15 Best Shows Like One Of Us Is Lying

Summary

• Fans of ‘One Of Us Is Lying’ can find similar teen drama and mystery in ‘Get Even’ starring high schoolers wrongly accused of murder.
• ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ brings guilt and horror in a TV series inspired by the classic film, with a group of teens haunted by a killer.
• ‘Cruel Summer’ offers a gripping thriller with teen characters dealing with shocking reveals and dark truths in an intense story like ‘One Of Us Is Lying’.

Thanks to its success, fans are already looking for more shows like One Of Us Is Lying. The Peacock series is one of the latest bestselling young adult novels to get a small-screen adaptation for a streaming service. The series is The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars and follows four high schoolers who become murder suspects after a student dies while in detention. Despite being from different cliques, the four survivors must team up and learn to trust each other to clear their names and find out who really killed Simon.

The eight-episode first season of the Peacock original series was released in October 2021 and left quite an impact on fans of the book while recruiting several new fans as well. The series was renewed for a second season in January 2022, and it premiered later that year but has since been canceled. While many were sad to see it end, there are a lot of similar options available. For fans who want more of the mystery, the found family among the teens, or a soapy drama combined with a crime series, there are plenty more shows like One Of Us Is Lying.

15 Get Even (2020)

A Well-Meaning Group Of Girls Are Accused Of Murder

Get Even is a British thriller series that originally aired on BBC iPlayer before getting acquired by Netflix. The series centers on four high school girls who team up to expose the bullies at their school once and for all. However, disaster strikes when one of the bullies is murdered with a note saying the girls’ vigilante-style club is responsible.

Just like in One Of Us Is Lying, the characters in Get Even are wrongfully accused of murder and must work tirelessly to find the true killer to keep themselves out of jail and keep their classmates safe. In addition to being accused of murders, the girls have their entire worlds flipped upside down by the attacker, who threatens to ruin their lives in more ways than one since their identities in their vigilante-style work are kept secret.

14 Heartbreak High (2022-)

Students Deal With Young Drama At An Australian High School

Netflix rebooted Heartbreak High, a popular Australian teen drama of the 1990s, and brought it into the modern day. The series begins when the school’s “sex map” is exposed and everyone who has their name on the map is required to attend a new sex-ed class — including the creator of the map, who becomes a social outcast when she takes the blame by herself.

While none of the teenagers in Heartbreak High are accused of murder, and there’s not a massive mystery to be solved, there is a lot of overlap between it and One Of Us Is Lying. For instance, both shows explore the fall from grace as characters must reckon with their new outcast personalities. The character dynamic between the young characters delivers a lot of exciting drama and tension with Heartbreak High season 2 recently continuing the story.

13 Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin (2022-)

A Spinoff Series With A New Group Of Girls Stalked By An Unknown Enemy

Unlike the original Pretty Little Liars, Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin leans heavily into the slasher genre while still maintaining a mystery. The series centers on a group of teen girls from different high school cliques who begin receiving cryptic messages from someone named “A.” When they unite, they uncover that they are being targeted for something tragic that happened involving their mothers 22 years ago.

While One Of Us Is Lying didn’t start out with the characters fearing for their own lives, it quickly became that in the second season, which is why PLL: Original Sin is a great show like One Of Us Is Lying. Both shows revolve around teen characters getting cryptic messages that require them to do things that often put themselves in danger in retaliation for something that wasn’t really their fault in the first place.

12 Scream Queens (2015-2016)

Sorority Girls Are Targeted By A Killer

While rumors are swirling about a Scream Queens reboot, nothing has been confirmed. However, fans can binge-watch the first two seasons of the horror mystery show which is another show featuring an ensemble of young characters at the center of a deadly story. Set against the fictional Wallace University, the series centers on a popular sorority that becomes the victim of a heinous serial killer.

The characters in Scream Queens aren’t as bright as the ones in One Of Us Is Lying, which leads to more fatal causalities, but the show does have some similarities. Most notably, both shows are able to subvert audiences’ expectations when the truth of the serial killer and the real reason for Simon’s death is revealed, respectively. Scream Queens also has a lot of fun leaning more into its dark comedy.

11 Twisted (2013)

A Wrongfully Convicted Teen Returns Home To Find Himself Embroiled In Another Murder

Twisted is a mystery-thriller that ran for one season on the former ABC Family, now Freeform. It follows a sixteen-year-old boy who returns to his hometown after spending five years in juvenile detention for a murder he did not commit. Unfortunately for him, his presence is marked with another murder, and he becomes the prime suspect yet again.

Both Danny and the characters in many of the shows like One Of Us Is Lying end up on the wrong side of the law. In this case, they have been wrongfully accused of murder which has turned their lives upside down. Danny is more like Nate in that he has the most to lose, given his long criminal history, and thus, he and his friends must work tirelessly to figure out what is really going on in their quiet town even though they don’t always trust one another.

10 Cruel Summer (2021-2023)

A Young Girl Is Called Out As A Witness To A Crime

Like One Of Us Is Lying, Cruel Summer began airing in 2021 and quickly became a massive hit. In fact, it’s been reported that the first two episodes were the most-watched series debut ever on Freeform. The drama thriller follows two teen girls in the ’90s, with one claiming that the other witnessed her abduction and never reported it. This sets off an intense story with shocking reveals and dark truths that many wanted to stay hidden.

While Cruel Summer deals with some deeper issues than One Of Us Is Lying, like the dangers of child grooming and domestic abuse, the shows also have similarities. Namely, both series feature young, female characters at the lead of the investigations. It also features many of the well-timed plot twists and reveals that occur throughout shows like One Of Us Is Lying.

9 Gossip Girl (2007-2012)

Privileged Teens Have Their Secrets Exposed

While both the original and the rebooted Gossip Girl would make great choices for a show like One Of Us Is Lying to binge, the original wins because it has significantly more seasons. The series follows a group of high school students who are mysteriously watched by a gossip website. It becomes clear that someone in their inner circle is revealing all of their dark secrets to the world which breeds distrust and anxiety among the group of privileged teens.

The characters in Gossip Girl might hail from wealthier backgrounds than the characters in One Of Us Is Lying, but they’re both still dealing with being spied on by a gossip website. Even though the website is more anonymous than the About That page in One Of Us Is Lying, both jeopardize the lives of the characters.

8 Nancy Drew (2019-2023)

The Famous Young Detective Investigates Crimes

The iconic Nancy Drew is arguably one of the most well-known young female detectives in popular culture, and in 2019 she got her own show on The CW. This time, Nancy finds her college plans put on hold after the death of her mother and then, she and her coworkers are accidental witnesses to a murder. Murder and teenagers are often the common themes in shows like One Of Us Is Lying. The group bonds by solving the case and end up on many supernatural adventures together.

Nancy is most like Bronwyn from One Of Us Is Lying in that they both are determined to solve the murder they witnessed. Both series also feature an ensemble cast of teenagers from different backgrounds, rounding out the traditional stereotypes of a brain, a jock, a criminal, and a princess.

7 I Know What You Did Last Summer (2021)

An Unknown Killer Plays On The Guilt Of A Group Of Teen

Prime Video’s I Know What You Did Last Summer is yet another young adult novel to have earned a TV series and is also loosely based on the classic 1990s teen horror film. A group of teenagers’ lives are forever changed after a fatal accident occurs on the night of their high school graduation. While they try to move on and learn to live with the lie, they find themselves stalked by a killer one year later.

Unlike One Of Us Is Lying, I Know What You Did Last Summer leans more toward the horror side of things than the mystery. However, both shows rely on a group of teenagers working together to keep each other safe while finding themselves in a perilous situation with lives on the line. Where the shows differ is also interesting as the teens in I Know What You Did Last Summer are guilty.

6 Only Murders In The Building (2021-)

A Trio Of Neighbors Investigate Murders For Their Podcast

Hulu’s comedy murder mystery seriesOnly Murders In The Building has made quite an impression on audiences of all ages. The series revolves around three true-crime podcast fans who launch their own podcast as they investigate the mysterious death of a resident in their apartment complex. Each subsequent season sees the main trio coming back together to create a new podcast for their latest case.

While these shows are drastically different in tone, they both lead audiences on a wild goose chase that makes for the biggest Only Murders in the Building plot twist ending after a series of plot twists. Both shows also lean heavily into social media, with the characters in Only Murders in the Building hosting a podcast, while the characters in One Of Us Is Lying deal with anonymous text messages and a gossip website.

5 Outer Banks (2020-)

Friends Embark On A Treasure Hunting Adventure

Outer Banks has become one of Netflix’s best teen series, mixing some of the drama of the genre with a sweeping adventure story. The series follows a group of friends as they set out to track down a mysterious treasure while the leader of the group it hoping to discover what really happened to his long-lost father.

While Outer Banks doesn’t start as a murder mystery, it sort of evolves into one as they uncover more clues about John B’s father’s disappearance. Many shows like One Of Us Is Lying also play off the found-family trope as the teenagers lean on each other more than the adults in their lives. It makes for a gripping ride with the dangers circling the teens and the excitement over finding a buried treasure. Like One Of Us Is Lying, the young cast of characters makes this perilous adventure all the more entertaining.

4 Pretty Little Liars (2010-2017)

A Group Of Friends Receives Threatening Texts

Pretty Little Liars is one of Freeform’s most popular series and has earned several spin-offs and even a reboot. The series centers on four friends who begin to receive threatening anonymous messages one year after their best friend has gone missing. When it comes to shows like One Of Us Is Lying for fans who liked the “About That” plot of the teen series, Pretty Little Liars is a great pick.

Both “A” and Simon’s “About That” apps are designed to reveal secrets about people, which can have dangerous repercussions. In season 2, One Of Us Is Lying leans even more into the “A” trope by having characters receive anonymous messages from “Simon Says.” Pretty Little Liars creates more complicated main characters who find themselves at the center of a murderous plot they might not all survive.

3 Sweet/Vicious (2016)

Two Girls Take Justice On Their Campus Into Their Own Hands

Sweet/Vicious is a highly underrated show, having been canceled after one season by MTV. The dramedy centers on two unlikely friends who team up to teach sexual assaulters a lesson when their university refuses to punish them. The show deals with the intense subject matter in a thoughtful way while still being able to find some comedy in its characters.

While it may not seem like this vigilante series is very similar to the murder mystery of One Us Is Lying, they actually have a lot in common. Both feature young women in lead, investigative roles taking control of their lives. They also both focus on bringing about justice when those in power refuse to do so. Sweet/Vicious is certainly a show that takes risks with its tone but is certainly a show worth checking out.

2 T@gged (2016-2018)

A Murder Is Supposedly Captured On Social Media

T@gged is a web series from AwesomnessTV that briefly made its way to Hulu before moving to Netflix. The psychological thriller centers on three teen girls who are mysteriously tagged in a dangerous social media video where someone appears to be getting shot. Similar to many of the shows like One Of Us Is Lying, the girls set out to figure out the mystery.

In this case, that mystery is who is behind the social media account before anyone suspects they have something to blame. Both shows also feature the heroes being stalked by the perpetrator, adding to the suspense. With the rise in the mystery genre in recent years, it is interesting to see how the genre can be reexamined and have new ideas seen through modern technology. It makes for a fresh and unique take on this kind of story.

1 13 Reasons Why (2017-2020)

A Teen Investigates The Death Of A Classmate

While 13 Reasons Why is the source of much controversy because of its content, the series was groundbreaking and curated quite the fanbase during its four-season run on Netflix. The series regularly involved a mystery at the center of its seasons with Clay and his friends desperate to bring about justice. It is a dark and disturbing show that is not going to appeal to all viewers, but fans of One Of Us Is Lying could find similar points of interest.

Both One Of Us Is Lying and 13 Reasons Why deal with the topic of suicide but in very different ways. However, it’s the later seasons of 13 Reasons Why that are more similar to the series as they follow Clay on his quest to figure out who is behind the gross and dangerous sexual assault happening on his high school campus.