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Desperate Housewives poster

Shows that feel likeDesperate Housewives (2004–2012)

Looking down on her friends and family isn't a way of life for Mary Alice Young... it's a way of death. One day, in her perfect house, in the loveliest of suburbs, Mary Alice ended it all. Now she's taking us into the lives of her family, friends and neighbors, commenting from her elevated P.O.V.

If you loved Desperate Housewives, the closest series we have are Pretty Little Liars (2010), Girls (2012) and Daughter from Another Mother (2021). All three share Desperate Housewives' contemplative and warm feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is The Office (2001).

11 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Amazon Prime Video

If Desperate Housewives hit the spot, these will too

Pretty Little Liars poster
Pretty Little Liars
2010–2017 · 7 seasons · ABC Family
★ 7.3drama · mysteryMaxHulu

A tight circle of women bound by a secret, and someone out there holding it

The difference: Teen-scaled dread, less comedy, and the threat never lets up for a joke

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.

Girls poster
Girls
2012–2017 · 6 seasons · HBO
★ 7.4drama · comedyMax

Both keep coming back to the same thing: female friendship

The difference: Trades the twists of Desperate Housewives for an angle of its own

The assorted humiliations, disasters and rare triumphs of four very different twenty-something girls: Hannah, an aspiring writer; Marnie, an art gallery assistant and cousins Jessa and Shoshanna.

Daughter from Another Mother poster
Daughter from Another Mother
2021–2022 · 3 seasons · Netflix
★ 7.2comedy · dramaNetflix

Women improvising an outrageous domestic arrangement and covering for each other

The difference: One warm premise played out gently, with no murder threading each season

After realizing their babies were exchanged at birth, two women develop a plan to adjust to their new lives: creating a single —and peculiar— family.

Sex and the City poster
Sex and the City
1998–2004 · 6 seasons · HBO
★ 7.4drama · comedyMax

Four women, ongoing candour about their messes, and friendship as the safety net

The difference: City singles and romance, with no suburb of secrets under the chatter

Based on the bestselling book by Candace Bushnell, Sex and the City tells the story of four best friends, all single and in their late thirties, as they pursue their careers and talk about their sex lives, all while trying to survive the New York social scene. 

The Good Place poster
The Good Place
2016–2020 · 4 seasons · NBC
★ 8.2sci-fi & fantasy · comedyPrime VideoHulu

A narrator with information the characters do not have

The difference: High-concept afterlife comedy, and genuinely kind

Eleanor Shellstrop, an ordinary woman who, through an extraordinary string of events, enters the afterlife where she comes to realize that she hasn't been a very good person. With the help of her wise afterlife mentor, she's determined to shed her old way of living and discover the awesome (or at least the pretty good) person within.

iCarly poster
iCarly
2007–2012 · 6 seasons · Nickelodeon
★ 6.8comedyNetflixParamount+

Witty where it counts, playful underneath

Watch Carly, Sam, and Freddie, as they try to balance their everyday 8th grade lives with their newfound fame managing and starring in the most awesome show on the web.

2 Broke Girls poster
2 Broke Girls
2011–2017 · 6 seasons · CBS
★ 6.7comedy

Women propping each other up with jokes and no illusions

The difference: Multi-cam sitcom, coarser and much smaller

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.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine poster
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
2013–2021 · 8 seasons · NBC
★ 8.4comedy · crimeNetflixPeacock

Comedy with a pulse of warmth, in both cases

The difference: Sits closer to crime than Desperate Housewives does

A single-camera ensemble comedy following the lives of an eclectic group of detectives in a New York precinct, including one slacker who is forced to shape up when he gets a new boss.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia poster
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
2005– · 18 seasons · FX
★ 8.8comedyHulu

Both lean on wit more than on mystery

Four egocentric friends run a neighborhood Irish pub in Philadelphia and try to find their way through the adult world of work and relationships. Unfortunately, their warped views and precarious judgments often lead them to trouble, creating a myriad of uncomfortable situations that usually only get worse before they get better.

The Office poster
The Office
2001–2002 · 2 seasons · BBC Two
★ 8.5comedyMaxHulu

Playful drama in both cases

Nightmare boss. Tedious colleagues. Pointless tasks. Welcome to Wernham Hogg.

Boys Over Flowers poster
Boys Over Flowers
2009 · 1 season · KBS2
★ 7.8comedy · dramaNetflixPrime Video

Melodrama played straight and enjoyed for it, with status used as a weapon

The difference: Teen romance across one season, sincere where the source is arch

A poor high school student earns a scholarship to an elite academy, where she clashes with the most popular boy in school!

NCIS poster
NCIS
2003– · 24 seasons · CBS
★ 7.8crime · drama · action & adventureNetflixHulu

Drama built on warmth, twice over

From murder and espionage to terrorism and stolen submarines, a team of special agents investigates any crime that has any connection to Navy and Marine Corps personnel, regardless of rank or position.

In the mood for more twisty?

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The best-reviewed series that share Desperate Housewives’ defining feeling.