What to read, watch, and listen to if you lovedThe Master and Margarita
Mikhail Bulgakov · Book · 2008
If you loved The Master and Margarita, start with The Master and Margarita (Vladimir Bortko, 2005) — a series from the same story. Below: 4 films, 4 series and 2 podcasts, each matched to The Master and Margarita across media.
You loved The Master and Margarita because it masterfully blends supernatural chaos with biting social commentary to expose the absurdity of human authority.
Start with the source
The source
The Master and Margarita
Vladimir Bortko · Series · 2005
Films on the same thread
Faust
F. W. Murnau · Film · 1926
Shares a thread with The Master and Margarita: Good vs Evil.
If the cosmic battle between good and evil in The Master and Margarita captivated you, this silent classic provides the foundational cinematic imagery for such diabolical bargains.
A Dog's Will
Film · 2000
Shares 2 threads with The Master and Margarita: Redemption, Magical Realism.
Like The Master and Margarita, this film uses magical realism and a divine tribunal to satirize social inequality, proving that the afterlife is just as bureaucratic as life itself.
A Matter of Life and Death
Michael Powell · Film · 1946
Explores: Afterlife bureaucracy, Destiny vs Free Will, Wartime romance.
This film mirrors the celestial legal drama found in The Master and Margarita, grounding its surreal bureaucracy in a deeply human story of love and the struggle for redemption.
The Devil Wears Prada
Film · 2006
Explores: Workplace dynamics, Ambition, Fashion industry.
The tyrannical, larger-than-life editor in this film serves as a modern, corporate equivalent to the demonic influence that disrupts the literary establishment in The Master and Margarita.
Series on the same thread
The Great
Tony McNamara · Series · 2020
Explores: Political Intrigue, Gender Politics, Royal Court.
This series captures the same satirical spirit of 18th-century Russian power dynamics found in The Master and Margarita, blending historical weight with an irreverent and darkly comedic tone.
The Magicians
Sera Gamble · Series · 2015
Shares a thread with The Master and Margarita: Magical Realism.
Fans of the deconstruction of fantasy tropes in The Master and Margarita will appreciate how this series forces its characters to confront the stark reality behind magical myths.
Lucifer
Tom Kapinos · Series · 2016
Shares a thread with The Master and Margarita: Redemption.
This series echoes the fish-out-of-water premise of The Master and Margarita, featuring a bored Devil navigating the mundane social structures of a modern city to find purpose.
Good Omens
Neil Gaiman · Series · 2019
Shares a thread with The Master and Margarita: Good vs Evil.
If the witty, supernatural intervention in The Master and Margarita intrigued you, this story offers a similar blend of apocalyptic stakes and humorously fallible divine entities.
Podcasts on the same thread
Mahabharatam
Podcast
Shares a thread with The Master and Margarita: good vs evil.
The philosophical depth and epic scale of the Pilate narrative in The Master and Margarita find a natural companion in this ancient saga of dharma and moral conflict.
Revolutions
Mike Duncan · Podcast · 2025
Explores: societal collapse, power dynamics, cyclical history.
Those drawn to the commentary on societal collapse and shifting power structures in The Master and Margarita will find this historical analysis of revolutionary patterns equally compelling.
Keep exploring
Common questions
Is The Master and Margarita based on a true story?
The Master and Margarita is a work of fiction by Mikhail Bulgakov. It is a satirical fantasy novel set in Soviet Moscow that incorporates a fictionalized retelling of the encounter between Pontius Pilate and Jesus alongside the arrival of the Devil in the city.
What is the relationship between the 2005 TV series and the 2008 book The Master and Margarita?
The 2005 television series is a screen adaptation of the 2008 edition of the novel The Master and Margarita. Both versions depict the same core narrative involving the Devil's arrival in Soviet Moscow and the intertwined story of a writer and his novel about Pontius Pilate.
Does The Master and Margarita contain multiple storylines?
Yes, The Master and Margarita features two primary narratives. One storyline follows the Devil and his companions causing chaos in Soviet Moscow, while the other focuses on a writer's doomed love affair and his unpublished manuscript concerning the historical encounter between Pontius Pilate and Jesus.
Should I read the book before watching The Master and Margarita TV series?
Reading the 2008 book The Master and Margarita before watching the 2005 television adaptation is a common approach for fans. The book provides the original source material and full detail regarding the complex satirical and philosophical elements that the television series adapts for the screen.