9 Movies and TV Shows Like 'The End of the F***ing World'

When The End of the Fucking World first made its way from Channel 4 onto Netflix back in January, it seemed as though overnight it was suddenly the only thing anyone could talk about. Makes sense considering the show is basically a veritable checklist of millennial interests, with quirky lead characters, existential teenage angst, and a will-they-won't-they love story with just a soupçon of murder, intrigue, and illegal activities. The series is like a 21st-century Bonnie & Clyde with a touch of American Psycho and plenty of style to spare. For those who haven't gotten a chance to stream this highly binge-able programming yet, first of all, how did you even find yourself reading this article? But secondly, do yourself a favor and drop everything to watch all 8 episodes right now.

Great, now that we're all back on the same page and desperate for more programming that falls into this highly specific category of series that are both hilarious and romantic, yet vaguely disastrous and murder-y, we've rounded up a few classic films and TV shows that should hit just the spot.

This 80s classic is the epitome of black comedies. The high school havoc wreaked by the new kid in class, J.D. (Christian Slater), is like what would happen if TEOTFW’s James turned out to actually be the trigger-happy sociopath he pretends to be, while Veronica Sawyer, played by Winona Ryder, nails that sense of despondent teenage ennui. The movie handles the vagaries of murder and arson with a jovial, tongue-in-cheek bluntness, with some of its best punchlines and iconic one-liners coming in the face of some truly gruesome events.

This is another black comedy that perfectly satirizes everything America holds dear, but particularly the utter absurdity of our political system, PC culture, and reality television. Written and directed by Bobcat Goldthwait, the film centers around the unlikely duo of Frank Murdoch (Joel Murray), an insurance salesman disillusioned by life with an inoperable brain tumor, and Roxy Harmon (Tara Lynne Barr), a high schooler impressed by Frank's unapologetic approach to problem solving which involves shooting one of her spoiled classmates at point-blank range. The most surprising thing about this film? It actually has a really heartwarming ending, albeit an incredibly bloody one.

There's a good reason Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World has become an instant cult classic. Just like TEOTFW, this movie was adapted from a comic book, but unlike the Channel 4 series it retained the aesthetics and plot devices of that literary genre, while adding in a video game element that moves the entire plot forward. Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) falls head over heels for Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), but doesn't realize that winning her love also means fighting off an army of evil ex-boyfriends one by one.

True Romance is essentially the template from which TEOTFW was born. The film, with a screenplay penned by Quentin Tarantino, is fittingly dark, violent, and utterly relentless, following a young prostitute named Alabama (Patricia Arquette) and comic book/Elvis fanatic Clarence (Christian Slater) as they road trip across America with a suitcase full of cocaine stollen from Alabama's pimp who they also happened to have murdered. So, it should come as no surprise when these star-crossed lovers come to a less than romantic end.

This film also feels like it may have been as a source of inspiration for TEOTFW, although Natural Born Killers is a much more unrepentant and brutal depiction. In this movie, also from a screenplay written by Quentin Tarantino (although it was heavily revised by David Veloz), once again two lovers with traumatic childhoods (Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis) go on a killing spree through the American Southwest. Unlike TEOTFW, however, there's not much to laugh about as these two murderers enable one another to engage in increasingly horrific crimes.

Quietly making its debut on Netflix in February of 2017, over the past year I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore has become an underground fan favorite. The film follows a nursing assistant, Ruth (Melanie Lynskey), who, after the police refuse to help her apprehend the man that robbed her, enlists the aid of her very intense neighbor Tony, played by Elijah Wood. Together, these bumbling amateur sleuths rapidly find themselves out of their depths and in some hot water, crossing the line from vigilantism to illegal activities.

OK, so this isn't technically a rom-com, but there is something oddly romantic about a friendship between two women that's so deep not only will they commit crimes to protect one another, but they'll even *27-year-old spoiler alert* drive off a cliff and die together. And even if that particular plot line isn't quite your speed, a young, shirtless Brad Pitt most certainly will be.

This movie, much like Heathers, demonstrates what could have become of TEOTFW's James in a parallel universe where he actually turned out to be a full-blown psychopath who loves to murder. John Cusack plays a depressed hitman, Martin, looking for love despite his profession. When he goes back home for his high school reunion and to do a quick hit job, he winds up falling in love with his ex-girlfriend (Minnie Driver) all over again. Grosse Pointe Blank balances a laissez-faire attitude in the face of extreme danger with touching, relatable moments to great comedic effect.

Search Party

is a pitch perfect modern film noir that doesn't take itself too seriously. As each episode unfolds, this group of friends is subsumed in a mystery that quickly spirals out of their control and becomes realer and more dangerous than they ever could have imagined. But even as the show reaches it's panic attack-inducing climax and a cliffhanger ending to end all cliffhanger endings, the drama is undercut by flawlessly deadpan deliveries and wildly hilarious performance by John Early and Meredith Hagner.

This article originally appeared on i-D.