Shows like Normal People: Finished Normal People? Here’s what to watch next
The BBC’s adaptation of Sally Rooney’s coming-of-age drama series Normal People has been making waves since it landed on iPlayer. The show follows the love story of school students Marianne Sheridan (played by Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Connell Waldron (Paul Mescal). Normal People charts their burgeoning romance from teens with a sexual arrangement to two lovers on the precipice of their next chapter and life beyond university.
The drama has been an overwhelming success with over 16.2 million requests on iPlayer to watch Normal People after it first debuted on April 26.
This figure marks the best-ever week for BBC Three to date and is likely to rise as Normal People becomes a word-of-mouth sensation, spreading like wildfire.
However, many viewers are now looking for their next binge-watch.
Express.co.uk has rounded up the best shows to catch if you’ve devoured Normal People and want something new to fill the gut-wrenching void.
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Shows like Normal People
Sex Education – Netflix
Netflix teen hit Sex Education is the feelgood British comedy-drama which lifts the lid on all possible bedroom taboos.
Sex Education follows Otis Milburn (played by Asa Butterfield), who unwittingly becomes the resident love therapist at school when his mother is outed as a relationship and sexual guidance counsellor.
With the help of the aptly-named Maeve Wiley (Emma Mackey) and best friend Eric Effiong (Nacuti Gatwa), Otis embarks on a sexual odyssey of self-discovery like no other.
Acting heavyweights Gillian Anderson and Alistair Petrie take on the straight roles but it’s the young cast who really shine.
There’s a huge ensemble cast with characters to fit every kind of viewer out there and will leave you n stitches and tears in turn.
The series is a love letter to the films of American filmmaker John Hughes, which include The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles.
Never Have I Ever – Netflix
Mindy Kaling and Lana Fisher’s teen comedy-drama Never Have I Ever is the perfect antidote for any TV blues with its blend of humour and poignancy as well as its bingeable instalments running to around 30 minutes.
Never Have I Ever follows Indian-American school girl Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) as she embarks on becoming popular by sleeping with the high school “stone-cold hottie” Paxton Hall-Yoshida (Darren Barnet).
While this is an age-old trope, Never Have I Ever gives a fresh spin on the classic teen formula through the sphere of a South East Asian woman trying to navigate culture, bereavement and being a teenager.
Needless to say, things don’t go quite to plan for the teen and her equally nerdy friends as Devi ends up in all kinds of predicaments.
However, Devi’s plans are pure deflection from the sudden death of her father Mohan (Sendhil Ramamurthy) and dealing with the ensuing grief.
Derry Girls – Channel 4
At the lighter end of the spectrum is Channel 4 hit Derry Girls, the female answer to The Inbetweeners with plenty of sexual innuendo but with less toilet humour.
Derry Girls follows a group of friends living in the 90s during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
Despite the political climate, the group is simply trying to survive school and tread the tough terrain of being teenagers, along with the awkwardness and embarrassment it brings.
Fleabag – Amazon Prime
If you haven’t seen Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Emmy-winning masterpiece, now is the time to do so.
Breaking the fourth wall, the titular character Fleabag (played Waller-Bridge) takes audiences on a rollercoaster journey as she deals with the grief of losing her best friend and trying to find solace in sex.
At times jet black in humour, Fleabag sees a twentysomething woman on a redemptive path as she learns from the past and grows albeit paifully.
Olivia Colman, Sean Clifford and Andrew Scott serve up some incredible performances which veer unexpectedly from comedy to tragedy in the blink of eye.
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After Life – Netflix
Ricky Gervais takes on grief in his own pitch-black comedy After Life, following a man who is struggling to cope following the death of his terminally ill wife.
Again, there are shades of light and dark in this series with a life-affirming light at the end of the tunnel moment.
Expect some acerbic and biting moments from The Office and Extras creator.
Noughts & Crosses – BBC
In a slightly different vein is the BBC’s recent adaptation of well-loved Young Adult novel Noughts and Crosses, written by former Children’s Laureate Malorie Blackman.
Noughts and Crosses imagines an inverted racial dystopia in which Africa developed ahead of Europe with black people becoming the dominant race.
The show sees a Romeo and Juliet love story blossoming between childhood friends Callum McGregor (Jack Rowan) and Sephy Hadley (Masali Baduza) amid rising tensions between black people known as Crosses and their white counterparts Noughts.
Normal People is streaming on BBC iPlayer now and airs on Mondays at 9pm
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