Painting The Town Rojo
Sky Rojo is a stylish, well-worked cat and mouse thriller that packs a real punch across its pacey 10 episodes. If you’ve finished watching this one and are looking for alternatives – fret not! We’ve combed through the archives and saved you the hassle with our top 10 picks for alternate viewing. To keep things simple for skim-readers we’ve added what similarities these have. Of course for all the shows we’ve reviewed, we’ve also added a handy link so you can check out our full thoughts on that series and see if it’s something you want to invest your time with. So without further ado, we present 10 TV shows that should whet the appetite when you’ve finished streaming Sky Rojo.
P-Valley
Similarities – Strip Club/ Empowering Hookers
P-Valley revolves around a strip club in the Dirty Delta. Various girls from different backgrounds work in this Southern club, carving out a living while dealing with their own personal grief. The two stars in the driving seat here is Queen Bee Mercedes and the new girl, Autumn Night. The latter arrives under mysterious circumstances and certainly has some secrets she’s hiding from everyone. As we soon find out, trauma in Autumn’s past has forced her into this line of work. Mercedes meanwhile, is on her way out from this trade. Having served her time, the first episode gears up for Mercedes’ final hoorah but things don’t go to plan. If you can go into this one with some patience, then P-Valley is certainly worth your time. The 8 episodes build up layers of intrigue nicely and the drama intensifies into a big climax at the end. You can read our thoughts on P-Valley in our full season reviews here!
La Casa De Papel (Money Heist)
Similarities: Alex Pina & Style
Netflix’s Spanish heist thriller La Casa de Papel is an incredibly tense piece of entertainment. Every episode leads to the next, building up drama into an explosive finale during season 1. This opener manages to channel the same nervous tension the first season of Prison Break conjured and does so with a really simple hook. Gain entry to the Factory of Moneda and Timbre and steal a substantial sum of money. The main character to conduct this mission is codenamed Tokyo, a woman who’s mourning the death of her partner in crime. When The Professor approaches and recruits her, along with a number of other formidable and colourful foes, what follows is a cat and mouse game adopting all the hallmarks of the heist, espionage and thriller genres. While the fourth season does wobble a bit, the rest of the show is fantastic. You can read our thoughts on La Casa De Papel in our full season reviews here!
Killing Eve
Similarities – Characters & Tone
Playing on the archetypal tropes you’d expect to see in the spy genre, Killing Eve confidently walks a fine line between dark comedy and gritty drama. The story predominantly revolves around two women; bored, excitement-starved MI6 agent Eve and illusive assassin Villanelle. Their stories run parallel to one another during the opening few episodes before converging together in a deadly game of cat and mouse. Across three seasons, some excellent acting make this a unique slice of the crime drama pie. It’s not perfect, and at times the story does suffer from some serious contrivances. Despite that though, Killing Eve is a great option for anyone after a lively and dramatic crime drama. You can read our thoughts on Killing Eve in our full season review here!
Ozark
Similarities – Cat & Mouse Chase
Gripping, thrilling and soaked in dramatic tension, Ozark is a well-paced show that proves to be another home run for Netflix Originals. The story here revolves around a family who find their lives turned upside down by their father, Marty, who happens to be a financial advisor. Only, he’s also one of the top money launderers to the second largest drug cartel in Mexico. When things inevitably go awry, the family are forced to uproot from their cushy lifestyle and move to Missouri, Ozarks. With three seasons already out and a fourth on the horizon, Ozark is definitely one of the better crime dramas out there and well worth watching.
Briarpatch
Similarities – Tone, Humour & Visual Flair
Briarpatch is an odd kettle of fish. Fresh off the success of Mr Robot, Sam Esmail takes to the murder mystery genre with a deliciously twisted and dark tale of revenge, treachery and greed. Within that pressure cooker of flavours lies a real slow burn mystery but Briarpatch is slower than most. However, this is also a show that rewards your patience, ending things with a beautifully written finale that ties up all the loose ends. The story itself begins with a young girl called Felicity meeting an untimely demise thanks to a car bombing. With fingers pointing at a whole host of colourful and deceptive players, Felicity’s sister Allegra arrives in town. She’s determined to get to the bottom of what’s happened. While it takes a while to get to know everyone and understand how everything slots together, the second half of the series really comes into its own, showing off more of that familiar Sam Esmail style. You can read our thoughts on Briarpatch in our full season review here!
The End of the F**king World
Similarities – Humour & Pace
With a title like The End Of The F*king World, you’ll know very early on whether this dark comedic drama is for you. Split across two seasons and chock full of witty jokes, this British series certainly does a great job making the most of its limited run-time. The show follows two damaged teenagers, James and Alyssa, as they embark on a road trip to escape their mundane lives. James is engulfed in murderous thoughts whilst angry teen Alyssa hates her Step Dad and pretty much everyone else in the world… except James. The jokes are well timed, the clever switching narrative between the damaged characters helps to empathise with both teen and the short length makes this a very easy show to sit through. This one’s a must-watch. You can read our thoughts on The End of the Fking World in our full season review here!
Euphoria
Similarities – Style & Depiction of Drugs/Sex
HBO’s stylish teen-drama Euphoria is a visually striking and boundary-pushing show. It accurately depicts how destructive drugs can be and spins that into a gorgeously shot series about a group of teens dealing with teenage issues. Zendaya ignites the show with her accurate portrayal of drug-addict Rue but each of the different teens bring something new to the show. There’s some very important topics discussed here too and against the backdrop of drug taking, nudity and rape, this teen drama is easily one of the best dramas of its kind and a must-watch, even for those who don’t usually watch these sort of shows. You can read our thoughts on Euphoria in our full season review here!
Hache
Similarities – Spanish & Empowering Women
Boasting an eccentric soundtrack and some really impressive set design, Hache lives and breathes 1960’s Barcelona, delivering a decent crime offering in the process. At the heart of this one lies empathetic mother Helena, who finds herself in desperate need of cash and influence to free her husband from jail. Between looking after her daughter and scraping a living to survive, Helena is forced into a difficult decision. This eventually sees her seduce a dangerous drug lord called Malpica in order to raise funds to free her husband from prison. With Helena adopting a new alias for her mission, this tense and thrilling Spanish crime drama keeps up the pressure right to the very end. This one is well worth checking out. You can read our thoughts on Hache in our full season review here!
She
Similarities – Female Empowerment & Grief
Dark and formulaic, Indian Netflix series She is an enjoyable crime drama that doesn’t quite do enough with its interesting premise. Still, it’s undeniably similar to Sky Rojo for its themes and ideas. She’s story sees police constable Bhumi who finds herself battling against the odds to change the opinion of her male colleagues who don’t believe she can make a difference in the police force. In order to change their mind, she goes undercover and uses her sexuality as a tool for seducing men and pushing the limits of what she’s capable of. This culminates in Bhumi taking down different shady characters across the season. At the same time, this undercover role awakens something painful yet empowering that lies dormant in Bhumi’s soul, as we see the struggles she has had to deal with across these pacey 7 episodes. With big themes around female empowerment and grief, this Indian crime drama is certainly worth a watch. You can read our thoughts on She in our full season review here!
Big Little Lies
Similarities – Girls Sticking Together
While the needless second season does dampen the experience somewhat, the first season of Big Little Lies is damn near perfect storytelling. With incredible acting, a slow burn mystery and some great reveals across the 7 episodes, Big Little Lies is arguably one of the best miniseries in recent memory. The story predominantly follows three Mums and their families. Boisterous Madeline struggles with her children growing up and not needing her anymore whilst simultaneously dealing with conflicted emotions toward current husband Ed. There’s also some ensuing tension between Nathan and his new wife Bonnie, while Jane struggles after moving to town and finding her son Ziggy accused of biting Renata’s daughter at school. Their feud is the glue that holds everything together but there’s a much darker central mystery at work here. That comes in form of Celeste who appears to have the perfect life with her twin sons and good looking husband Perry. Unfortunately under this sickly veil of smiles and laughter is a volatile relationship built on violence and fear. This one is a must watch. You can read our thoughts on Big Little Lies in our full season reviews here! So there we have it, our 10 TV show alternatives to watch when you’re finished with Sky Rojo on Netflix. What do you think of our picks? Do you agree? Are there any notable omissions? Let us know in the comments below!
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