8 Shows Like The Perfect Lie You Must See

Created by Dorien Goertzen, Netflix’s ‘The Perfect Lie’ or ‘De Eetclub’ is a Dutch drama series based on Saskia Noort’s novel ‘The Dinner Club’. Karen (Loes Haverkort) moves with her family to Bergen, an affluent village where they are quickly welcomed into an exclusive circle known as the Eetclub. Surrounded by hedonism and seemingly perfect friendships, Karen initially sees the group as the ideal social life and escape. That image changes completely when a villa catches fire and Evert (Edwin Jonker), a member of the group, dies. The tragedy makes Karen question the people who welcomed her so warmly.

When she begins looking into what happened, she suspects that the group’s close relationships might be built on secrets and lies. Every member appears to have something to hide, and Karen’s reality turns upside down. Determined to uncover the truth, Karen sets out on a risky investigation that could affect her future. These shows, similar to ‘The Perfect Lie,’ capture the cost of secrets and the journeys of puzzling characters, while offering great entertainment.

8. Nine Perfect Strangers (2021-)

‘Nine Perfect Strangers’ brings nine troubled strangers to Tranquillum House, an exclusive California wellness retreat led by its founder, Masha Dmitrichenko (Nicole Kidman). She promises a life-changing experience, drawing the guests into an isolated environment where they gradually form connections and expose personal secrets. However, the retreat’s promise of healing becomes increasingly unsettling as Masha’s methods grow more unconventional. The guests eventually discover that they have been unknowingly receiving small doses of a psychoactive substance, raising serious questions about what Masha is actually trying to achieve.

As tensions intensify and disturbing revelations emerge, the visitors begin to question whether the retreat is designed to help them at all. With David E. Kelley lending the creative vision, the drama series is adapted from Liane Moriarty’s novel of the same name. ‘Nine Perfect Strangers’ and ‘The Perfect Lie’ place characters in seemingly desirable environments that gradually reveal a disturbing side. Karen enters an affluent social circle in Bergen, while the Tranquillum guests discover that appearances are deeply misleading.

7. Little Fires Everywhere (2020)

Creator Liz Tigelaar’s ‘Little Fires Everywhere’ picks up when Elena Richardson (Reese Witherspoon) welcomes artist Mia Warren (Kerry Washington) and her daughter, Pearl Warren (Lexi Underwood), as tenants of a house she owns. What starts as an act of generosity brings the two families closer, but their growing connection soon becomes increasingly complicated. When Elena and Mia spend more time around each other, hidden secrets begin to surface.

Their different circumstances and perspectives also lead to difficult decisions, particularly as concerns surrounding their children become more serious. The relationship gradually develops into a tense bond that threatens to affect both women’s futures. Based on Celeste Ng’s eponymous novel, the drama series, akin to ‘The Perfect Lie,’ explores fragile trust, concealed truths, tensions, and the complications that emerge when two very different lives become deeply intertwined.

6. Why Women Kill (2019-2021)

‘Why Women Kill’ examines marriage, infidelity, and betrayal through three women living in the same Pasadena mansion, with each storyline unfolding in a different period. In 1963, homemaker Beth Ann Stanton (Ginnifer Goodwin) discovers that her husband, Rob Stanton (Sam Jaeger), is unfaithful, forcing her to confront the reality of her marriage. Two decades later, Simone Grove finds herself dealing with a very different marital crisis after learning that her husband, Karl, is gay, leading her into an affair of her own.

The 2019 story centers on attorney Taylor Harding (Kirby Howell-Baptiste), whose open marriage becomes complicated when she and her husband develop romantic feelings for the same woman. The second season unfolds in 1949, focusing on Alma Fillcot and her possible role in a murder. With Marc Cherry providing the creative vision, the comedy anthology series examines how secrets and suspicions can turn one’s life upside down in the most unexpected ways, much like ‘The Perfect Lie’ does through Karen’s journey.

5. Apples Never Fall (2024)

‘Apples Never Fall’ centers on the Delaney family, whose seemingly perfect life begins to fall apart when Joy Delaney (Annette Bening) suddenly disappears. After years of running a successful tennis academy, Joy and her husband, Stan (Sam Neill), prepare to enjoy a quieter life together. Their plans change when a wounded young woman unexpectedly arrives at their doorstep. When Joy goes missing soon afterward, suspicion falls on Stan, particularly because the couple had an altercation before her disappearance. Their four adult children are left trying to understand what happened.

The children revisit their family’s history and reconsider everything they thought they knew about their parents. With Melanie Marnich serving as the creative voice, the mystery drama series is an adaptation of Liane Moriarty’s novel of the same title. Both ‘The Perfect Lie’ and ‘Apples Never Fall’ contrast outward appearances with hidden problems. Karen discovers that the affluent group’s seemingly perfect friendships conceal secrets, while the Delaneys’ respectable family image begins to look very different after Joy vanishes.

4. The Couple Next Door (2023-2025)

‘The Couple Next Door’ introduces Evie Greenwood (Eleanor Tomlinson) and Pete Thomas (Alfred Enoch), a couple. They move into Leeds’ Appleby Drive and quickly become entangled with their neighbors, Becka Whitwell (Jessica De Gouw) and police officer Danny Whitwell (Sam Heughan). The neighbors’ open marriage draws Evie and Pete into an unfamiliar world, where sexual tensions begin complicating the connection between the two couples.

The second season shifts to married medical professionals Charlotte (Annabel Scholey) and Jacob (Sam Palladio), whose relationship is already strained by demanding careers before their lives are disrupted by their new neighbor, nurse Mia. Directed by Dries Vos, the British psychological thriller series is based on the Dutch series ‘Nieuwe Buren.’ Both ‘The Perfect Lie’ and ‘The Couple Next Door’ focus heavily on the secrets and lies holding a close social circle together. The narrative tension in the two shows is driven by unforeseen revelations and difficult choices that affect the characters.

3. The Undoing (2020)

‘The Undoing’ centers on Grace Fraser (Nicole Kidman), a successful psychologist whose privileged family life begins collapsing after her husband, Jonathan Fraser (Hugh Grant), suddenly disappears. Grace and Jonathan have built a comfortable existence with their son, Henry Fraser (Noah Jupe), seemingly protected from the problems affecting ordinary lives. That security disappears when Jonathan’s disappearance becomes connected to a murder case, leaving Grace facing questions about her secrets. As she tries to understand what happened, she is forced to navigate increasingly difficult crises while protecting her son.

The more Grace searches for answers, the more uncertain her understanding of her own life becomes. The David E. Kelley creation is a psychological crime drama series based on Jean Hanff Korelitz’s novel ‘You Should Have Known.’ The narrative of ‘The Perfect Lie’ presents Bergen’s social elite as an enviable community before its secrets emerge, much like how Grace’s luxurious family life appears secure, only for a crisis to expose how fragile that image really is.

2. The Perfect Couple (2024-)

‘The Perfect Couple’ brings the wealthy Winbury family and their guests together at their lavish Nantucket estate as Benji Winbury prepares to marry Amelia Sacks. Led by Greer Garrison Winbury (Nicole Kidman) and Tag Winbury (Liev Schreiber), the family appears to have everything under control until a body is discovered just before the wedding ceremony. The celebration immediately turns into a murder investigation, with everyone connected to the gathering becoming a potential suspect.

The investigation forces the family and their guests to confront revelations that threaten the carefully maintained image surrounding their lives and realize the cost of secrets. Created by Jenna Lamia, the mystery drama series is based on Elin Hilderbrand’s eponymous novel. ‘The Perfect Lie’ and ‘The Perfect Couple’ examine the lives of affluent individuals whose polished image begins to crack when a death occurs within their spheres of influence, radically upending the group’s dynamics.

1. Big Little Lies (2017-)

‘Big Little Lies’ is a David E. Kelley creation that introduces Jane Chapman (Shailene Woodley), a single mother. To experience a different life, she moves with her son, Ziggy Chapman (Iain Armitage), to a wealthy coastal community. There, she befriends Madeline Mackenzie (Reese Witherspoon) and Celeste Wright (Nicole Kidman), despite being an outsider. As the lives of Jane, Madeline, and Celeste grow increasingly intertwined, ordinary family conflicts escalate into more serious problems, setting off a chain of events that culminates in a shocking outcome.

With their relationships and personal lives under growing pressure, the women are forced to confront the consequences of what has been kept hidden. Based on Liane Moriarty’s eponymous novel, the crime drama series sheds light on friendship, insecurities, secrets, and deception, along the lines of ‘The Perfect Lie.’ The claustrophobic tension experienced by the characters and the visual aesthetic of the two shows connect them on a deeper level.