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Shows that feel like Roswell (1999–2002)

If you loved Roswell, the closest series we have are The Vampire Diaries (2009), Teen Wolf (2011) and Gossip Girl (2007). All three share Roswell's contemplative and romantic feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 11 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on Netflix, HBO Max and Amazon Prime Video and others, checked against today's data.

Bizarre things start happening in the little New Mexico town where UFOs were spotted in 1947. Cut to 1999, when a cute high-school student saves the life of a teenage waitress. Surrounded by cliques of clever, angst-filled classmates, the two form a bond that threatens the survival of a secret universe involving superhuman powers, a yen for hot sauce and an alien gene pool.

7.5 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗3 seasons · The WBcreated by Jason Katimscerebraldreamlikecontemplativeromantic

Not on subscription streaming right now. Rent or buy below.

Buy seasons:Amazon see price ↗Apple TV$9.99 buyRoswell, The Complete Series · Apple price as of 2026-09-10

If Roswell hit the spot, these will too

The Vampire Diaries poster
The Vampire Diaries
2009–2017 · 8 seasons · The CW
7.7drama · sci-fi & fantasy

Two things both keep coming back to: interspecies romance and based on young adult novel

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.

Teen Wolf poster
Teen Wolf
2011–2017 · 6 seasons · MTV
7.7sci-fi & fantasy · drama · comedy

Both are built on the same subject: high school

The difference: Sits closer to comedy than Roswell does

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.

Gossip Girl poster
Gossip Girl
2007–2012 · 6 seasons · The CW
7.5drama

Both keep coming back to the same thing: high school

The difference: Missing the ideas of Roswell

An exclusive group of privileged teens from a posh prep school on Manhattan's Upper East Side whose lives revolve around the blog of the all-knowing albeit ultra-secretive Gossip Girl.

A Discovery of Witches poster
A Discovery of Witches
2018–2022 · 3 seasons · Sky One
7.8sci-fi & fantasy · drama

One thread runs through both: interspecies romance

Closet witch Diana Bishop and centuries-old vampire Matthew Clairmont are drawn into a deadly mystery and forbidden romance when a magical book shows up in an Oxford library.

Parasyte -the maxim- poster
Parasyte -the maxim-
2014–2015 · 1 season · Nippon TV
8.2animation · drama · sci-fi & fantasy

The same preoccupation in both: alien

The difference: Leans harder into animation than Roswell does

A species of parasitic aliens descends on Earth and quickly infiltrates humanity by entering the brains of vulnerable targets; insatiable beings that gain total control of their host and are capable of transforming themselves to feed on unsuspecting prey. High school student Shinichi Izumi falls victim to one of these parasites, but the creature fails to take over his brain and ends up in his right hand.

V poster
V
2009–2011 · 2 seasons · ABC
6.8sci-fi & fantasy · drama

Common ground: alien

A re-imagining of the 1980s miniseries about the world's first encounter with an alien race in which the aliens call themselves The Visitors, and have a seemingly friendly agenda that may or may not be a cover for something more malevolent.

11.22.63 poster
11.22.63
2016 · 1 season · Hulu
8drama · sci-fi & fantasy

The same mix in both: ideas, then dream logic

An English teacher travels back in time to prevent the Kennedy assassination, but discovers he is attached to the life he has made in a bygone era.

My Love from the Star poster
My Love from the Star
2013–2014 · 1 season · SBS
8.2comedy · drama

Both land stillness and romance at once

An alien who came to Earth 400 years ago is almost able to return to his own planet, but when he meets a famous actress, he doesn't want to go home.

My Holo Love poster
My Holo Love
2020 · 1 season · Netflix
7.6drama · sci-fi & fantasy

Cerebral sci-fi & fantasy in both cases

The difference: Made in the 2020s, in a different era of the craft

Unexpected love finds a lonely woman when she forms a connection with a humanlike hologram who looks exactly like his prickly creator.

Beverly Hills, 90210 poster
Beverly Hills, 90210
1990–2000 · 10 seasons · FOX
6.5drama

Both lean on stillness more than on drama

Follow the lives of a group of teenagers living in the upscale, star-studded community of Beverly Hills, California and attending the fictitious West Beverly Hills High School and, subsequently, the fictitious California University after graduation.

Shadow and Bone poster
Shadow and Bone
2021–2023 · 2 seasons · Netflix
7.5drama · sci-fi & fantasy

Both are built on the same subject: based on young adult novel

In a world cleaved in two by a massive barrier of perpetual darkness, a young soldier uncovers a power that might finally unite her country. But as she struggles to hone her power, dangerous forces plot against her. Thugs, thieves, assassins and saints are at war now, and it will take more than magic to survive.

Outlander poster
Outlander
2014–2026 · 8 seasons · STARZ
8.3drama · sci-fi & fantasy

Sci-fi & fantasy built on dream logic, twice over

The story of Claire Randall, a married combat nurse from 1945 who is mysteriously swept back in time to 1743, where she is immediately thrown into an unknown world where her life is threatened. When she is forced to marry Jamie, a chivalrous and romantic young Scottish warrior, a passionate affair is ignited that tears Claire's heart between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

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The best-reviewed series that share Roswell’s defining feeling.