Colleen Hoover’s “It Ends With Us” was already a bonafide book sensation before it headed to the big screen, and now audiences are swooning and sobbing over Justin Baldoni’s film adaptation. Starring Blake Lively as Lily, Brendan Sklenar as Atlas and Baldoni as Ryle, the film brings to life their complex, interwoven story of romance, family and the heart-wrenching cost of domestic violence.
If you’re craving more nuanced about love and loss, here are seven TV shows like “It Ends With Us” to watch while you process the film.
“Maid” — Probably the most direct fit if you’re looking for a TV show like “It Ends With Us,” Netflix’s “Maid” is squarely focused on the fallout from domestic abuse, the challenges of extricating yourself from it, and the story of a young mother trying to free their child from the generational trauma of it. The two projects also hinge on unflinching performances from their female leads. In “Maid,” that’s Margaret Qualley, who was nominated for a SAG, Golden Globe and Emmy award for her performance here. While you won’t get as much steamy romance in “Maid,” you’ll get a thorough exploration of an abuse survivor on a journey of empowerment and self-discovery. — Haleigh Foutch
“Normal People” — This will-they-won’t-they gut-wrencher is a perfect next watch if you’re craving another imperfect love story. The Hulu miniseries is also a book to screen adaptation, based on Sally Rooney’s novel of the same name. “Normal People” stars Daisy Edgar Jones (“Twisters” and “Where the Crawdads Sing”) and Paul Mescal (“Gladiator” and “All of Us Strangers”). These two both have blockbuster films out this year, but this series features them in a much more intimate setting. While the relationship in “Normal People” does not center around domestic violence, their love story is far from a fairytale, much like Ryle and Lily’s. They also have Irish accents, if you’re into that. — Tess Patton
“Big Little Lies” — “Big Little Lies” is the rare TV show that approaches intimate partner violence with complexity, nuance and a much-needed measure of grace toward the people who survive it. If you somehow missed HBO’s wildfire hit series, adapted from Lianne Moriarty’s hit novel of the same name, the first (and essential) season unraveled the intertwined lives of the local women in an affluent coastal California town after a violent death rocks their community.
It’s a complex look at social dynamics inside a community of picket fence perfection. But its most revolutionary act of storytelling was how it depicted how the rot of domestic violence can settle in beneath those perfect facades, and the tenderness it showed in addressing the psychological and physical toll it takes on the survivors. If you’re craving more stories centered on complex relationships, cycles of abuse and female solidarity, “Big Little Lies” is the perfect series to watch next. — HF
“Grey’s Anatomy” — This may seem like an odd choice, but there are more parallels than you think. There are the obvious ones: Kevin McKidd stars in both “Grey’s Anatomy” and “It Ends With Us,” as characters who are capable of terrifying violence (albeit for very different reasons in “Grey’s”). The series also prominently features neurosurgeons which, of course, is Ryle’s profession in “It Ends With Us.”
But more than that, “Grey’s Anatomy” centers – or at least, used to center – on a protagonist who was desperately trying not to become her mother. Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) worked hard to build a life for herself, even after seeing her mother’s personal issues firsthand.
Plus, similar to above, this show is reliable for a good cry if you need it. The good news is, it offers just as much joy in some storylines. —Andi Ortiz
“Tell Me Lies” — “Tell Me Lies” doesn’t deal directly with intimate partner violence, but the emotional landslide from the heights of electric chemistry to the pits of toxic entanglement runs a familiar course to “It Ends With Us.” Also adapted from a novel (Carola Lovering’s book of the same name), the Hulu series stars Grace Van Patten as Lucy, a complicated young woman who plunges into a tormented romance with ambitious serial manipulator Stephen (Jackson White) when she arrives at college.
The streaming series is capital-S Spicy, but what begins as an erotic-if-noncommittal affair twists into a thorny, brutal series of machinations that rips their friend group to shreds. If you’re looking to recreate the experience of intoxicating romance that darkens into something something dangerous, “Tell Me Lies” should be your next binge-watch. Bonus: a second season is just around the corner. — HF
“This Is Us” — “This Is Us” is more about family dynamics than anything, but it does prominently feature an abusive relationship between Kate and a teenage boyfriend, in which she realizes quickly that she needs to escape (in no small part because of pushing from loved ones). There’s also a key storyline involving breaking a cycle of a different form of abuse: substance abuse. In the series, we learn that Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) struggled with alcoholism, which caused problems for his family. His son Kevin (Justin Hartley) developed similar dependency on alcohol, resulting in similar personal problems.
The show is perfect if you need a good cry, and mostly realistic portrayals of dealing with these kinds of issues. — AO
“Virgin River” — A softer take on trauma, “Virgin River” has five seasons of swooning romance and soapy drama available to stream right now. Like many of the entries on this list, Netflix’s hit series is a book adaptation, based on the Robyn Carr series, which follows its formidable female lead (Alexandra Breckenridge) at a moment of rebirth as she moves to a new town. The Netflix series also weave in and out of business, romance and complex family dynamics, with the central steamy romance tying it all together. Though “Virgin River” takes a lighter touch to the more dramatic elements, it’s a perfect pick if you’re looking for some light-hearted escapism after getting your heart broken by Ryle. — HF
