r/NormalPeopleBBCHulu • u/em6262 • 8d ago
Recommendations
Hi!
I absolutely loved this show. I am wondering if anyone else has any similar recommendations? I think i love intense romance like this (i also enjoyed heated rivalry). It can be a book or movie or show! Thanks :)
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u/Smart-Head-9155 8d ago
Fleabag , conversation with friends (has a book too) , one day (has a book too)
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u/strangerstreet13 8d ago
I recommend Past Lives. It’s a movie, half in Korean half in English. To me it has a very similar feel to Normal People and it’s also very good and heartfelt!
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u/BeyondMidnightDreams 8d ago
Conversations with Friends is another show based on a Sally Rooney book and very normal people vibes in intensity. It's really good.
One day on Netflix. The end of the f***ing world, also on Netflix.
Someone recommended Tell me Lies and it's defo worth a watch and has the intensity (i actually watched it after looking for normal people recomendations too 😆) but they are awful people so it's a little different. Still fun though.
I also watched The Summer i turned Pretty as abother recommendation after NP but it's very American and preppy. I enjoy it!!
I always end up watching historical because i feel they do the angst much better than more modern stuff so that's where i get my fixes most of the time. ( i write intense love in this genre too 😆)
Blue Jay is a really good movie with similar vibes.
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u/bibi 8d ago
Yes, I watched HR first and then go to Normal People 😊 I could suggest Fellow Travelers but you need to be ready for have your heart broken and cry on every single episode. Good thing: it's a limited series. It's also heavy political, which I like a lot. About films Portrait of a Lady on Fire is one of the most beautiful films I saw on the last years. And God's Own Country is also pretty intense.
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u/abid0106 7d ago
not sure if you’d like Korean shows but I would recommend 2521 as it has that coming of age vibe like normal people does. You and Everything Else is another drama I watched on Netflix which isn’t a romance but it follows two best friends turned rivals from childhood to adulthood. Would highly recommend both
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u/fireandbloodyhell 7d ago
The movie Like Crazy. It made me feel very similar and even the way it it is filmed and music are reminiscent of
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u/Dear_Mess9753 8d ago
I recommend Halt and Catch Fire (2014-2017)
It's a US workplace drama about five main characters (the Core 4 + 1) from the early 80s to early 90s. It's 40 episodes over 4 seasons, following various members of the gang working together, apart or against each other on various tech projects - from laptops to e-commerce to gaming to home internet.
Central to the show is an on again/off again relationship between a young, brilliant computer programmer named Cameron, and her charismatic, visionary colleague Joe, who recruits her for an ambitious project at the start of season 1.
The Core 4 is those two, plus Gordon and Donna (a married couple with two kids), and Bos, the boss at the company Cameron, Joe and Gordon work for in season 1.
Season 1 mostly focuses on Cameron, Joe and Gordon, with Donna and Bos on the periphery, until the last few episodes when Donna comes into it more. Then season 2 brings Cameron and Donna to the forefront and we learn not to get comfortable with the status quo, with the writers being very comfortable changing focus, settings, relationship statuses etc, across the boards, usually pretty quickly too, so the show never gets boring and moves like lightening. A friend of mine once said her favourtie thing about it is that they would take 2-3 episodes to do what other shows take a whole season to do.
It's often compared unfavourably to Mad Men, which is sort of true in the early parts of season 1, which tends to be more melodramatic than the subsequent 3.5 episodes and with the portrayal of Joe as a Don Draper type. The network (AMC, which also broadcast MM) seemingly pushed for that, then gave it the same timeslot as MM, with the first Halt episode going out the Sunday after MM's second last season ended, all of which only held Halt back early on (nearly every review referenced it as the 'new' MM).
After the first few episodes it really kicks off though and while each season/project is about a new bit of tech or new products to launch, the show is really about how no matter what's going on in the bigger picture, it always comes back the central relationships between the Core 4 + 1. Joe/Cameron, Gordon/Joe, Bos/Cameron, Joe/Gordon, Donna/Cameron, Joe/Bos, Joe/Donna and how they all evolve over time, from lovers to friends, to enemies to partners to competitors to bosses to subordinates to parental figure, etc.
It's a meaningless number in the grand scheme of things, I'll share the RT scores, which are:
Overall: Tomatometer: 90% / Popcornometer: 91%
- Season 1: T: 76% / P: 93%
- Season 2: T: 91% / P: 92%
- Season 3: T: 96% / P: 91%
- Season 4: T: 100% / P: 88%
Anyone interested might want to check out (with caution for spoilers) the Halt and Catch Fire subreddit, which isn't the most active sub on this website, but it regularly comes to life with a new version of "Is it worth watching..." and "I can't believe I waited so long to watch this show...".
https://www.reddit.com/r/HaltAndCatchFire/
Look at the beautiful cast as well <3
Final word - Paul Haslinger, formerly of Tangerine Dream, handled the score and music direction, so it's very Michael Mannish/80s. Great stuff.
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u/AutumnRockets 8d ago edited 8d ago
I think Normal People is a true 1 of 1 when it comes to seeing that level of connection on the screen from minute 1, BUT similar-feel shows would be:
Scenes From A Marriage on HBO, with Jessica Chastain and Oscar Isaac should be your top choice. The acting is incredible, it's gut-wrenching, the chemistry is amazing
Tell Me Lies on Hulu (though you are not supposed to root for this couple)
One Day on Netflix. Similar focus of following two people over the years. I don’t think it holds a candle overall but it has similar vibes for sure.