Shows Like His and Hers
If you’ve finished His and Hers on Netflix and you’re hunting for shows like His and Hers, I’ve got you, and a few books too.
Everything here is spoiler free, for His and Hers and for every pick. That means no twists, no killers, no endings. I’ll tell you why each one fits and what to watch out for. We’ll do eight shows first, then a handful of books, and then the rest of Alice Feeney’s novels.
What Makes It Special
First, what are we matching? His and Hers has a handful of ingredients. A murder in a small town where everyone knows everyone. A woman with a secret past who has to go home. A detective who is tangled up with a suspect. And a final twist that makes you want to start over.
If a pick has two or three of those, it’s a good match. I’ll flag the dark ones, because several of these are heavy.
Sharp Objects
Number one is Sharp Objects, the HBO limited series from twenty eighteen, based on Gillian Flynn’s debut novel. Amy Adams plays a reporter who goes back to her small hometown to cover the murders of young girls, and she has plenty of her own secrets.
It’s the closest cousin to His and Hers I can think of. A journalist, a home she can’t stand, a drinking problem, and a family that is quietly toxic.
It’s slow and moody, and very dark, with self harm and violence. But if you wanted more of that small town unease, this is it.
Big Little Lies
Number two is Big Little Lies, the HBO series from twenty seventeen, based on Liane Moriarty’s novel. A death happens at a school event in a wealthy seaside town, and we jump back to see how a group of mothers got there.
It’s glossier and funnier than His and Hers, with sharp comedy about school gates and gossip, and Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman and Laura Dern. But it has the same idea that polished surfaces hide ugly secrets, and the friendships are as tangled as the plot.
Content notes: it deals with domestic abuse, so go in prepared.
Mare of Easttown
Number three is Mare of Easttown, from twenty twenty-one, with Kate Winslet as a small town Pennsylvania detective. A young mother is found dead, and Mare has to solve it while her own family life falls apart.
If you loved the detective side of His and Hers, with a tired cop who knows everyone he arrests, this is the pick. It’s more of a character drama than a puzzle, and the grief is real.
It also gives you a proper whodunnit, with red herrings and suspects in every episode.
Broadchurch
Number four is Broadchurch, the British series that started in twenty thirteen, with David Tennant and Olivia Colman. The death of a boy shakes a seaside English town, and the detectives have to look at neighbors they’ve known for years.
It’s the right pick if you liked the English village feel of the book, because the community is the star. The coastal setting is as vivid as the cast, from the cliffs to the beach huts, and the score lingers. Everyone has something to hide, and the finale is a gut punch.
Be warned that it deals with the death of a child, which is sensitive. Season one is the one to watch.
Harlan Coben on Netflix
Number five is really a whole category. Netflix has made a run of British thrillers from Harlan Coben’s novels, such as Fool Me Once from twenty twenty-four, and Run Away, which arrived in January twenty twenty-six.
They share the His and Hers appetite for twists. Each is a fast, bingeable mystery where a family secret blows up an ordinary life, and the cliffhangers come every episode.
They’re lighter than the book, with less darkness, and they are easy to watch on a weeknight. If you wanted another Netflix hit with that same pace, start with Fool Me Once.
The Undoing
Number six is The Undoing, from HBO in twenty twenty, with Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant. A therapist in New York discovers that the man she married may not be who she thought, after a murder at her son’s school.
It’s based on a novel by Jean Hanff Korelitz called You Should Have Known. It’s a polished, glamorous slow burn that fits fans of marriages with secrets.
It is much more elegant than His and Hers, though, so don’t expect the book’s gritty edge.
Yellowjackets
Bonus pick: Yellowjackets, which began on Showtime in twenty twenty-one. It follows a teenage girls’ soccer team after a plane crash in the wilderness, and the same women as adults, haunted by what they did and what they hide.
It matches His and Hers on the theme that something terrible happened to a group of girls long ago, and it is coming back for the grown up versions. It’s also a lot more intense, so check the content warnings, because it includes violence and very disturbing scenes.
Behind Her Eyes
Another one for twist lovers is Behind Her Eyes, a six episode Netflix series from twenty twenty-one. A single mother gets pulled into the lives of her boss and his wife, and nothing is quite as it seems.
It’s famous for an ending that people argue about, and I’ll say no more. If you enjoyed the sense that His and Hers keeps pulling the rug out from under you, this will do the same, in a stranger direction.
A Quick Content Guide
A quick content guide, since almost all of these are dark. Sharp Objects, Yellowjackets and Broadchurch are the heaviest, with child harm and graphic scenes. Big Little Lies and The Undoing deal with abuse, but in a glossy way.
The lightest options are the Harlan Coben shows and Mare of Easttown, which are tense but not graphic. That is a reviewer’s assessment, not an official rating, so do check before you press play.
Books Like His and Hers
Now the books. If the show made you want a page turner with unreliable narrators, start with Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, the story of a marriage that goes horribly wrong, told in two voices.
Then try The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides, about a woman who stops speaking after a shocking crime, and a therapist who is desperate to understand why.
Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough is a twisty love triangle with an ending that people argue about, and it was also made into a Netflix series.
Big Little Lies, again by Liane Moriarty, and Sharp Objects, by Gillian Flynn, are both just as good on the page as they are on screen.
If you like the multiple voices, try The Guest List by Lucy Foley, from twenty twenty. A wedding on a remote Irish island turns deadly, and the story is told by several narrators, each hiding something. It’s a great pick for readers who loved how Feeney switches between voices.
More from Alice Feeney
And of course, there’s the author herself. Alice Feeney’s books are all standalone, so you can start anywhere. Her debut was Sometimes I Lie, a radio presenter wakes up in a coma and has to piece together what happened. The first chapters are included at the end of His and Hers.
I Know Who You Are is about an actress who is not as in control as she seems. Rock Paper Scissors, from twenty twenty-one, sends a couple on a wedding anniversary to a remote chapel in the Scottish Highlands.
Daisy Darker, from twenty twenty-two, is a family murder mystery at a crumbling house on a tidal island. Good Bad Girl came in twenty twenty-three, and Beautiful Ugly in twenty twenty-five.
Where to Start
So where should you start? If you want the same television experience, Sharp Objects. If you want a lighter binge, a Harlan Coben show. If you want more of the book’s tricks, Sometimes I Lie or Daisy Darker.
If I could only pick one show, it would be Sharp Objects, because it is the most serious match. If I could only pick one book, it would be Sometimes I Lie, because it plays the same game with a narrator who knows more than she says.
Whichever you pick, check the content notes, because almost every one of these is dark.
Now tell me in the comments: what are you watching or reading next? Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you next time.
