What to read, watch, and listen to if you lovedSecrets & Lies
Mike Leigh · Film · 1996
If you loved Secrets & Lies, start with Secrets and Lies (Barbie Kligman, 2015) — a series from the same story. Below: 4 books, 4 series and 2 podcasts, each matched to Secrets & Lies across media.
What hooked you in Secrets & Lies is the way domestic facades crack to reveal deeply buried, life-altering family secrets.
Start with the source
Adaptation
Secrets and Lies
Barbie Kligman · Series · 2015
Books on the same thread
A Raisin in the Sun
Lorraine Hansberry · Book · 1995
Shares a thread with Secrets & Lies: Family Drama.
Like Secrets & Lies, this play examines the intersection of racial identity and family tensions, capturing the same raw, emotional honesty found in Mike Leigh’s masterful domestic portrait.
Pieces of Her
Karin Slaughter · Book
Shares a thread with Secrets & Lies: identity crisis.
Fans of the maternal revelations in Secrets & Lies will appreciate how this thriller centers on a daughter uncovering the hidden, dangerous past of the woman who raised her.
Little Fires Everywhere
Celeste Ng · Book · 2018
Shares 2 threads with Secrets & Lies: Mother-daughter relationships, Class differences.
This novel mirrors the class-based friction and complex mother-daughter dynamics of Secrets & Lies, exploring how rigid social structures and long-held secrets shape the trajectory of entire families.
Sons and Lovers
D. H. Lawrence · Book · 2018
Explores: Oedipal complex, Class struggle, Marital disillusionment.
If the social realism and class conflicts of Secrets & Lies resonated with you, you will find a similar intensity in this exploration of domestic disillusionment and family codependency.
Series on the same thread
Big Little Lies
David E. Kelley · Series · 2017
Explores: Secrets and Lies, Privilege, Female Friendship.
This series captures the same spirit of unraveling domestic perfection seen in Secrets & Lies, focusing on the volatile psychological undercurrents that define the lives of its female protagonists.
Secrets and Lies
Barbie Kligman · Series · 2015
Shares a thread with Secrets & Lies: Family Secrets.
While the tone shifts toward a procedural, this series shares the fundamental premise of Secrets & Lies by centering on the corrosive impact of family secrets in suburbia.
Little Fires Everywhere
Liz Tigelaar · Series · 2020
Shares a thread with Secrets & Lies: Mother-Daughter Relationships.
This adaptation captures the precise thematic DNA of Secrets & Lies, specifically the way class conflict and maternal secrets collide to shatter the lives of two very different families.
Brothers and Sisters
Jon Robin Baitz · Series · 2006
Shares 2 threads with Secrets & Lies: Family Secrets, Family Drama.
Those drawn to the family-centric drama of Secrets & Lies will recognize the same focus on grief, loss, and the inevitable fallout that occurs when long-buried secrets emerge.
Podcasts on the same thread
The Truth
The Truth · Podcast · 2026
Explores: human condition, experimental storytelling, moral ambiguity.
The Truth offers a similar commitment to the human condition and moral ambiguity found in Secrets & Lies, delivering intimate, character-driven narratives that prioritize emotional depth over simple answers.
Glass
Podcast
Shares a thread with Secrets & Lies: family secrets.
Much like the search for origin in Secrets & Lies, this podcast provides a poignant, personal investigation into the weight of family identity and the secrets we inherit.
Keep exploring
Common questions
Is Secrets & Lies a television show or a movie?
Secrets & Lies is a 1996 film directed by Mike Leigh. There is also a separate television series titled Secrets & Lies that premiered in 2015. These two titles share a name but represent different productions with distinct creative origins.
Should I watch the 1996 Secrets & Lies before the 2015 TV series?
You do not need to watch the 1996 film Secrets & Lies to understand the 2015 television series. They are separate projects sharing the same title. The 1996 film focuses on a woman searching for her birth mother, while the television series is a different production.
What is the plot of the 1996 film Secrets & Lies?
The 1996 film Secrets & Lies follows Hortense, a successful black optometrist who searches for her birth mother after her adoptive mother passes away. She discovers her birth mother is Cynthia, a working class white woman, leading to a complex and emotional reunion between the two characters.
Are the 1996 film and 2015 TV series Secrets & Lies related?
No, the 1996 film Secrets & Lies and the 2015 television series are not related. The film directed by Mike Leigh is a standalone story about a woman finding her biological mother, whereas the television series is a separate project that shares the same title.