a character named Gary!) In fact, by using the series-premiere death of a loved one to explore how friends face grief as well as their own failings, ABC’s new entry had us wondering what thirtysomething would have been like if it had opened with Gary’s tragic final-season car accident.
If you liked: Kevin (probably) Saves the World
Watch: God Friended Me
The superlovable Jason Ritter headlined ABC’s poignant yet short-lived 2017–18 tale of a depressive who began receiving direction from a higher power. Superlovable Brandon Micheal Hall headlines CBS’s poignant new tale of an atheist who begins receiving direction from a social media account supposedly belonging to a higher power. Kevin had a strained relationship with his sister (JoAnna Garcia Swisher); Hall’s Miles butts heads with his dad (Joe Morton). And each show has a hell of a lot of heart. Coincidence or divine providence?
If you liked: One Tree Hill
Watch: All American
While The CW’s new drama may first have you thinking it’s Friday Night Lights Lite, the show is more of a pigskin-wrapped companion to the network’s 2003–12 high school sports soap. Swap out One Tree Hill’s basketball for football, trade privileged Nathan (James Lafferty) and scrappy half brother Lucas (Chad Michael Murray) for snobby 90210 jocks and a star player from South Central (Daniel Ezra, above) who moves to the right side of the tracks, throw in what resembles a sibling rivalry and, well, touchdown!
If you liked: The Golden Girls
Watch: The Cool Kids
Yeah, we know, it’s pretty obvious both comedies are rated TV-AARP, but it’s not just the age of the characters that makes Fox’s new series simpatico with NBC’s 1985–92 hit. Both are multi-camera sitcoms set within shared quarters — Girls’ Rose, Blanche, Sophia and Dorothy had their Florida house; Kids’ Sid, Charlie, Hank and Margaret (Leslie Jordan, Martin Mull, David Alan Grier and Vicki Lawrence) reside at a retirement community. Most notably, the comedy greats of both rosters show sass and spunk beyond their years.
If you liked: The 4400
Watch: Manifest
At first glance, NBC’s new mythology-fueled drama about a plane that goes missing for five and a half years screams “Oh, it’s like Lost!” because, well, airplanes and the unexplained. But then the returned passengers (including Josh Dallas’s Ben) start exhibiting some strange new “abilities” — and the action feels perfectly suited for fans of The 4400. Starring Joel Gretsch and Jacqueline McKenzie, USA Network’s twisty 2004–07 sci-fi tale revolved around folks who, after mysteriously vanishing, resurfaced with what appeared to be supernatural skills.
If you liked: Southland
Watch: The Rookie
Like the gritty NBC/TNT drama (2009–13) about an idealistic police officer (Ben McKenzie) trying to protect and serve the City of Angels, ABC’s new cop show revolves around an LAPD newbie (Nathan Fillion). Both dramas boast strong supporting casts and come from creators with experience in the genre (Southland’s Ann Biderman worked on NYPD Blue; Rookie’s Alexi Hawley, The Unusuals).
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Click through the gallery above to find out which new show you should check out based on previous favorites, like Golden Girls, thirtysomething, and more.
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