A lot of shows like Tell Me Lies are equally intriguing, dark, and relationship-focused as the 2020s drama series. After debuting in 2022, Hulu's Tell Me Lies drew solid reviews for overcoming a slow start to become a thoroughly engaging glimpse at the toxic relationship between Lucy (Grace Van Patten) and Stephen (Jackson White), two college sweethearts whose romance veers off course over time and the struggle they share to keep the pieces together. Based on the eponymous novel by Carola Lovering, the series jumps through time to depict the cornerstone moments of their relationship.

Part obsession thriller and part toxic relationship drama, Tell Me Lies s several worthy TV dramas with a lot to say about the profound consequences one decision can have on a long-term relationship, and there are a lot of shows like Tell Me Lies. Complex relationships and bombshell reveals are particular highlights of the series, alongside the toxic dynamic between Lucy and Stephen. Shows like Tell Me Lies contain these elements and more, while telling different, but still intriguing, stories that are meant to keep audiences guessing, and on the edge of their seats.

25 Cruel Intentions (2024)

Rich College Students Manipulate Those Around Them

A lot of what makes Tell Me Lies such an intense show to watch is the level of manipulation among the characters. While they are young adults, several of the characters show a chilling ability to play with the minds of others, which enhances the drama of the story. However, one show that may feature even more manipulative young people at work is Cruel Intentions.

A remake of the popular teen movie from the 1990s (which is in turn a remake of Dangerous Liaisons), Cruel Intentions follows two step-siblings, Caroline (Sarah Catherine Hook) and Lucien (Zac Burgess), who lie and control their fellow rich college classmates to ensure they keep their positions at the top of the social ladder. It is an exciting and drama-filled look at the lives of these privileged and immoral young adults, filled with scandalous relationships.

24 Fleabag (2016-2019)

A Woman Deals With Her Past Mistakes While Trying To Move On

Tell Me Lies deals a lot with Lucy Albright's own struggles with relationships as well as dealing with the reputation she has earned in the eyes of those around her. It is a frustrating existence for her and she deals with her mistakes, but is also confronted with the judgments she has unfairly earned. This is a theme in the highly acclaimed comedy-drama Fleabag. Phoebe Waller-Bridge stars as a woman guilt-ridden over her past mistakes who seeks solace in random relationships while her loved ones have dismissed her as a destructive person.

The series has a dark sense of humor, offering more laughs than Tell Me Lies while also digging deeper into the mind of someone struggling with such judgment. Fleabag also explores complicated relationships, especially in the second season with the introduction of Andrew Scott's popular character, Hot Priest.

23 Killing Eve (2018-2022)

An MI-6 Agent Forms A Connection With An Assassin

Killing Eve is another series from the mind of Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and despite being a spy series with a dark comedic edge, it is also a brilliant look at toxic relationships. Tell Me Lies explores the idea of someone being in a relationship with someone who they thought was a good person, only to discover a darker side to them. Killing Eve explores the idea of a toxic relationship in a different way, with a character forming a bond with someone they know is dark and dangerous.

The show explores the idea of someone beginning a relationship with someone who is toxic in order to embrace their own toxic qualities.

Sandra Oh stars in the series as an MI-6 agent who begins tracking down a female assassin known as Villanelle (Jodie Comer). However, as their game of cat and mouse intensifies, the two women find themselves unexpectedly drawn to each other. The show explores the idea of someone beginning a relationship with someone who is toxic in order to embrace their own toxic qualities.

22 Kevin Can F**k Himself (2021-2022)

A Woman Seeks Freedom From Her Toxic Marriage

One of the most harrowing aspects of Tell Me Lies is seeing the cruelty and mistreatment Lucy goes through at the hands of someone she felt loved her. However, it is also uplifting to see the strength she has to pull herself up and make the best of her life in the aftermath of her betrayal. Another series that displays a toxic relationship and one woman's strength in the face of it is the inventive Kevin Can F**k Himself.

The series initially presents itself as a typical domestic sitcom about a slobbish and immature husband and his loving wife. However, when the sitcom presentation drops away, the audience is given a more realistic look at the life of that wife, Allison (Annie Murphy), as she deals with her unhappy marriage to Kevin (Eric Petersen) and seeks to take charge of her life for the first time.

21 Mr. & Mrs. Smith

Undercover Agents Pose As A Married Couple

Watching the relationship between Lucy and Stephen form and then gradually fall apart in such a way is a riveting experience to watch. However, one of the best shows to explore the implosion of a relationship is Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Though based on the action movie starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, Mr. & Mrs. Smith takes a unique approach to that story. Instead of focusing on a husband and wife who discover they are both secret agents, the series follows a man (Donald Glover) and woman (Maya Erskine) who pose as husband and wife while undercover.

Though these two start out as strangers, the series follows them as their work transforms their relationship. Over the course of the first season, "John" and "Jane" experience the various stages of a relationship while also being in the middle of a spy thriller. It will be interesting to see how Mr. & Mrs. Smith season 2 will handle the new story.

20 Doctor Foster (2015-2017)

A Woman Uncovers Dark Secrets About Her Husband

While Dr. Foster is a show that deals with older characters compared to the young college students in Tell Me Lies, both shows take a look at the repercussions of a woman learning that her partner is not to be trusted. Suranne Jones leads the series as the titular Dr. Foster, a married woman who begins to suspect that her husband is having an affair, destroying the ideal existence she felt she was living in.

Like Tell Me Lies, the affair is only the beginning of much bigger secrets. Foster digs deeper into her husband's life to discover more and more she never knew. It is a gripping look at someone coming to with the fact that they never truly knew the person they were in love with. Seeing Lucy's heartbreak in Tell Me Lies, Dr. Foster presents another intense exploration of the fallout from such a devastating betrayal.

19 Conversations With Friends (2022)

Two Couples Become Intertwined

Like Tell Me Lies, Conversations with Friends is based on a best-selling novel, this one from Irish author Sally Rooney. The series focuses on two friends named s and Bobby who become drawn to an older married couple, Nick and Melissa. What starts as friendly interactions develops into something more when Bobby and Melissa begin flirting while s and Nick embark on a ionate affair.

Where the series feels most similar to Tell Me Lies is in the relationship between s and Nick.

Where the series feels most similar to Tell Me Lies is in the relationship between s and Nick. It becomes an intense attraction, with s discovering new aspects about herself through her connection to Nick. However, she soon discovers that he might not be as committed as she is and may not have been honest with her about the things that led to them getting together. While Tell Me Lies is more scandalous and sexy, Conversations with Friends feels like an intense drama about such a relationship.

18 The Sex Lives Of College Girls (2021-)

Young Women Discover Themselves In College

The college setting of Tell Me Lies is an intriguing one as it focuses on young people at a time in their lives when they are discovering themselves, living with a sense of independence for the first time, and exploring their sexuality in exciting ways. The Sex Lives of College Girls is another series that is set in this world, albeit one that takes a much more comedic approach to the story.

The series follows a group of young women going through this important moment in their lives with all the fun and struggles that come with it. There are some hilarious antics and funny observations made about the dynamics of young people in such an environment. However, while it is a very funny show, it also shows these characters going through complicated relationships, making poor decisions, and discovering new aspects of their sexuality, all things Tell Me Lies touches on.

17 Sex Education (2019-2023)

High School Students Explore The Complexities Of Sexuality

Another series that takes a more comedic approach to young relationships, similar to Tell Me Lies is Sex Education. The Netflix series begins with the story of a young man named Otis who teams up with his rebellious classmate Maeve to offer sex therapy services to the other confused and frustrated kids in their school. From there, the show evolves into a poignant, profound, and honest exploration of sex and relationships, not just among young people but lovers of all kinds.

Tell Me Lies deals a lot with the complexities of a sexual relationship, troubled and even toxic relationships, and characters dealing with their own secrets. There are all things that Sex Education explores in any given episode while also being charming and funny with a strong cast of characters. Though it is raunchy and graphic, it is also one of the most insightful shows about sex that speaks to a lot of complicated aspects of sexuality.

16 Sex/Life (2021-2023)

A Woman Looks Back On Her Past Life And ionate Affairs

Sex/Life is another series that deals with older characters than those in Tell Me Lies, but has the same sexy feel, intense relationships, and dangerous drama. The series follows Billie, a middle-aged mother who begins looking back on her wilder years before she was married and with kids. When an old flame comes back into her life, Billie's fantasies about what used to be threaten to destroy the happy life that she has built.

Billie makes for an equally compelling and complicated protagonist as Lucy in Tell Me Lies.

Like Tell Me Lies, Sex/Life takes a look at the compelling pull people can have on a relationship that they know is trouble for them. Billie makes for an equally compelling and complicated protagonist as Lucy in Tell Me Lies. They are people who make mistakes and are sometimes pulled in the wrong direction by ion, but they are also relatable in their dilemmas.