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Watchmen poster

Shows that feel likeWatchmen (2019)

Set in an alternate history where “superheroes” are treated as outlaws, “Watchmen” embraces the nostalgia of the original groundbreaking graphic novel while attempting to break new ground of its own.

If you loved Watchmen, the closest series we have are Lanterns (2026), Mare of Easttown (2021) and Defending Jacob (2020). All three share Watchmen's contemplative and twisty feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is The Alienist (2018).

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If Watchmen hit the spot, these will too

Lanterns poster
Lanterns
2026– · 1 season · HBO
★ 7.8drama · mystery · sci-fi & fantasyMax

Both are Damon Lindelof's work, and they rhyme

The difference: Easier on the grit than Watchmen

Two intergalactic cops, new recruit John Stewart and Lantern legend Hal Jordan, are drawn into a dark, Earth-based mystery as they investigate a murder in the American heartland.

Mare of Easttown poster
Mare of Easttown
2021 · 1 season · HBO
★ 8.4drama · crime · mysteryMax

Contemplative where it counts, gritty underneath

A detective in a small Pennsylvania town investigates a local murder while trying to keep her life from falling apart.

Defending Jacob poster
Defending Jacob
2020 · 1 season · Apple TV
★ 7.7drama · mystery · crimeApple TV+

Twisty drama, and it commits to that

A family's lives are irreparably disrupted when the 14-year-old son is accused of murdering a fellow classmate.

The Alienist poster
The Alienist
2018–2020 · 2 seasons · TNT
★ 7.7drama · crime · mystery

Both lean on stillness more than on crime

New York, 1896. Police commissioner Theodore Roosevelt brings together criminal psychologist Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, newspaper illustrator John Moore and secretary Sara Howard to investigate several murders of male prostitutes.

The Night Of poster
The Night Of
2016 · 1 season · HBO
★ 8.4crime · drama · mysteryMax

Gritty mystery in both cases

After a night of partying with a female stranger, a man wakes up to find her stabbed to death and is charged with her murder.

Slow Horses poster
Slow Horses
2022– · 6 seasons · Apple TV
★ 8.4crime · drama · mysteryApple TV+

Sci-fi & fantasy with a pulse of twists, in both cases

Follow a dysfunctional team of MI5 agents—and their obnoxious boss, the notorious Jackson Lamb—as they navigate the espionage world's smoke and mirrors to defend England from sinister forces.

Dexter: New Blood poster
Dexter: New Blood
2021–2022 · 1 season · Showtime
★ 8drama · crimeParamount+

The same preoccupation in both: vigilante

10 years after Dexter went missing in the eye of Hurricane Laura, we find him living under an assumed name in the small town of Iron Lake, New York. Dexter may be embracing his new life, but in the wake of unexpected events in this close-knit community, his Dark Passenger beckons.

The Outsider poster
The Outsider
2020 · 1 season · HBO
★ 7.6drama · mystery · crimeMax

Drama built on stillness, twice over

When an insidious supernatural force edges its way into a seemingly straightforward investigation into the gruesome murder of a young boy, it leads a seasoned cop and an unorthodox investigator to question everything they believe in.

The Chestnut Man poster
The Chestnut Man
2021–2026 · 2 seasons · Netflix
★ 7.6drama · crime · mysteryNetflix

Gritty crime, and it commits to that

At a grisly murder scene sits a figurine made of chestnuts. From this creepy clue, two detectives hunt a killer linked to a politician's missing child.

Wynonna Earp poster
Wynonna Earp
2016–2021 · 4 seasons · Syfy
★ 7.4action & adventure · sci-fi & fantasy · western

Cerebral and dreamlike in the same breath

The difference: Sits closer to action & adventure than Watchmen does

Wyatt Earp's great granddaughter Wynonna battles demons and other creatures with her unique abilities and a posse of dysfunctional allies - the only thing that can bring the paranormal to justice.

The Undoing poster
The Undoing
2020 · 1 season · HBO
★ 7.4drama · crime · mysteryMax

Twisty mystery, and it commits to that

Grace and Jonathan Fraser are living the only lives they ever wanted. Overnight a chasm opens in their lives: a violent death and a chain of terrible revelations. Left behind in the wake of a spreading and very public disaster, Grace must dismantle one life and create another for her child and her family.

How to Get Away with Murder poster
How to Get Away with Murder
2014–2020 · 6 seasons · ABC
★ 8.1crime · drama · mysteryHulu

Both are drama through and through

A sexy, suspense-driven legal thriller about a group of ambitious law students and their brilliant, mysterious criminal defense professor. They become entangled in a murder plot and will shake the entire university and change the course of their lives.

In the mood for more contemplative?

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