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| 14 Shows Like The Testaments That Hit Just as Hard — From Dystopian Chaos to Quiet Rebellion |
If The Testaments has you side-eyeing every “perfect” society on screen, you’re not alone. Hulu’s follow-up to The Handmaid’s Tale doubles down on power, control, and the uneasy reality of young women navigating systems built to limit them.
With Agnes, Daisy, and Aunt Lydia pulling threads inside Gilead’s rigid world, viewers are now hunting for shows that carry the same bite — sharp, political, and just a bit too close to home.
What makes The Testaments land isn’t just the dystopia — it’s the human mess inside it. The friendships, the moral grey zones, the quiet rebellion that builds before it explodes.
So if you’re after more series that mix control, identity, and the occasional “this is absolutely not fine” moment, here are 14 that deserve your watchlist, ranked properly from essential to “you’ll get hooked by episode two”.
ICYMI: Where Was The Testaments Filmed?
14 Shows Like The Testaments That Explore Power, Control and Rebellion
1. The Handmaid’s Tale
You can’t talk about The Testaments without circling back to The Handmaid’s Tale, the blueprint for Gilead’s suffocating world. Following June Osborne, the series is relentless in its portrayal of control, survival, and resistance.
It’s brutal without being hollow, and every small act of defiance feels earned. If The Testaments is the next chapter, this is still the emotional core — and yes, it remains just as unsettling.
2. The Power
Flip the power dynamic and suddenly the world looks very different. In The Power, teenage girls gain the ability to physically overpower others, and society scrambles to adjust.
Characters like Jos Cleary-Lopez don’t just navigate change — they become it. It’s messy, sometimes uncomfortable, and quietly asks whether power actually fixes anything… or just reshuffles the problem.
3. 3%
Minimal resources, maximum tension. 3% thrives on a simple premise: only a few make it to the “better” side. Michele Santana anchors the story with just enough hope to keep things from collapsing into pure cynicism.
The show’s commentary on inequality is blunt, but effective — no subtle metaphors needed when the system is this stacked.
4. Silo
Claustrophobic, controlled, and dripping with secrets, Silo locks humanity underground and throws away the key.
Juliette Nichols is your way in — practical, sharp, and increasingly suspicious of everything she’s told. It’s less loud than The Testaments, but the slow-burn paranoia hits just as hard.
5. The Wilds
Take a group of teenage girls, strand them on an island, and — surprise — it’s not an accident.
The Wilds blends survival drama with psychological manipulation, with Fatin Jadmani and the rest slowly clocking that something isn’t adding up. It’s chaotic, emotional, and occasionally savage in how it dissects control disguised as “help”.
6. Snowpiercer
A train circles a frozen Earth, and somehow still manages to recreate class inequality. Snowpiercer doesn’t do subtle — it’s all about division, rebellion, and who gets to stay warm.
Melanie Cavil and Andre Layton carry the tension, but the real star is the system itself, rigid and ready to crack.
7. The Man in the High Castle
Alternate history done right — and uncomfortably believable. With the Axis powers winning WWII, characters like Juliana Crain are forced to navigate a fractured, occupied America.
Resistance movements, hidden truths, and shifting loyalties keep the stakes high, while the show quietly questions how far people will go to reclaim control.
8. Orphan Black
Identity gets complicated when there’s more than one version of you.
Actually, several. Sarah Manning leads a gripping, fast-paced story about cloning, autonomy, and who really owns a person’s life. It’s clever, intense, and anchored by performances that make the sci-fi feel deeply personal.
9. Westworld
What happens when creations start asking questions? Westworld explores autonomy in a setting where nothing is as controlled as it seems.
Dolores Abernathy evolves from background figure to central force, challenging both the system and the audience. It’s philosophical, occasionally chaotic, but always ambitious.
10. Brave New World
A glossy utopia where everything is “fine” — which is exactly the problem.
John the Savage enters a world built on pleasure and stability, only to disrupt it by asking inconvenient questions. It’s sleek, slightly unsettling, and quietly critical of comfort as a form of control.
11. The Society
No adults, no rules, and absolutely no plan. The Society throws teenagers into a vacuum and watches what happens next.
Allie Pressman steps up as a leader, but power comes with consequences — and plenty of questionable decisions. It’s less polished, more raw, and surprisingly sharp about group dynamics.
12. Utopia
Bright visuals, dark ideas. Utopia follows a group of comic fans who stumble into a conspiracy that’s far bigger than they expected.
Characters like Ian Johnson and Becky quickly realise they’re in over their heads. It’s chaotic, stylish, and not afraid to get weird with its themes.
13. Years and Years
A family drama wrapped inside a slow-burning dystopia, Years and Years tracks how politics and technology reshape everyday life.
It’s quieter than The Testaments, but arguably more chilling because of how plausible it all feels. No dramatic regime change — just gradual, unsettling shifts.
14. Black Mirror
Not strictly one story, but consistently on point. Black Mirror explores how systems, technology, and power collide in ways that rarely end well.
Each episode stands alone, but the themes — control, identity, autonomy — echo the same questions The Testaments raises, just with a sharper, sometimes darker edge.
Fan reactions to this wave of dystopian storytelling have been all over the place — in a good way. Some viewers are praising the return of “serious, thought-provoking TV” that doesn’t treat audiences like they need everything spelled out.
Others, understandably, are calling it a bit too close for comfort, especially with shows like The Testaments and Silo tapping into real-world anxieties. And then there’s the crowd that’s fully leaning in, bingeing these series like it’s a competitive sport.
The takeaway is simple: dystopia isn’t going anywhere, but it’s evolving. It’s less about spectacle now and more about systems, people, and the uncomfortable truth that control often looks ordinary until it doesn’t.
If The Testaments got under your skin, this list isn’t here to comfort you — it’s here to keep you thinking. Which one hit you the hardest, and which one completely missed the mark?