What to read, watch, and listen to if you lovedShoplifters
Hirokazu Kore-eda · Film · 2018
If you loved Shoplifters, start with Sneaky Pete (David Shore, 2015) — a series on the same thread. Below: 4 books, 4 series and 2 podcasts, each matched to Shoplifters across media.
You were drawn to Shoplifters for the way it explores how chosen families survive within the margins of rigid societal expectations.
Books on the same thread
Pachinko
Min Jin Lee · Book · 2017
Explores: Immigration, Identity, Family.
Like Shoplifters, this epic saga explores the deep emotional bonds formed by those living on the fringes, highlighting how family identity persists through generations of hardship and social displacement.
Wild Fruit
Keyi Sheng · Book · 2018
Explores: Family Dynamics, Modern China, Survival.
This narrative mirrors the intimate, unconventional family dynamics found in Shoplifters, showing how individuals carve out a sense of belonging while navigating the pressures of a rapidly changing society.
The Memory Police
Yoko Ogawa · Book · 1994
Explores: Memory, Loss, Totalitarianism.
If the quiet, unsettling atmosphere of Shoplifters resonated with you, this story offers a similar exploration of how fragile human connections are maintained in the face of systemic erasure.
Little Fires Everywhere
Celeste Ng · Book · 2018
Explores: Mother-daughter relationships, Class differences, Race and privilege.
Just as Shoplifters questions the boundaries of traditional households, this novel examines the tension between societal conformity and the messy, authentic reality of how families are actually formed.
Series on the same thread
Shameless
Paul Abbott · Series · 2011
Shares 2 threads with Shoplifters: Poverty, Family Drama.
This series captures the same survival-based resilience seen in Shoplifters, focusing on a dysfunctional group that relies on unconventional methods and deep loyalty to navigate extreme poverty.
Sneaky Pete
David Shore · Series · 2015
Explores: Identity Theft, False Identity, Found Family.
Much like the characters in Shoplifters, the protagonist here constructs a new life through deception, ultimately finding a genuine sense of home within a group of social outsiders.
The Bear
Christopher Storer · Series · 2022
Explores: Grief, Family Business, Working Class.
The workplace crew in this series functions as a surrogate family, mirroring the way the group in Shoplifters finds profound connection while struggling through their shared working-class reality.
Moving
Park In-je · Series · 2023
Shares a thread with Shoplifters: Family Drama.
This story echoes the protective, secret-filled bond of the family in Shoplifters, emphasizing how people living on the periphery of society must rely on one another to survive.
Podcasts on the same thread
The Truth
The Truth · Podcast · 2026
Shares a thread with Shoplifters: moral ambiguity.
These stories share the moral ambiguity found in Shoplifters, providing brief but potent windows into the lives of people existing in the gray areas of the human condition.
Criminal
Vox Media Podcast Network · Podcast · 2026
Shares a thread with Shoplifters: moral ambiguity.
This podcast explores the same interest in moral ambiguity and social outsiders that defined Shoplifters, grounding its narrative in the complex reality of people caught between societal systems.
Keep exploring
Common questions
Is Shoplifters based on a true story?
The film Shoplifters is a fictional narrative directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda. It follows a close-knit group living on the fringes of Tokyo society who survive through shoplifting and odd jobs before their fragile existence begins to unravel after they take in a neglected young girl.
What is the primary conflict in Shoplifters?
The central conflict in Shoplifters arises when Osamu and his son take in a neglected young girl. As the family grows attached to her, buried secrets surface, which forces them to confront the true meaning of love, belonging, and the nature of their family unit.
Does Shoplifters take place in a specific city?
Yes, the events of Shoplifters take place in the outskirts of Tokyo. The setting highlights the lives of a poor but close-knit group living on the fringes of society, where they rely on odd jobs and shoplifting to maintain their fragile daily existence.
What themes are explored in Shoplifters?
Shoplifters explores the complexities of what makes a family. Through the story of a group living on the fringes of society, the film examines the true meaning of love and belonging that develops when the characters take in a neglected young girl and face surfacing secrets.