

Shows Like EastEnders
The everyday lives of working-class residents of Albert Square, a traditional Victorian square of terrace houses surrounding a park in the East End of London's Walford borough.
Ranked by shared creators, cast, themes, genre, and network — not just generic recommendations.

Coronation Street
Longest-running British soap, ITV counterpart to EastEnders — working-class community serial drama in northern England

Emmerdale
British ITV soap set in a Yorkshire village community — same serial format, working-class focus, decades-long run

Hollyoaks
British Channel 4 soap opera, community-based serial drama, launched shortly after EastEnders' model became dominant

Casualty
BBC British soap/drama launched a year after EastEnders, same format, same working-class British community storytelling

Brookside
Channel 4 British soap set in a Liverpool close, working-class community serial — direct EastEnders counterpart

The Bill
British crime drama set in working-class London, same era as EastEnders, overlapping cast pool and audience

A Thousand Blows
Set in Victorian East End of London — exact same geography as EastEnders, criminal community focus, British production

Neighbours
Australian soap opera launched same year as EastEnders, community-based serial drama, huge UK audience overlap

Downton Abbey
British drama with ensemble cast across class lines; England setting and long-running character arcs appeal to EastEnders fans

Desperate Housewives
US soap-drama about a neighbourhood community with secrets — same serial melodrama format, different cultural setting

Tyler Perry's The Haves and the Have Nots
American primetime soap opera with ongoing community drama, class conflict, and serial storylines

Tyler Perry's If Loving You Is Wrong
Neighbourhood-based American soap following interconnected families with ongoing serial melodrama

The Young and the Restless
Iconic long-running American daytime soap with community-based serial drama — genre peer across the Atlantic

Secret Diary of a Call Girl
British London-set drama with working-class protagonist and gritty realism; shares EastEnders' London world and tone

MobLand
London crime-family drama with British working-class roots; shares EastEnders' London setting and crime subplot tradition

McMafia
London-set British crime drama exploring family loyalties and crime — shares setting and moral-complexity themes

London Spy
London-set British drama with strong character focus and gritty atmosphere; tonal overlap despite different genre

Strike
London-set British serial drama with working-class detective and recurring cast — shares city texture and serial format

Killing Eve
BBC British drama set partly in London; female-led ensemble and serialised storytelling attract overlapping audience

Penny Dreadful
London-set British period drama with ensemble community characters; tonal departure but shares Victorian London world
How Good Is EastEnders?
Ratings across IMDb and TMDB, plus our verdict.
Where to Watch EastEnders
Streaming, rental, and purchase options across 40+ countries.
United States
USStream
3Available in 6 countries