Finished ‘The ’Burbs’? These funny mystery shows hit the same nerve
Finished ‘The ’Burbs’? These funny mystery shows hit the same nerve
If suburban smiles and creeping suspicion are your thing, start with these next.
I love a funny, suburban mystery, and that’s exactly what “The ’Burbs” on Peacock is. Inviting suburban streets, fun wine nights, and casual smiles from your neighbors that are clearly hiding something underneath. It’s a lot of fun following Keke Palmer in her new cul-de-sac as she gets obsessed with figuring out who’s really living in the creepy, long-abandoned house across the street. The jokes land because the paranoia feels real, and the mystery works because everyone keeps insisting nothing’s wrong. Once it’s over, though, you immediately want more of that exact vibe. The good news is “The ’Burbs” lives in a very specific comedy-mystery lane, and these four shows hang out right next to it. Here’s what to watch next if you loved “The ’Burbs.”
The ‘Burbs
Set in present-day suburbia, a young couple returns to the husband’s childhood home. Their world is upended when new neighbors move in across the street, bringing old secrets of the cul-de-sac to light, and new deadly threats shatter the illusion of their quiet little neighborhood.
Loved ‘The ’Burbs’? Watch ‘Only Murders in the Building’
If “The ’Burbs” is suburban paranoia in a comedy wrapper, “Only Murders in the Building” is that same paranoia, just lighter, funnier, and stacked on top of itself in a very expensive apartment building. The show drops you inside the Arconia, where everyone knows everyone, nobody actually knows anyone, and a murder in the building unleashes Oliver, Charles, and Mabel all over the mystery.
What really ties it back to “The ’Burbs” is the closed-community pressure cooker. It’s one building, shared spaces, and polite hellos that suddenly feel loaded. Everyone keeps up appearances while quietly watching each other. If you loved how the cul-de-sac in “The ’Burbs” slowly turns into a psychological minefield, this does the same thing, just with better coats, bigger personalities, and a true-crime obsession layered on top. If you missed this show, go watch it because it’s one of the best comedies on TV.
Only Murders in the Building
Three strangers share an obsession with true crime and suddenly find themselves wrapped up in one.
Check out: ‘Your Friends and Neighbors’
Where “The ’Burbs” wraps its paranoia in bright comedy, “Your Friends and Neighbors” takes things a little darker, and I love it. This one lives in an ultra-wealthy neighborhood where everyone looks relaxed, successful, and completely unbothered… except they are all deeply bothered. The story follows Jon Hamm as he plays a man who loses his job and is forced to start stealing from his neighbors to keep up appearances.
The overlap here is that same fake sense of safety. You’ve got the perfect homes, the perfect relationships, and the quiet rules nobody says out loud. It’s just that Hamm is breaking those rules left, right, and center by stealing from his friends. If “The ’Burbs” hooked you with the idea that the nicest places tend to hide the most rot, this hits that same nerve, just in a darker, more grown-up way. It’s still funny, but the laughs come from watching Hamm squirm his way through a criminal world he knows nothing about. Check it out.
Your Friends & Neighbors
When a financial titan suddenly finds himself divorced and jobless, he starts robbing his wealthy neighbors to stay afloat. Stealing from his own social circle strangely exhilarates him—but he gradually gets tangled in a deadly web.
Watch next: ‘Dead to Me’
“Dead to Me” takes the comedy-mystery idea and makes it way more personal. The show follows Jen (Christina Applegate), a grieving widow who’s trying to find the driver who killed her husband in a hit-and-run, and Judy (Linda Cardellini), the overly warm stranger she meets at a grief support group. They bond fast… too fast. Because Judy is hiding a secret that completely changes what their friendship actually is. The show lives in that tension, where every joke and heart-to-heart is sitting on top of a lie that keeps getting harder to carry.
If what you loved about “The ’Burbs” was the feeling that something awful is hiding in plain sight, this nails that same discomfort. The difference between the two shows is scale. Instead of a whole neighborhood acting weird, it’s just two women, one relationship, and a truth that would destroy it if it ever comes out.
Dead to Me
A hotheaded widow searching for the hit-and-run driver who mowed down her husband befriends an eccentric optimist who isn’t quite what she seems.
Wildcard pick: ‘Poker Face’
At first glance, “Poker Face” might feel like it’s doing its own thing. It’s a case of the week mystery that follows Natasha Lyonne as Charlie, a woman who can always tell when someone’s lying. But if you loved “The ’Burbs,” this actually makes total sense once you settle in.
The shared pleasure is watching someone notice what everyone else is pretending not to notice. Charlie rolls into towns where people insist everything’s fine and immediately clocks the lie, then goes to work figuring out what really happened. That’s pure Samira energy, just with a superpower and an exit plan. The show is relaxed, funny, and incredibly satisfying to watch Charlie nail the guilty party. If you want a wildcard pick after “The ‘Burbs,” this is it.
Poker Face
Follow Charlie Cale, a woman with an extraordinary ability to tell when someone is lying, as she hits the road and, at every stop, encounters a new cast of characters and crimes she can’t help but solve.
More to watch after finishing ‘The ’Burbs’:
‘The Afterparty’ | Apple TV
The Afterparty
Nothing is as it seems in this hilarious murder mystery where each suspect’s story is told through a different film genre.
‘The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window’ | Netflix
The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window
For Anna, every day is the same. She sits with her wine, staring out the window, watching life go by without her. But when a handsome neighbor moves in across the street, Anna starts to see a light at the end of the tunnel. That is until she witnesses a gruesome murder… Or did she?
‘Bad Monkey’ | Apple TV
Bad Monkey
A detective turned restaurant inspector in Southern Florida is pulled into a world of greed and corruption after a tourist finds a severed arm while fishing. And yes, there’s a monkey.
‘High Potential’ | Hulu
High Potential
Morgan is a single mom with an exceptional mind, whose unconventional knack for solving crimes leads to an unusual and unstoppable partnership with a by-the-book seasoned detective.