The Handmaid’s Tale is a dystopian tragedy thriller drama series created by Bruce Miller. Based on the 1985 novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood, the Hulu series is set in a dystopian future after the Second Civil War, which caused the collapse of the fertility rate and gave rise to a totalitarian society. In this world, fertile women are subjugated to bear children against their will. The Handmaid’s Tale stars Elisabeth Moss, Joseph Fiennes, Yvonne Strahovski, Alexis Bledel, Madeline Brewer, Ann Dowd, O-T Fagbenle, Max Minghella, Samira Wiley, Amanda Brugel, Bradley Whitford, and Sydney Sweeney. So, if you loved the inventive story, thrilling drama, and compelling characters in The Handmaid’s Tale, here are some similar shows you should check out next.
The Man in the High Castle (Prime Video)
The Man in the High Castle is an alternate-history dystopian drama series created by Frank Spotnitz. Based on the 1962 novel of the same name by Philip K. Dick, the Prime Video series is set in a parallel universe where Nazi Germany and their allies won WWII. This caused the United States to be divided into three parts, one controlled by the Nazis, one controlled by the Japanese, and the other being dubbed as the buffer zone in the middle. The resistance against the powers-to-be was all but over until some films showed up that showed a different world. The Man in the High Castle stars Alexa Davalos, Rupert Evans, Luke Kleintank, DJ Qualls, Joel de la Fuente, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Rufus Sewell, Callum Keith Rennie, Bella Heathcote, and Chelah Horsdal.
Yellowjackets (Netflix, Paramount+, The Roku Channel & Prime Video Add-On)
Yellowjackets is a psychological horror mystery thriller drama series created by Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson. The Showtime series a group of teenage girls who survived a plane crash in 1996, and how that event made them the people they are in 2021. Yellowjackets stars Melanie Lynskey, Tawny Cypress, Ella Purnell, Sophie Nélisse, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Sophie Thatcher, Samantha Hanratty, Steven Krueger, Christina Ricci, and Warren Kole.
3% (Netflix)
3% is a Brazilian dystopian sci-fi thriller drama series created by Pedro Aguilera. The Netflix series is set in a dystopian future where the world is divided into two parts: the impoverished “Inland” and the wealthy “Offshore.” Every year, a test called “The Process” allows 3% of the candidates from Inland to move to the Offshore. 3% stars João Miguel, Bianca Comparato, Michel Gomes, Rodolfo Valente, Cynthia Senek, Vaneza Oliveira, and Rafael Lozano.
The Leftovers (Max & Prime Video Add-On)
The Leftovers is a supernatural mystery psychological thriller drama series created by Damon Lindelöf and Tom Perrotta. Based on Perrotta’s 2011 novel of the same name, the HBO series is set after a global event in which 2% of the world’s population mysteriously disappeared. It follows the residents of Mapleton, New York, as they struggle to come to terms with losing their loved ones. The Leftovers stars Justin Theroux, Amy Brenneman, Christopher Eccleston, Liv Tyler, Chris Zylka, Margaret Qualley, Carrie Coon, Emily Meade, Amanda Warren, Ann Dowd, and Max Carver.
Severance (Apple TV+ & Prime Video Add-On)
Severance is a sci-fi psychological mystery thriller dark comedy-drama series created by Dan Erickson. The Apple TV+ series is set in a world where a biotechnology corporation has invented a way to separate its employee’s memories. It follows a group of severed employees as they begin to question their employer’s motives behind separating their memories. Severance stars Adam Scott, Zach Cherry, Britt Lower, Tramell Tillman, Jen Tullock, Dichen Lachman, Michael Chernus, John Turturro, Christopher Walken, Patricia Arquette, and Sarah Bock.
Snowpiercer (AMC+ & Rent on Prime Video)
Snowpiercer is a post-apocalyptic dystopian thriller drama series created by Josh Friedman and Graeme Manson. Based on Bong Joon-ho’s 2013 film of the same name and the 1982 French graphic novel Le Transperceneige by Jacques Lob, Benjamin Legrand, and Jean-Marc Rochette, the TNT series is set in a frozen world, and it follows the survivors inhabiting a perpetually moving train. The series explores themes like classism, social injustice, and the morality of survival. Snowpiercer stars Jennifer Connelly, Daveed Diggs, Mickey Sumner, Alison Wright, Iddo Goldberg, Susan Park, Katie McGuinness, Sam Otto, Sheila Vand, and Mike O’Malley.
Alias Grace (Netflix)
Alias Grace is a Canadian psychological drama miniseries created by Sarah Polley. Based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood, the Netflix series is set in the 19th century in Canada, and it follows Grace, an Irish immigrant who was convicted of murdering her employer, but she doesn’t really remember anything but begins to change when a psychiatrist arrives. Alias Grace stars Sarah Gadon, Edward Holcroft, Rebecca Liddiard, Zachary Levi, Kerr Logan, David Cronenberg, Paul Gross, and Anna Paquin.
Made for Love (Not Available for Streaming)
Made for Love is a sci-fi dark comedy-drama series created by Alissa Nutting, Dean Bakopoulos, Patrick Somerville, and Christina Lee. Based on Nutting’s 2017 novel of the same name, the HBO Max series follows Hazel Green, a young woman who decides to escape her toxic marriage of ten years. She soon discovers that her tech CEO husband has implanted a chip in her brain that allows him to locate her anywhere, read her emotional data, and watch her live. Made for Love stars Cristin Milioti, Billy Magnussen, Dan Bakkedahl, Noma Dumezweni, Ray Romano, Augusto Aguilera, and Caleb Foote.
Westworld (Rent on Prime Video)
Westworld is a dystopian sci-fi Western drama series created by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy. Based on the 1973 film of the same name by Michael Crichton, the HBO series is set in a Wild-West-themed amusement park inhabited by human-like android hosts who help the guests enact their deepest and darkest fantasies. Westworld stars Evan Rachel Wood, Thandiwe Newton, Jeffrey Wright, James Marsden, Luke Hemsworth, and Sidse Babett Knudsen.
The Plot Against America (Max & Rent on Prime Video)
The Plot Against America is an alternate history drama miniseries created by David Simon and Ed Burns. Based on the 2004 novel of the same name by Philip Roth, the HBO series is set in an alternate America, and it follows a middle-class Jewish family in Newark, New Jersey. As Charles Lindbergh rises to political power, so does xenophobic populism. The Plot Against America stars Winona Ryder, Anthony Boyle, Zoe Kazan, Morgan Spector, Michael Kostroff, David Krumholtz, Azhy Robertson, Caleb Malis, Jacob Laval, and John Turturro.