12 Best TV Shows Like Netflix’s Sirens

When Devon (Meghann Fahy) decides to confront her younger sister Simone (Milly Alcock) head on after being sent to voicemail for months, she enters the world of Michaela Kell (Julianne Moore), a high society woman who runs a bird sanctuary. Simone is Michaela’s assistant and best friend — the two do everything together. However, since taking the job, Simone has ignored her sister and family, and Devon has had enough.

Michaela is both a stereotype and an enigma, seemingly a typical rich housewife with a special interest, but never quite what she seems. Throughout the five episodes of the miniseries, audiences are made to think plenty about her, including that she pushed someone off a cliff. Devon is convinced Michaela is running a cult and is determined to extract her sister from it.

From slightly off-putting music to the constant question of what happened to Michaela’s husband Peter’s (Kevin Bacon) first wife, “Sirens” is the definition of a mystery inside of a quandary. You never know where it’s going, what to believe, or what secrets will appear next. And it’s not unique in this or its commentary of social classes, joining a group of series that hit similar notes. From popular anthologies to book adaptations, these are the best shows like “Sirens.”

“The Perfect Couple” follows the Winbury family as they prepare for a wedding. The matriarch, Greer (Nicole Kidman), is a famous writer, and the family is unlike anything Amelia (Eve Hewson) knows. She’s marrying Benji (Billy Howle), the second Winbury son, but things go awry when someone is murdered the night before the ceremony. What is meant to be the perfect wedding weekend turns into a nightmare when everyone is considered a suspect and no one can leave the island.

Netflix has been on a role with their drama miniseries over the last year. “The Perfect Couple” and “Sirens” both take place in New England summering spots for the elite, with important events set in massive homes, led by families that are in the top echelons of society. While “Sirens” leaves audiences guessing if Michaela killed Peter’s first wife, murder is more of a focal point in “The Perfect Couple.” In each, the secrets of the family unravel as outsiders, Amelia and Devon, appear and dig deeper into what’s going on. They have different ways of going about it, but both just want to understand what happened to their loved one. And, you might recognize Amelia’s best friend Merritt (Meghann Fahy) as Devon.

After a murder at a school fundraiser, audiences follow three mothers and their children in the lead up to the death in “Big Little Lies.” Everyone is from a different walk of life, from mothers with picture perfect marriages that are problematic behind closed doors to single moms new to the area. As the point of view rotates through the mothers, Celeste (Nicole Kidman), Jane (Shailene Woodley), and Madeline (Reese Witherspoon), more comes to light about what led to the events at the fundraiser.

Set on a beach town on the opposite side of the United States, “Big Little Lies” features a bit more discourse between the different perceived social classes of society. While “Sirens” hints at the topic with the differences between Michaela and her staff and Simone and Devon, the HBO project goes further into it as the show explores marriage and relationships. It’s what another season of “Sirens” could look like if it weren’t a miniseries, since one of the mothers is trying to cope with her ex-husband remarrying someone much younger than her. There are three seasons to enjoy, giving plenty of time to watch the commentary play out.

“The White Lotus” is an anthology series following people from all walks of life as they visit White Lotus hotels around the world. Each season follows a new cast in a new location, though there are familiar faces from season to season. It always opens with something alarming happening, like a coffin being loaded into a plane, before taking audiences back to the start of the week to see how the characters ended up there.

For those who enjoyed the drama and secrets of “Sirens,” “The White Lotus” is what to watch next. Secrets are flying everywhere, drama you didn’t even think would be possible pops up, and there’s always the surprise of who dies at the end of the season. Even if people guess who dies as the episodes air, how it happens can never quite be predicted, and usually ends up being more outlandish than expected. Just when you think you know what’s going on, something shifts, just like how “Sirens” navigates its own plot in equally beautiful locations. And, Michaela and Season 3’s Victoria Ratcliffe (Parker Posey) feel like two peas in a pod. Meghann Fahy is also in “The White Lotus,” appearing in Season 2 as Daphne, though she auditioned for a different role. 

When Eddie Lane (Aaron Paul) begins to question what he’s accepted with his faith after a retreat to Peru, everything he’s built for himself and his family could change. “The Path” features people who are involved with Meyerism, a fictional religion that encourages its followers to go through enlightenment to resolve their personal flaws and weaknesses, because everyone’s issues are why the world is in a poor place. Members can move through the ladder of the organization by attending retreats, ensuring that when the inevitable apocalypse comes, they are safe in The Garden.

If you, like Devon, were convinced Michaela was running a cult of some sort, “The Path” is for you. While Simone isn’t necessarily questioning everything the way Eddie does, there are brief moments where her face shows she’s considering what she’s given up to be in Michaela’s world, especially when she thinks it could crash down around her. Like Eddie has done with the leader of the Meyerist movement, Simone puts Michaela on a pedestal and lets her life revolve around that. When it’s challenged, it’s difficult to come to terms with, especially because Simone has pushed away everyone else in her life, much like how a cult might encourage someone to.

“Desperate Housewives” follows four women who all live on Wisteria Lane. Over the course of eight seasons and 15 years in on-screen time, audiences watch their lives and everything that involves, from relationship issues to trying to be strong parents to rowdy teens. Their lives are shown through the eyes of their neighbor who died by suicide, who sees through the picture perfect image they present to everyone else on the block.

For those that wanted “Sirens” to dive more into the martial issues between Michaela and Peter, “Desperate Housewives” is the way to go. One woman is sleeping with the gardener, another is trying to gain the affections of someone new on the street, while someone else is trying to save their marriage. It’s like watching multiple Michaelas try to understand what Peter is up to when he lies about going to Tokyo or why Simone wouldn’t tell her she was with Ethan. It doesn’t take place in a beautiful house on the coast, but in what many would call an ideal American neighborhood, which makes it both more realistic and interesting to watch since it feels more like something that could be happening next door. What’s going on behind closed doors? You’ll find out in “Desperate Housewives.”

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When three married couples go on a weekend getaway and start sharing secrets, anything can happen, especially as they continue to go on trips together over the next 12 months. The fall out of the first one plagues them when they get together throughout the year, continuing to make things awkward and putting every couple in a tough spot. Everyone seems to rethink their marriages at some point, in addition to health issues, work trips, and other situations that put a strain on the group and its dynamic.

“The Four Seasons” is like seeing what “Sirens” would be in the off season. The latter takes place during Labor Day, whereas the former spans across a calendar year, seeing how things shift with each season. What will Simone be doing when she isn’t hosting parties for the summering socialites? Will Peter always be gone with work or will they plan fun trips together? “The Four Seasons” has a bit more of a comedic tone to it, if you’re looking for something a bit more light-hearted this might be a good fit, despite the serious topics it touches on.

“Secrets We Keep” follows a woman whose neighbor has a missing au pair. Cecilie (Marie Bach Hansen), the main character, decides she is going to investigate the case for herself, even though the authorities are already looking into it. As she dives deeper into her personal investigation, more and more secrets come to light, and everything she knows falls apart. Everyone is a suspect, not just to Cecilie but to the police, and there’s always new evidence to be discovered that will change the picture.

For those looking for a foreign language offering, “Secrets We Keep” is the one to watch. While “Sirens” isn’t seen entirely through Michaela’s eyes, the Danish series presents what Michaela could be doing after the events of “Sirens.” Maybe she’s trying to track down someone to help her get something over on Peter, now that he’s left her for her much younger assistant. Michaela and Cecilie don’t have similar personalities, but they are both determined to figure out the truth, even if that means comparing the ribbons on chocolate boxes.

Based on the book of the same name, “Little Fires Everywhere” features Reese Witherspoon as Elena Richardson, a mother trying to maintain her perfect family image, and Kerry Washington as Mia Warren, an artist and single mother to whom Elena rents a home. Both women are from different walks of life and have similar struggles with their children that they handle differently, but their lives become more intertwined when Mia starts working for Elena, while Mia’s daughter becomes friends with Elena’s children.

The matriarchs of “Little Fires Everywhere” and “Sirens” share personality traits. Elena and Michaela exhibit the same amount of control over their household. With Michaela, it isn’t as obvious because she doesn’t have children, but it shows in how she runs the sanctuary and how she handles the staff of the estate, including the ones who have been there longer than she’s been married to Peter. Both women want everything to be exactly how they pictured it, and that’s only to their detriment as their world burns down around them – literally, in Elena’s case. The Hulu series presents another outcome of a controlling woman of the house, albeit in a more suburban environment.  

“Nine Perfect Strangers” follows the titular strangers as they go to a wellness retreat run by Nicole Kidman’s Masha Dmitrichenko. They want to have a mind and body transformation, which Masha is happy to help them with as long as they give up their phones and anything she deems contraband, including prescription medication. She has unique methods to get results, like having them lie in their own graves to consider death and micro-dosing her guests without their knowledge using smoothies, and ultimately, it helps the strangers find what they’re looking for.

The wellness retreat, much like the House on the Cliff, is meant to be an oasis from the rest of the world. While Michaela certainly doesn’t tout her home as that, it being next to a sanctuary that she puts all her money and time into gives it that aura. Is the wellness for birds of prey? Sure, but it’s wellness that goes wrong nonetheless. These are two women who believe they’ve cracked the code to helping someone or something, but in reality, they haven’t. Additionally, Masha’s actions lead to plenty of secrets coming to the surface, and it causes tensions among the guests, just like how Simone’s untold life story results in friction between her and Michaela.

When a flight from Australia to California crashes on a remote island, the survivors are introduced to the unique elements of their new home. “Lost” features a dynamic cast of characters with seemingly one end goal in mind: survive. Everyone has a different idea on how to achieve that, but they have other things to worry about. From secrets about who the federal marshal on board is escorting to who are those people living on the other side of the island, each episode contains a new mystery to speculate on.

This series may feel like an outlier on the list, but hear us out. Part of why “Lost” is so effective, especially in its early seasons, is its unpredictability. You never quite know what the group will run into on their next forest expedition because random occurrences like the mist or hatch are always coming up, and it makes for great television. “Sirens” is unpredictable in a different way, as audiences can never quite get a read on Michaela and are continually wondering what actually happened to Peter’s previous wife, but it’s something fans of the sci-fi drama are sure to love. There is a similar level to the drama and secrets, it’s just not in as picturesque a setting — though both do have beaches.

A show about two sisters who were married to the same man at different points, but now that man is dead? That’s what the Prime Video series “The Better Sister” is all about. Nicky (Elizabeth Banks) and Chloe (Jessica Biel) are estranged, but the murder of Chloe’s husband (and Nicky’s ex-husband) Adam (Corey Stoll) forces them back together as the police try to solve the case.

“The Better Sister” is the show to watch for audiences that wanted to see more of the sister dynamic between Simone and Devon, especially after Simone becomes Peter’s new woman of the house. There’s more happening in Adam’s life than either Chloe or Nicky know, and when it all comes to light, it feels a lot like the reveals of “Sirens” — when we find out what actually happened to Peter’s first wife, for example, or where he actually went instead of Tokyo. Both series have mystery, intrigue, and difficult sister dynamics, which are only strained further with the situations they’re placed in. “The Better Sister” just has a pair that are a bit older and closer in age than “Sirens.”

Retirement should be a breeze for Joy (Annette Bening) and Stan (Sam Neill), tennis coaches who sell their elite tennis academy to settle into the next phase of life. However, they run into a bit of snag when Joy disappears. As their children return to help find her, it becomes clear their marriage is not as perfect as it seems, and Stan becomes the prime suspect as family secrets are revealed.

Were you constantly trying to figure out what happened to Peter’s first wife? Then “Apples Never Fall” is for you. Stan and Joy fight just before she goes missing, making Stan suspect number one. When Devon tries to learn more about Michaela in “Sirens,” the rumor mill is that she had something to do with Peter’s first wife’s disappearance. While that isn’t entirely true, as Devon tries to find the truth, more secrets pop up. “Apples Never Fall” and “Sirens” are both rooted in mysteries, even if the latter isn’t as sinister. They reinforce that in order for the truth to come out, you have to face the music — even if it isn’t what you think it will be.