‘Tell Me Lies’ Is Over After 3 Seasons — Here Are 6 Shows to Stream Next
The toxic love story between Lucy and Stephen has officially ended, and if you need something to fill the void, these six binge-worthy series deliver the same messy drama.
KEY FACTS:
- Creator Meaghan Oppenheimer revealed on Feb. 16 that season 3 would be the final season of Tell Me Lies, with the series finale airing Feb. 17
- Oppenheimer told Variety the story “had reached its natural conclusion” and that continuing would “feel like an epilogue”
- There are no plans for a season 4 or spinoff
- Six recommended follow-up shows span Hulu, Netflix, and HBO Max — and most are completed series ready for a full binge
Why It Ended
Tell Me Lies kept viewers hooked on Hulu for three seasons with the poisonous push-and-pull between Lucy (Grace Van Patten) and Stephen (Jackson White). Creator Meaghan Oppenheimer announced the final season while it was still airing, giving fans barely any time to process before the series finale dropped the next day.
“I felt like the story had reached its natural conclusion, and I really didn’t want it to become something else,” Oppenheimer told Variety. “This story, to me, was always a closed-ended story. It has a beginning, middle and end.”
She added: “This was always a question of what happens to this friend group when there’s a poisonous dynamic at the center? And what happens when they reunite years later? So I felt like this should be the ending. The fans are so loud and loyal, and that’s kind of all you can hope for. We definitely talked about whether there are any other organic ways to move forward. We just kept coming back to the same thing: It felt like anything else would feel like an epilogue.”
No season 4. No spinoff, at least not yet. The story is done. Here’s what to stream next.
‘Normal People’ (Hulu)
If the raw, complicated emotional core of Lucy and Stephen’s relationship is what kept you hooked, start here. Normal People follows Marianne and Connell’s complicated relationship from high school through college.
It’s based on a novel by Sally Rooney. The slow-burn intensity of watching two people who can’t seem to get the timing right hits hard. It’s on Hulu, so if that’s already in your streaming rotation from Tell Me Lies, you can start immediately.
‘You’ (Netflix)
You takes the toxic relationship dynamic and cranks it to genuinely unsettling levels. The show follows self-proclaimed nice guy Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) as he enters into relationships with women he stalks.
It’s the kind of show that makes you question your own judgment — you’ll catch yourself almost rooting for him, then remember what he’s actually doing. All five seasons are on Netflix, making it a completed series you can binge straight through without waiting for new episodes.
‘Big Little Lies’ (HBO)
Beyond the similarity in titles, Big Little Lies and Tell Me Lies share major moments of harmful infidelities, impactful secrets, and wicked deeds. The HBO Original dark comedy-drama reveals that behind their seemingly perfect facade, several wealthy Monterey, California families are hiding information and actions that could completely unravel the lives of those around them.
Past traumas and current abuses culminate in a sudden death that implicates five women in the community, played by Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Shailene Woodley, Laura Dern and Zoë Kravitz. The layers of deception and betrayal will feel deeply familiar to anyone who spent three seasons untangling Stephen’s lies.
‘Cruel Summer’ (Freeform)
This mystery thriller anthology series follows different compelling stories over two seasons. The first is set in Texas from 1993 to 1995 as a socially awkward teen girl (Chiara Aurelia) suddenly blossoms and rises in the social ranks after a popular classmate’s (Olivia Holt) disappearance.
The second season takes place between 1999 and 2000 and follows three teens who become involved in a tangled love triangle that leaves one dead and the other two suspects. The anthology format means each season is its own self-contained story — you can dive in without a massive time commitment and still get a satisfying sense of resolution.
‘We Were Liars’ (Prime Video)
Based on a book by E. Lockhart, We Were Liars follows Cadence Sinclair, who has trouble remembering an accident she was in on her family’s private island. If you love a mystery that slowly unravels alongside complicated family dynamics, this one delivers.
Without giving anything away, the final stretch delivers the kind of twist that will have you immediately texting everyone you know to watch it.
‘Gossip Girl’ (HBO Max)
This 2000s teen drama has relationship drama, backstabbing, layered characters, and an ominous blogger to chronicle it all. If Tell Me Lies scratched your itch for watching wealthy, beautiful people make spectacularly terrible decisions that ripple through their entire social circle, Gossip Girl basically invented that formula.
The iconic show also birthed a reboot of the same name and has a spinoff in the works. You can stream it — and the 2021 reboot — on HBO Max, giving you plenty of content to work through.
Production of this article included the use of AI. It was reviewed and edited by a team of content specialists.
