If you loved
Secrets & Lies
Mike Leigh · Film · 1996
If you loved Secrets & Lies, you will be drawn to these stories that peel back layers of domestic artifice to expose raw, long-buried family truths.
Start with the source
Adaptation
Secrets and Lies
Barbie Kligman · Series · 2015
Books on the same thread
Little Fires Everywhere
Celeste Ng · Book · 2018
Shares 2 threads with Secrets & Lies: Mother-daughter relationships, Class differences.
Just as Secrets & Lies examines the intersection of race and class, this novel explores how secrets regarding identity and privilege threaten the stability of seemingly perfect suburban lives.
Kaleidoscope
Danielle Steel · Book · 2009
Explores: Separated siblings, Secrets and lies, Class disparity.
Like the central adoption mystery in Secrets & Lies, this saga centers on siblings separated by circumstance, tracking how suppressed family history ripples through the lives of the next generation.
Noughts & Crosses
Malorie Blackman · Book · 2006
Explores: Forbidden Love, Racial Prejudice, Social Inequality.
Much like the racial tensions at the heart of Secrets & Lies, this story forces characters to navigate the impossible barriers of an unequal society that dictates their personal relationships.
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Mildred D. Taylor · Book · 1976
Explores: Racism, Segregation, Family Loyalty.
Readers moved by the resilience of the family unit in Secrets & Lies will appreciate this portrayal of a family striving to maintain their dignity against systemic racial injustice.
Series on the same thread
Secrets and Lies
Barbie Kligman · Series · 2015
Shares a thread with Secrets & Lies: Family Secrets.
If you enjoyed the investigative tension found in Secrets & Lies, you will gravitate toward this procedural that uses a persistent detective to unearth dark secrets in a small town.
Big Little Lies
David E. Kelley · Series · 2017
Explores: Secrets and Lies, Privilege, Female Friendship.
Fans of the unraveling domestic dynamics in Secrets & Lies will recognize the same themes of motherhood and hidden trauma as these mothers deal with the consequences of their buried secrets.
Little Fires Everywhere
Liz Tigelaar · Series · 2020
Shares a thread with Secrets & Lies: Mother-Daughter Relationships.
This series mirrors the exploration of motherhood and class conflict seen in Secrets & Lies, focusing on the way hidden identities and social status collide within a fragile domestic environment.
Brothers and Sisters
Jon Robin Baitz · Series · 2006
Shares 2 threads with Secrets & Lies: Family Secrets, Family Drama.
Like the complicated family dynamics of Secrets & Lies, this drama delves into the messy, overlapping lives of siblings who must confront the secrets that threaten their shared history.
Podcasts on the same thread
The Truth
The Truth · Podcast · 2026
Explores: human condition, experimental storytelling, moral ambiguity.
Those who appreciated the intense, character-focused storytelling of Secrets & Lies will find that these short, cinematic audio dramas provide the same level of emotional depth and moral ambiguity.
1619
The New York Times · Podcast · 2019
Explores: systemic racism, national identity, legacy of slavery.
If Secrets & Lies resonated with you due to its examination of racial identity, this documentary series offers a necessary historical context for the systemic issues shaping the American experience.
Keep exploring
Common questions
Is Secrets & Lies a television show or a movie?
Secrets & Lies is a 1996 movie directed by Mike Leigh. There is also a television series titled Secrets and Lies that premiered in 2015, but it is a separate production from the original film.
What is the plot of the 1996 Secrets & Lies movie?
The film follows Hortense, a successful black optometrist who seeks out her birth mother after her adoptive mother passes away. She discovers her biological mother is Cynthia, a working-class white woman, leading to a complex and emotional reunion between the two characters.
Should I watch the Secrets & Lies television show if I liked the movie?
The 2015 television series Secrets and Lies shares a title with the 1996 film, but they are distinct projects. If you enjoyed the themes of the original movie, you can explore the television series, though the storylines and narrative focus are different.
How do the 1996 Secrets & Lies movie and the 2015 TV show relate?
The 1996 Secrets & Lies movie and the 2015 television series of the same name are not directly connected in terms of plot. The movie focuses on a woman searching for her birth mother, while the television adaptation functions as a separate narrative entity.