What to read, watch, and listen to if you lovedBabylon
Damien Chazelle · Film · 2022
If you loved Babylon, start with Hollywood (Ryan Murphy, 2020) — a series on the same thread. Below: 4 books, 4 series and 2 podcasts, each matched to Babylon across media.
If Babylon hooked you, it is because you are fascinated by the brutal, intoxicating cycle of ambition, excess, and inevitable collapse.
Books on the same thread
Babel
R. F. Kuang · Book · 2022
Explores: Colonialism, Translation, Language as Power.
Much like the characters in Babylon, these students navigate a world where immense ambition and power dynamics collide, leading to a volatile struggle against systemic forces.
The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald · Book · 2004
Explores: American Dream, Social Class, Love and Loss.
You will recognize the same hollow pursuit of the American Dream found in Babylon, as this story captures the tragic intersection of extreme wealth and moral decay.
F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald · Book · 1991
Explores: The American Dream, Social Class, Wealth and Status.
This classic mirrors the themes of Babylon by illustrating the violent, high-stakes collision between personal desire and the crushing reality of status in a gilded age.
Valley of the Dolls
Jacqueline Susann · Book · 1966
Explores: Fame and Addiction, Female Friendship, Hollywood.
If Babylon showed you the dark underbelly of Hollywood, this story confirms that the climb to fame is often a trap leading to an inevitable, tragic descent.
Series on the same thread
The Deuce
David Simon · Series · 2017
Shares a thread with Babylon: Rise and Fall.
This gritty exploration of industry transformation in New York mirrors the chaotic, morally ambiguous shifts of the film world depicted in Babylon during the late twenties.
Hollywood
Ryan Murphy · Series · 2020
Shares a thread with Babylon: Ambition.
You will appreciate how this series captures the same relentless, often ruthless ambition that drives characters to survive in the volatile, dream-chasing machine of Hollywood.
The Studio
Peter Huyck · Series · 2025
Explores: Power Dynamics, Creative Compromise, Corporate Culture.
This satire exposes the same chaotic power dynamics and creative compromises that defined the industry madness you witnessed throughout the narrative of Babylon.
The Get Down
Baz Luhrmann · Series · 2016
Explores: Urban Decay, Youth Culture, Musical Innovation.
Just as Babylon captures the frantic energy of a changing era, this story follows the raw, desperate pursuit of innovation within a rapidly evolving urban landscape.
Podcasts on the same thread
Dan Carlin's Hardcore History
Dan Carlin · Podcast · 2026
Explores: civilizational collapse, human nature, moral ambiguity.
The examination of civilizational collapse and human nature here provides the same high-level, dark perspective on the rise and fall of empires explored in Babylon.
Fall of Civilizations Podcast
Podcast
Explores: Civilizational Collapse, Historical Analysis, Ancient History.
This podcast digs into the mechanics of decay, echoing the same haunting sense of impermanence and inevitable ruin that permeates the world of Babylon.
Keep exploring
Common questions
Is Babylon based on a true story about the transition to sound films?
Babylon is a fictional tale set during the late 1920s. It traces the rise and fall of multiple characters navigating the industry's shift from silent films to sound films amidst an era of unbridled decadence and depravity in Hollywood.
What is the main theme explored in Babylon?
The primary theme of Babylon is outsized ambition and outrageous excess. The film focuses on the professional and personal trajectories of various characters as they experience the industry's transition during the late 1920s.
Does Babylon depict the Hollywood transition to talkies?
Yes, Babylon specifically centers on the late 1920s era when Hollywood underwent a major technological shift from silent films to sound films. The film explores how this transition impacted the lives and careers of its characters.
Is Babylon considered a movie about movie industry history?
Babylon is a film that uses the historical context of Hollywood's transition from silent to sound films in the 1920s as a backdrop. It portrays the industry through a narrative of ambition and excess during that specific period.