Apples Never Fall is Peacock’s latest in the mystery drama genre. Based on the book by Liane Moriarty, the series features an incredible cast led by Annette Bening and Sam Neill and set in the beautiful backdrop of Miami. When family matriarch Joy (Bening) mysteriously goes missing, it’s up to the kids and her husband to figure out what happened to her. Fingers point to a young woman who showed up at the doorstep months prior looking for help and who ended up befriending Joy. But evidence seems to suggest her husband Stan (Neill) might have had something to do with it, a fact their four grown kids can’t seem to reconcile. Every episode tells a different part of the story, revealing secrets, lies, and betrayal behind the family’s seemingly pristine façade.
With all seven episodes available to stream at once, anyone who watches will power through the twists, turns, and reveals to watch right through to the end. Once done, however, you’ll be looking for something else. If you liked Apples Never Fall, these three shows are worth checking out as well.
Big Little Lies (2017-2019)
Also based on a Moriarty novel, Big Little Lies was a big hit when it debuted in 2017. Like Apples Never Fall, the show has the same feel of upper-class suburban life, but instead of focusing on a family, Big Little Lies follows a group of women dealing with everyday pressures. When one woman’s husband winds up dead, however, the story goes back in time to tell what happened.
Big Little Lies features a star-studded cast as well that includes Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Alexander Skarsgård, Adam Scott, The Batman‘s Zoë Kravitz, Laura Dern, and, added in season 2, Meryl Streep. The series has the same posh feel with characters throwing accusations and who all clearly have things to hide behind their picture-worthy “everything is OK” smiles.
Stream Big Little Lies on Max.
Little Fires Everywhere (2020)
A dark tale also based on a novel, Little Fires Everywhere brings Celeste Ng’s story to life about a seemingly perfect, well-to-do family with a deep, dark secret. Kerry Washington plays Mia, an artist who works as a waitress to make ends meet. Reese Witherspoon, meanwhile, is Elena, a journalist and mother of four teenagers who also works as a landlady.
With the same themes of the difficulties of motherhood and the dangers of keeping secrets, Little Fires Everywhere has a far more explosive ending than Apples Never Fall. But the journey to get there and uncovering the events that led up to a massive house fire brings the same sense of urgency and intrigue. The topics of economic class and privilege, fractured family dynamics, and finding solace are also central to both shows.
Stream Little Fires Everywhere on Hulu.
The Undoing (2020)
Another mystery with an A-list cast about secrets and lies, The Undoing stars Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant (Wonka) as an upper-class married couple, Grace and Jonathan, raising their teenage son in New York. They seemingly have everything: great jobs (she’s a psychologist, he’s an oncologist), their son goes to a prestigious school, and they appear to be hopelessly in love. But when Grace has a chance encounter with a stunning young artist who later winds up dead, and Jonathan is named a suspect, her world begins to unravel. What’s more, he has disappeared.
The story in The Undoing follows Grace’s desperate search for answers and the truth about her husband, this woman, and what they have to do with one another. What she uncovers is darker and more troubling at every turn. Like the kids in Apples Never Fall, Grace doesn’t know who or what to believe. The show, dubbed a psychological thriller, is far more sinister and cerebral than Apples Never Fall, cutting the same way, though much deeper.
Stream The Undoing on Max.
