What to read, watch, and listen to if you lovedThe Bar
Film · 2017
If you loved The Bar, start with The Terror (David Kajganich, 2018) — a series on the same thread. Below: 4 books, 4 series and 2 podcasts, each matched to The Bar across media.
What hooked you in The Bar was the way sudden, forced confinement strips away social veneers to reveal human desperation.
Books on the same thread
A Horse Walks Into a Bar
David Grossman · Book · 2017
Shares a thread with The Bar: Dark Comedy.
Like the trapped patrons in The Bar, the protagonist here is forced into an agonizing public breakdown, exposing raw human nature under the crushing pressure of an unforgiving audience.
The Rage: A Game of Survival
Natica Brown · Book · 2017
Explores: Survival, Friendship, Betrayal.
This story captures the same frantic fight for survival found in The Bar, emphasizing how quickly ordinary people turn on each other when faced with immediate, life-threatening danger.
The Haunting of Hill House
Shirley Jackson · Book · 1987
Explores: isolation, sanity, female hysteria.
The sense of psychological entrapment and crumbling sanity that defines The Bar finds a haunting, supernatural echo here as characters confront their own fragility within an inescapable, isolated space.
The Road
Cormac McCarthy · Book · 2007
Explores: Parent-child bond, Moral ambiguity, Existential dread.
If the bleak social collapse in The Bar left you unsettled, this journey through a ravaged world mirrors that same grim exploration of human morality under extreme, hopeless conditions.
Series on the same thread
The Terror
David Kajganich · Series · 2018
Shares a thread with The Bar: Psychological Thriller.
The Bar thrives on the claustrophobia of isolation, a feeling masterfully replicated here as characters succumb to madness and primal instincts while trapped in an environment that offers no escape.
Locked Up
Álex Pina · Series · 2015
Explores: Innocence Imprisoned, Survival, Betrayal.
Fans of the high-stakes friction in The Bar will recognize the same volatile group dynamics and intense survival instincts that emerge when people are involuntarily locked away from society.
Money Heist
Álex Pina · Series · 2017
Explores: Mastermind, Underdog Story, Us vs. Them.
This series shares the tension-filled, high-stakes atmosphere of The Bar, focusing on how a group under immense pressure manages—or fails—to maintain order while their situation spirals toward catastrophe.
Barry
Alec Berg · Series · 2018
Shares a thread with The Bar: Dark Comedy.
The dark, biting humor that cuts through the terror of The Bar is fully realized here, blending deep existential dread with the absurdity of individuals trapped in impossible, high-pressure roles.
Podcasts on the same thread
The Truth
The Truth · Podcast · 2026
Explores: human condition, experimental storytelling, moral ambiguity.
These cinematic audio stories mirror the structural intensity of The Bar, frequently throwing characters into jarring, suspenseful scenarios that force them to confront their own moral ambiguity and survival.
Barrio Bravo
Podcast
Explores: DIY, Making things up as you go, Creative Process.
While less lethal than the situation in The Bar, this podcast captures that same chaotic, improvisational energy of people navigating uncertain circumstances where the only rule is to keep going.
Keep exploring
Common questions
Is The Bar set in a specific city?
Yes, The Bar is set in downtown Madrid. The plot centers on a motley assortment of people who become trapped inside a decrepit bar located within the city after a series of mysterious gunshots occur outside.
What happens to the characters in The Bar?
In The Bar, a group of diverse individuals finds themselves trapped inside a decrepit establishment. Their situation escalates as a series of mysterious gunshots forces them to remain confined together while they deal with the immediate danger outside.
Does The Bar feature a large cast of characters?
The Bar features a motley assortment of people who are brought together by the central event of the film. These individuals are trapped within a decrepit bar in downtown Madrid following a series of mysterious gunshots that occur in the area.
What is the primary conflict in The Bar?
The primary conflict in The Bar involves a group of people being trapped inside a decrepit bar in downtown Madrid. This confinement is triggered by a series of mysterious gunshots occurring in the downtown area, forcing the group to interact under high-stress conditions.