If you love watching the hit Netflix series, Sweet Magnolias, you will love our detailed list of TV shows similar to Sweet Magnolias.
The hit Netflix series, Sweet Magnolias, is based on the eleven-book series written by author Sherryl Woods. The series was developed by showrunner and producer, Sheryl J. Anderson, and is produced in conjunction with Dan Paulson of Daniel L. Paulson Production, who has produced several other TV shows. The hit series is set in the small southern town of Serenity, South Carolina, and centers around three women who have been best friends since they were kids.
JoAnna Garcia Swisher plays the role of the main character, Maddie Townsend, one of the three best friends that form the female friendship group, the Sweet Magnolias, with her best friends, Dana Sue played by Brooke Elliott, and Helen, played by Heather Headley. It has more of a Hallmark Channel movie feel to it as it follows the three lifelong friends in their journeys in life as they deal with their exes and each one’s love life as they start a business together and work together to overthrow misogyny in all areas of their lives. It’s a sweet show that you can catch on Netflix and it also was recently renewed for a second season so you can enjoy it even longer.
Check out our detailed list below of several TV shows similar to Sweet Magnolias.
Younger
Much like Sweet Magnolias, the TV show Younger, which first aired on the TV Land channel in 2015, focuses on a single mother named Liza Miller, played by Sutton Foster, and her friends’ group that include her co-worker Kelsey Peters, played by Hilary Duff, and her best friend Maggie, played by Debi Mazar.
After getting through a divorce from her daughter’s father, Kelsey relaunches her career in publishing by getting hired at a magazine and also focusing on her love life, but as a 26-year-old woman. The show is based on the 2005 romance novel by author Pamela Redmond Satran and the series creator is Darren Starr. The show is in its final season on Paramount Plus.
Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce
I absolutely loved watching Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce on the Bravo channel during its first run and reruns of the show can now be seen on Netflix. As a writer and author myself, I really related to the characters in the series, especially Lisa Edelstein’s character Abby McCarthy, who was the main character on the show. She is a writer turned author just like me and was navigating a divorce and dating in middle age, also just like me.
She was so relatable as were many of the other characters on this amazing TV show, along with the show’s narrative, so I was very sad when the series ended. The cast included Abby’s divorced friends, Beau Garrett as Phoebe, Necar Zadegan as Delia Benai, and Alanna Ubach as Jo Hernande. Paul Adelstein played the role of Abby’s husband, Jake McCarthy, while Patrick Heusinger acted in the role of Abby’s brother, Max.
Abby’s best friend on the show, Barbara, helped her create a single-woman blog called Lady Parts which became a major part of the story in the fourth season of the show. The bond between the friends on this show is very similar to the bonds of the ladies of the Sweet Magnolias series.
Sex and the City
Sweet Magnolias has been compared to the hit series, Sex and the City, which was canceled years ago in the way that it focuses on a tight-knit group of female friends. You can still catch reruns on multiple channels every day and night. The main character of the show is Carrie who pens a column for the New York Times by the same name of the series.
She writes about her love life as well as the love lives of her three best friends which include Miranda, Samantha, and Charlotte. Two movies have been made that continue the storylines from the series that have both been very successful. As you can tell, I love series that feature characters who are writers since I am one too.
Dead to Me
Another favorite TV series of mine is the Netflix hit, Dead to Me. This offbeat comedy-drama with a thriller edge to it stars Christina Applegate as Jen and Linda Cardellini as Judy. Judy lies to Jen as she has hidden the fact that she killed her husband in a hit-and-run accident when she met Jen at a grief support meeting.
The two women end up with unbreakable bonds as more things happen that cement them to each other. This show has many twists and turns which is the element that makes it so much fun to watch.
First Wives Club
The premise of the First Wives Club is very much like the one of Sweet Magnolias. It is a hit series that debuted in 2019 on the BET+ channel and is an American comedy that is based on the 1996 movie by the same name, which I loved and have watched more than once.
I am excited to know it has been revived so I can enjoy, once again, the antics of female friends Ari, Bree, and Hazel, as they navigate life together after their marriages fell apart as the First Wives Clubs, hence the name of the show and the movie.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
This comedy-drama series can be found on Amazon’s Prime Video streaming service and was created by director Amy Sherman-Palladino. It focuses on a housewife, played by actress Rachel Brosnahan, who finds out she is really good at being a stand-up comedian and decides to pursue a career in the field in the 1960s.
Chesapeake Shores
This series you can catch on Amazon Prime or the Hallmark Movies Now subscription service. It follows Abby O’Brien, a career woman who gets divorced and moves back to her hometown, as she raises her twin daughters. She meets up with her high school sweetheart and they rekindle their romance.
Ginny and Georgia
If you like Sweet Magnolias, you will probably enjoy Ginny and Georgia. It is a Netflix series that follows Brianne Howey as a mother moving her two children, Ginny, and Austin, from Texas to a small town in Massachusetts to begin a new life. Ginny and Georgia are a mother-daughter team but act more like best friends from the same peer group as they navigate life and learn things from each other.
They navigate tough relationships, work, and huge obstacles in their lives and bring the drama while doing it. It is a good family drama to kick back and relax while watching.
Virgin River
Virgin River is the current first-place queen of Netflix TV series and is a soap opera style drama that will take you through the characters’ lives and the obstacles they face including risks they have to take, the heartbreak they have to face, and hope for the future. The main character, Mel, is a nurse practitioner and a recent widow who left Los Angeles two head to Northern California to a small town where she meets a very handsome bartender. This is another great family drama series that also gives you a sense of community while you are watching.
Rizzoli & Isles
This series started out as a 200 TNT TV show and stars Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander as Rizzoli and Isles. Harmon plays a homicide detective and Alexander plays the role of the chief medical examiner and best friend to Angie Harmon’s character. The storyline is set in Boston and follows the two women as they solve crimes and you can catch this show on the streaming channel Hulu and reruns are shown on the Lifetime channel.
Playing House
You can watch this series on Amazon Prime and much like Sweet Magnolias, it focuses on best friends who help each other through life’s struggles. The main characters are Emma, played by Jessica St. Clair, and Maggie, played by Lennon Parham, who are best friends on and off camera. Emma helps Maggie, who recently separated from her husband, to raise her child and to make her way through her current pregnancy.
Gilmore Girls
Gilmore Girls is the type of all-time classic TV show when it comes to the way women and girls interact with each other. It’s a light and fun-loving series, much like Sweet Magnolias, that stars Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel as mother and daughter who live in a very small town called Stars Hollow. It follows each Gilmore Girl as they make their way through sticky situations, including a love triangle, and can be viewed on Netflix.
A Million Little Things
This ABC family drama television was recently renewed for a fourth season. It was created by DJ Nash and is produced by ABC Signature and Kapital Entertainment and the cast includes David Giuntoli, Romany Malco, Allison Miller, Christina Moses, Grace Park, James Roday Rodriguez, Christina Ochoa, Stéphanie Szostak, Tristan Byon, and Lizzy Greene. The series began in 2017 so you can binge-watch if you need to catch up so you are ready for the new episodes.
Grace and Frankie
Grace and Frankie offers a whole different take on best friendships and first appeared as a Netflix series in 2015. Its creators are Marta Kauffman and Howard J. Morris and it offers a different spin on love triangles since Gracie and Frankie learn that their husbands have been romantically involved with each other for the past two decades. The roles of the two women are played by award-winning actresses Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin and the series focuses on the complexity of their friendship and the major change that learning of their husbands’ affair has caused in their lives.