What to read, watch, and listen to if you lovedThe One
James Wong · Film · 2001
If you loved The One, start with Dark Matter (2024) — a series on the same thread. Below: 4 books, 4 series and 2 podcasts, each matched to The One across media.
If The One hooked you with its high-stakes exploration of self-confrontation, these stories push that existential clash into even more compelling territory.
Books on the same thread
One Shot
Lee Child · Book
Explores: Vigilante Justice, Military Expertise, Small-town Secrets.
Like the relentless pursuit found in The One, this thriller mirrors the intensity of a singular, focused expert navigating a dangerous world where every action carries heavy consequences.
Dark Matter
Blake Crouch · Book · 2016
Explores: Identity Crisis, Parallel Universes, Regret.
This novel echoes the core conflict of The One by forcing its protagonist to confront an alternate version of his own life and the person he could have become.
Ender's Game
Orson Scott Card · Book · 2013
Explores: Child Soldiers, Alien Invasion, Moral Ambiguity.
The One explores the burden of power, a theme echoed here as a young protagonist faces immense pressure and moral ambiguity while determining the survival of humanity.
The Martian
Andy Weir · Book · 2015
Explores: Resourcefulness, Human Ingenuity, Isolation.
While The One focuses on multiverse combat, this story captures the same gripping sense of isolation and high-stakes problem solving required to survive against impossible odds.
Series on the same thread
Dark Matter
Series · 2024
Explores: alternate realities, existential crisis, the road not taken.
This series deepens the existential crisis introduced in The One, pitting the protagonist against the most dangerous enemy possible: an alternate version of himself with the same drive.
Kung Fu
Herman Miller · Series · 1972
Explores: Redemption, Spiritual Journey, Fish Out of Water.
Fans of the martial arts sequences in The One will appreciate this journey of a lone fighter navigating a challenging landscape while seeking inner peace and redemption.
Counterpart
Justin Marks · Series · 2017
Shares a thread with The One: Identity.
Like The One, this series investigates the psychological weight of parallel universes, focusing on how a life of regret shifts when a hidden connection to another reality appears.
One-Punch Man
Series · 2015
Explores: Existential Crisis, Overpowered Protagonist, Satire of Superhero Tropes.
This series subverts the tropes found in The One by exploring the profound boredom and existential crisis of a protagonist who has become too powerful to be challenged.
Podcasts on the same thread
The Orphans
The Light and Tragic Company · Podcast · 2025
Explores: survivalism, artificial consciousness, existential dread.
This audio drama captures the same sense of existential dread found in The One, following castaways who must navigate a hostile universe while encountering strangers who share faces.
The Truth
The Truth · Podcast · 2026
Explores: human condition, experimental storytelling, moral ambiguity.
If the speculative nature of The One intrigued you, these cinematic stories offer a similar dive into complex moral ambiguity and the varied possibilities of the human condition.
Keep exploring
Common questions
Is The One about a sheriff's deputy?
Yes, the main character in The One is a sheriff's deputy who finds himself in a battle against an alternate universe version of himself. This antagonist travels between dimensions to kill other versions of himself, gaining power and strength with every life he takes.
Does the antagonist in The One get stronger?
In The One, the antagonist is an alternate universe version of the protagonist who grows progressively stronger. He achieves this increase in power by tracking down and killing other versions of himself across various dimensions, making him an increasingly difficult threat for the sheriff's deputy to stop.
What is the primary conflict in The One?
The primary conflict in The One centers on a sheriff's deputy attempting to stop an alternate universe version of himself. This antagonist is systematically hunting down and killing other versions of himself across the multiverse to accumulate power, forcing the deputy to intervene to prevent further destruction.
How does the antagonist gain power in The One?
The antagonist in The One gains power through a specific process of elimination. As he travels between different alternate universes, he kills versions of himself. Each successful kill results in him becoming physically stronger, which creates the central stakes for the sheriff's deputy throughout the film.