Television series

EastEnders

Name: EastEnders
Genre: Drama
Released: 1985
Cast: Adam Woodyatt, Steve McFadden, Letitia Dean, Gillian Taylforth, Pam St. Clement

Drama

EastEnders is a sprawling, character-driven soap opera set in a London square where working-class lives collide across decades. It's intimate and dramatic, mixing genuine tragedy with dark humour and small moments of grace. For anyone who loves watching ordinary people navigate impossible situations, who craves serial storytelling that rewards long-term investment, and who isn't afraid of stories that hurt.

TVMaze rating

3.4

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like a soap that works like a long novel, where a family's rows and reconciliations play out over decades and the jokes land between the heavy scenes.

Skip it if you need a self-contained story each week, since this is a sprawling serial where storylines run for months and the sheer back catalogue can feel daunting to step into.

What it asks of you: A patient, open-ended commitment: half-hour episodes with plots that simmer for long stretches before boiling over, so it rewards regular viewing more than a single sitting.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Coronation Street1960

The gold standard British soap: intricate plotting, exceptional character work, and a genuine sense that anyone could die or be redeemed. It balances melodrama with quiet human moments better than almost anything on television.

But It's been running for 60+ years, which means the backlog is genuinely daunting if you want the full story. Jumping in requires accepting you're starting mid-conversation.

Brookside1982

A scrappier, grittier predecessor that tackled social issues EastEnders was still tiptoeing around. If you love the harder edge of Albert Square, this is where that came from—raw and unafraid.

But It ended in 2003 and has limited availability. The production values haven't aged gracefully, and some storylines feel dated in ways that alienate rather than fascinate.

Casualty1986

Same DNA—long-running BBC drama with ensemble casts and emotional devastation—but refocused through a hospital lens. Same writers' sensibility, different pressure cooker. Excellent for that addiction without committing to a square.

But Medical procedurals can feel repetitive once you've seen a few triage scenes. The format constrains character arcs in ways soaps don't have to.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from EastEnders

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Dark Shadows1966

Both are sprawling ensemble soaps rooted in a specific place and class, where personal tragedy meets social pressure. Both find dark comedy in desperation. The formal and emotional DNA is identical; the geography is the revelation.

An Arabic-language dark comedy series about a sprawling Palestinian family in ramshackle East Jerusalem—essentially EastEnders transplanted to occupied territory. Same texture of humour and devastation; radically different stakes. Watching it is like seeing a mirror held up at an angle.

But It's in Arabic with subtitles, and the political context is unfamiliar. Some find the tonal shifts between farce and heartbreak vertiginous.

Peaky Blinders2013

A prestige drama that captures the same working-class texture and family violence, but with sharper writing and cinematic ambition. Proves the emotional core EastEnders finds—loyalty, ambition, tragedy—scales up beautifully.

But It's slicker and angrier, which means it lacks the quieter comedy and grace notes that make EastEnders liveable. Some find the style overwhelming.

Our Friends in the North1996

Nine episodes spanning 30 years following four friends through Thatcher's Britain. It has EastEnders' investment in ordinary people against historical currents, but with the focus sharpened to unbearable precision.

But It's genuinely bleak—not soapy cathartic bleak, but political and sad. Requires patience and concentration. Nothing happens in the way you expect.

Neighbours1985

The Australian equivalent: a soap with genuine humour, real warmth, and an ability to make you care deeply about people in small domestic crises. If you like EastEnders but want something lighter, this is the move.

But It's Australian suburban, not British working-class, so the texture is completely different. Some find soaps in sunlight fundamentally less compelling.

I May Destroy You2020

Modern, diverse, brilliantly written drama about young Londoners navigating trauma, friendship, and possibility. It has EastEnders' investment in character and place, but with contemporary urgency and formal invention.

But It's only two seasons and deliberately ended, which means no long-term addiction. Tonally it shifts between comedy and genuine hurt in ways some find destabilising.

This Is England2007

Shane Meadows' masterpiece about belonging and violence in 80s England. It has that same working-class specificity and willingness to show how ordinary people break each other—but compressed and searing.

But It's a film, not a series, so it can't scratch the serial itch. Emotionally punishing in a different register—less cathartic, more appalled.

Grange Hill1978

A school drama that pioneered the long-form British ensemble approach EastEnders perfected. Surprisingly mature about bullying, class, and growing up; oddly moving in hindsight.

But It's now a nostalgic artifact rather than a living show, and some of the social messaging feels quaint. Hard to engage with on its own terms rather than as memory.

Treeless Mountain2009

EastEnders' greatest strength is its willingness to sit with people in ordinary suffering without rushing to fix it. This film does exactly that, but in 88 minutes. Same emotional register, completely different form. It's what happens when soap opera patience meets cinema.

A South Korean film about two young sisters navigating poverty and abandonment in the city. Only 88 minutes, but it has the patience and specificity of great long-form storytelling—watching small human moments accumulate into devastation.

But It's quiet and unhurried in a way that can feel static. There's no resolution in the way narratives promise; it ends mid-story. Some will find that maturity; others will find it infuriating.

Made in Britain1983

Both dramatise how systems fail working-class people, how love and violence tangle together, how circumstance shapes character. But where EastEnders finds small redemptions and community, this film watches those possibilities close. It's the shadow version of the same story.

A single-location film about a violent, chaotic teenager in the British care system. Extraordinarily intimate, with the texture of social realism that grounds EastEnders, but turned toward rage and hopelessness. Tim Roth's debut.

But It's aggressively bleak with no counterweight. There's no Vic to escape to, no moment of grace. For some that's the point; for others it's exhausting punishment.