It's Right There, Just Open Your Mind
Remember that time you started watching a "silly comedy" and ended up having an existential crisis at 2 AM? These 25 series are masters of disguise, wrapping life-altering revelations in deceptively simple packaging. Proceed with caution—subtle spoilers included.
The Good Place
When you first start watching The Good Place, it's just another rendition of heaven and hell, right? Well, the series is a deep-dive into moral philosophy and human nature. In one scene Chidi teaches Eleanor that even ethical decisions have consequences. Imagine more of that.
Bojack Horseman
This show hides behind the facade of being a silly cartoon, but boy, it goes deeper into the nuances of depression, generational trauma, and addiction. The anthropomorphic animals serve as a trojan horse for devastating commentary on Hollywood, fame, and self-destruction. The episode "Fish Out of Water" perfectly captures depression and isolation.
BoJack Horseman (2014– ), Netflix
Russian Doll
What seems like a Groundhog Day copycat is actually a closer look into the Jewish culture, addiction recovery, trauma, and mental health. When Nadia repeatedly dies on her birthday, you get to see more and more haunting metaphors of a self-destructive pattern in the above areas.
RUSSIAN DOLL Season 1 Trailer (2019) Netflix Series by Series Trailer MP
Fleabag
The fourth-wall breaks within Fleabag aren't just clever gimmicks—they're a brilliant drill down for emotional disconnection and the masks we wear. You might think that it's all about dating, but beyond that, you'll experience the raw examination of grief, family dynamics, self-sabotage, and sisterhood.
Atlanta
In Atlanta, a series on rap music peaks a surrealist commentary on race, class, money, and fame in America. Episodes like "Teddy Perkins" and "B.A.N." break traditional TV formats to deliver unsettling truths about society like economic equality and the media's role in social narratives.
Atlanta | Official Series Trailer | FX by FX Networks
The Leftovers
The Leftovers might seem like a typical mystery—unexplainable disappearances. But hold on a minute! Underneath it all, if you watch it from a different perspective, you'll notice just how deep grief and faith tie down the human connection. The 2% who vanished explore how we all cope with inexplicable loss.
The Leftovers Season 3 Look Up Promo (HD) by TV Promos
Legion
Another superhero movie? Nuh-uh. Legion is actually a psychedelic journey through mental illness and reality perception. Mind-bending moments unfold throughout the silent film-style sequence where Kerry battles the Demon Chicken. When the producers use nonlinear storytelling, mirroring the protagonist's fractured psyche, it all becomes pure magic.
Legion Official Trailer #1 [HD] | An Original Series From FX and Marvel by Marvel Entertainment
Sense8
Eight strangers in all corners of the globe but are somehow connected. How? Sense8 is beyond science fiction, for sure. It's a smart and relatable way to show that we are all linked—American, European, or African. One of the inspiring scenes that brought out human connection is when everyone came through for Riley as she was giving birth.
Georgeville Television, Sense8 (2015-18)
Halt And Catch Fire
At first glance, it's all coding and computers. However, the probe is on the creativity that goes into the reinvention set against the tech boom. The series moves from a "Mad Men in Silicon Prairie" clone into a powerful drama about partnership and innovation. Here, Cameron and Donna's late-night coding session shines.
The Best of Season 1 | Halt and Catch Fire by Halt & Catch Fire
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
The title will make you think that this is just another romantic comedy with musical numbers. Some playful soundtracks take unexpected turns and provide a brutally honest portrayal of self-criticism and vulnerability. When you pay attention, you will realize themes like mental health, obsession, depression, anxiety, and identity seeping through.
Crazy Ex Girlfriend - You Stupid Bitch by WatchWithMati
The OA
A supernatural mystery at first, but the nitty gritty spotlights an ambitious meditation on faith and storytelling. The school shooting finale reframes the entire series' mysterious movements into a profound statement about collective action. And the aspect of human connection also peeps through. The interpretive movements are actually physical manifestations.
Pushing Daisies
Pushing Daisies starts out as a whimsical romance about pie. However, in reality, it explores mortality and love. Oh, and one more thing—the price of second chances. Behind the candy-colored aesthetic lies a story about the consequences of playing with life and death. Ned and Chuck's relationship has to be the highlight.
Jinks/Cohen Company, Pushing Daisies (2007-2009)
Better Off Ted
Better Off Ted's in-depth analysis plays up the satirical connection between corporate culture and ethics in technology. Under the facade of workplace comedy, you'll experience just how nuanced artificial intelligence becomes a corporate responsibility. The motion sensors that can't detect black employees perfectly skewer real-world tech bias issues through absurdist comedy.
I Hope So - Better Off Ted by TheDarkFalcon
Rectify
Rectify might have seemed like something we've all seen, but take a deeper look. Through the lens, the show takes you through the justice system and how hard it is to get back to normalcy after freedom. Daniel's simple act of lying in the grass after release captures the overwhelming nature of freedom after confinement.
Rectify - Season 1 Trailer by Franco Rosselli
Mad Men
Advertising in the '60s was crazy, and we know all this thanks to the multiple award-winning series Mad Men. Beyond the advertising, this Madison Avenue drama frequently contrasts the characters' professional ambitions with their personal struggles, and also the pressure of societal expectations result in profound existential crises.
Lionsgate, Mad Men (2007–2015)
Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Quite an innocent teenage show about vampires but that's not it. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is an allegorical exploration of Buffy's battles with supernatural forces that often mirror real-life struggles of identity, love, and acceptance. Viewers also experience the character's rawness to grief after losing their loved one. Mortal or immortal, life is just as hard.
Sid and Nancy (1986), Zenith Entertainment
Mr. Robot
Mr. Robot is a psychological drama. The characters personify a not so new theme of mental illness tied to corporate greed. Identity matters also come to the surface. When you watch it till the end, the season finale will reveal some truths about Elliot's family you never saw coming.
Anonymous Content, Mr. Robot (2015-2019)
Twin Peaks
When the unknown manifests as evil, we get Twin Peaks. Laura Palmer's dream sequences, filled with cryptic symbols and unsettling imagery, offer a haunting look at trauma and the subconscious. Despite the soap opera moments and supernatural horror, we also see bigger existential questions coming to light.
Twin Peaks (2017), Showtime Networks
The Sopranos
The Sopranos' main themes are masculinity, family, and mental health, with a sprinkle of violence here and there. And you'll see this during the therapy sessions between Tony and his therapist. The one where Tony grapples with his mother's influence brings forth family dynamics and unresolved trauma.
The Sopranos: Most Misunderstood Scene by the yellow king
Behind Her Eyes
This one will have you asking, "What did I just see?" in the last episode. Behind Her Eyes changed from a love triangle to a myriad of scenes exploring manipulation, obsession, and the supernatural events of body-swapping through astral projections. You'll be confused as to who is who by the last episode.
BEHIND HER EYES Trailer (2021) New Netflix Thriller Series by ONE Media Coverage
Predestination
What might seem like a time-travel thriller is far more sinister and will have you questioning reincarnation in so many ways. This mind-bender has a looping plot that reveals a shocking twist, where one person exists as multiple interconnected characters. A man becomes a woman, then she gives birth to herself!
Predestination 2014 | storyline hunter by storyline hunter
The Handmaid's Tale
This HBO show takes you into the future when society is divided into roles—mostly centered on masters and their wives in teal with their child bearers in red. The story is a haunting allegory of real-world power dynamics and human rights abuses but Offred isn't having it—she constantly challenges the new norm.
THE HANDMAIDS TALE Season 1 TRAILER (2017) Hulu Series by Series Trailer MP
Westworld
Another futuristic picture seems all innocent with a park filled with robots who slowly become self aware. Westworld goes into a philosophical inquiry into consciousness and free will. As the hosts awaken, the show examines what it means to be human as Dolores did. Her realizations blurred the artificial and human consciousness line.
Orphan Black
It starts as a conspiracy sci-fi and unfolds into the ethics of scientific experimentation. Each clone represents different facets of nature and nurture, and in one scene, when Sarah realizes that her individuality is threatened by those who see her as an experiment, it sparks a fight for self-ownership and human rights.
Orphan Black: Echoes | Official Trailer feat. Krysten Ritter | Premieres June 23 | AMC+ by amc+
Black Mirror
The final show has to be the mind-boggling Black Mirror. This series that seems independent highlights profound commentary on technology's potential impact on society, often with chillingly plausible predictions. Each episode holds up a mirror to our own anxieties about how different technologies could alter everything.
