Debapriya Bhattacharya
Originally titled ‘Reservatet,’ ‘Secrets We Keep’ is a Danish miniseries set in North Zealand, one of the most affluent neighborhoods of Copenhagen, where Cecile (Marie Bach Hansen) stays with her husband Mike (Simon Sears), and their Filipino au pair, Angel (Excel Busano). The latter is friends with their neighbor’s au pair, Ruby (Donna Levkovski), and invites her home for dinner one night. At the event, Ruby asks Cecile to help her get away from her family, Katrina (Danica Curcic), and her husband, Rasmus (Lars Ranthe). Cecile gently refuses to get involved with her neighbors’ affairs and tells Ruby to work it out with Katrina herself.
However, the next morning, Ruby disappears without a trace, surprisingly leaving all her possessions behind. As Cecile attempts to solve the mystery of what befell the au pair, her friends and neighbors get hostile, as if desperate to hide some buried secret. If the Ingeborg Topsøe creation has you hooked, we’ve curated a list of shows like ‘Secrets We Keep’ that will help you satiate your appetite for contemporary noir thrillers.
8. Who Killed Sara? (2021-2022)
Created by José Ignacio Valenzuela, ‘Who Killed Sara?’ follows Alex (Manolo Cardona), a young man who gets wrongfully convicted of murder after his sister, Sara (Ximena Lamadrid), dies in a parasailing accident with him and their friends. After serving time for two decades in prison, he gets out with the determination to find the real killer and bring them to justice. Alex is aware that the killer is someone among his group of friends, and the deeper he digs, the more he puts his own safety at risk.
Originally titled ‘Quién Mató a Sara?’, the Spanish thriller explores the themes of hidden truths and impending danger, similar to ‘Secrets We Keep.’ While the outcome of the victim is established early in ‘Who Killed Sara?’, the perpetrator and motive remain unknown initially and drive the narrative forward.
7. Cry Wolf (2020)
‘Cry Wolf,’ originally titled ‘Ulven kommer,’ follows social worker Lars Madsen (Bjarne Henriksen), who is faced with the task of uncovering the truth about a teenager’s allegation of physical abuse at the hands of her stepfather. When 14-year-old Holly (Flora Ofelia Hofmann Lindahl) writes a detailed essay about her and her younger brother facing domestic violence at home, her parents are shocked and categorically deny everything. As social services get involved, the children are put in foster care, and the parents are forced to take their daughter to court.
Created by Maja Jul Larsen, the psychological thriller deviates from ‘Secrets We Keep’ by not following a ‘who dunnit’ narrative, but matches the tone with mistrust among people close to each other. Both their stories participate in the debate on which should be the ideal course of action when the brain and the heart conflict.
6. The Glass Dome (2025)
‘The Glass Dome,’ originally titled ‘Glaskupan,’ revolves around Lejla Ness (Léonie Vincent), a criminologist who returns to her hometown following the death of her adoptive mother. She soon gets involved with the investigation into the disappearance of her friend’s daughter, Alicia (Minoo Andacheh). The case becomes personal for Lejla as she becomes aware of its similarities with her own childhood abduction, and doubles down on her efforts to uncover the truth.
The Swedish mini-series created by Camilla Läckberg deals with the protagonist’s attempt to unmask the danger lurking in plain sight for decades, much like ‘Secrets We Keep.’ A young girl goes missing without a trace in both shows, and it falls upon a woman who is determined to uncover the truth to bring her back.
5. Dear Child (2023)
‘Dear Child,’ originally titled ‘Liebes Kind,’ follows Jasmine Grass (Kim Riedle), a woman who escapes from captivity after five months of being locked in a room with children in the middle of a forest in the northern part of Germany. Her return helps the local police uncover the mystery behind an unsolved kidnapping from 13 years ago. Created by Isabel Kleefeld and Julian Pörksen, the German limited series is based on an eponymous book written by Romy Hausmann. Both ‘Dear Child’ and ‘Secrets We Keep’ share the theme of the abduction of vulnerable individuals by people hidden in plain sight.
4. The Chestnut Man (2021-)
Danish crime thriller ‘The Chestnut Man’ follows detectives Naia Thulin (Danica Curcic) and Mark Hess (Mikkel Boe Følsgaard) as they attempt to solve the murder of a young woman with one of her arms missing. Things take a turn as they discover a tiny figurine made of chestnuts near the victim, which carries the fingerprints of Kristine, the kidnapped daughter of the Danish Minister of Social Affairs, Rosa Hartung (Iben Dorner).
Originally titled ‘Kastanjemanden,’ the show is created by Dorte Warnøe Hagh, David Sandreuter, and Mikkel Serup based on the eponymous book written by Søren Sveistrup. It thematically overlaps with ‘Secrets We Keep’, with both shows dealing with the disappearance of individuals present within affluent and influential circles who proceed to make no significant effort to recover them.
3. Gone For Good (2021)
‘Gone For Good,’ originally titled ‘Disparu à jamais,’ follows Guillaume Lucchesi (Finnegan Oldfield), a man who lost his first love, Sonia (Garance Marillier), and his brother, Fred (Nicolas Duvauchelle), in an accident during his twenties. A decade later, when Guillaume found love again with Judith (Nailia Harzoune), the latter disappears without a trace. The incident leaves him broken and desperate for answers, and he takes it upon himself to unravel the truth and discover what befell his friends and family.
Created by David Elkaïm and Vincent Poymiro, the French limited series is based on Harlan Coben’s novel of the same name. Like ‘Secrets We Keep,’ ‘Gone For Good’ deals with the sudden disappearance of a loved one that is seemingly connected to a greater scheme of things, and boils down to the determination of motivated individuals to uncover the mystery behind the occurrences.
2. Bodkin (2024-)
‘Bodkin’ follows the trio of American podcaster, Gilbert Power, Dublin-born investigative journalist from London, Dubheasa Maloney, and aspiring journalist, Emmy Sizergh, as they visit the titular coastal town of Ireland to investigate an apparently unimportant cold case from several decades ago for the sake of a good story. However, it soon turns out that things are not as harmless as they seem, as they face increasing danger on the path as they come close to solving the old mystery.
Created by Jez Scharf, the dark comedy thriller stars Will Forte as Gibert, Siobhán Cullen as Dubheasa, and Robyn Cara as Emmy. ‘Bodkin’ allows for many parallels to be drawn with ‘Secrets We Keep.’ Both shows take place in quaint neighborhoods despite their vast differences in economy and lifestyle, where the locals are more interested in burying a mystery rather than digging up the truth.
1. Missing You (2025)
‘Missing You’ follows Kat Donovan (Rosalind Eleazar), a police detective whose fiancé, Josh (Ashley Walters), disappears days ahead of their wedding. After she makes peace with him dropping off the grid over the course of a decade, Kat discovers him on a dating app and decides to investigate. Soon, she comes to the realization that she has stumbled upon something far bigger, as hidden truths come to light. Helmed by Harlan Coben, the thriller is based on his own eponymous novel.
Josh’s sudden disappearance in ‘Missing You’ is similar to how Ruby vanishes from the home where she has been staying in ‘Secrets We Keep.’ While Kat and Cecile do their best to solve the separate mysteries, they do not receive much support from the people around them. Instead, both face escalating threats as they get close to the real truth, making it easier for fans of one to get started on another.
Read More: Is Secrets We Keep a True Story?
