Television series

Filthy Rich

Name: Filthy Rich
Genre: Drama
Released: 2016
Cast: Miriama Smith, Emma Fenton, Taylor Hall, Alex Tarrant, Josh McKenzie

Other titles called Filthy Rich: the 2020 series (FOX).

Family drama

A New Zealand drama about three illegitimate heirs who emerge from nowhere to challenge a wealthy family's inheritance. Filthy Rich is a slick, soapy inheritance battle that finds genuine warmth beneath the scheming—less *Succession* grandeur, more intimate family dysfunction with real consequences. It's for people who love watching people lie to each other and almost mean it.

TVMaze rating

3.8

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like glossy, plot-heavy family soap where every reveal shifts the alliances, and you're happy to enjoy the schemers' wit without needing anyone to be likeable.

Skip it if you want restrained, slow-burn drama; this one runs on soapy twists, heightened performances and cliffhanger episode endings that can feel repetitive across two seasons.

What it asks of you: Episodes run about an hour across 33 episodes in two seasons, so it asks for a long, steady commitment while the tone swings between melodrama and sly comedy.

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

If you liked this

Succession2018

The gold standard for dynasty drama: watch a family tear itself apart over money and legacy with dark wit and exquisite cruelty. It goes deeper and further than Filthy Rich, but scratches the exact same itch.

But Four seasons is a serious commitment, and it gets relentlessly bleak. Some people find the characters too contemptible to root for even once.

Better Call Saul2015

Character-driven television that trusts your intelligence. Watches a good person make incrementally worse choices with consequence piling on consequence. The family dynamics are quieter but devastating.

But Deliberately slow-paced. If you need plot momentum and revelations every ten minutes, this will feel like watching someone make a sandwich in real-time.

The Slap2015

A single incident fractures an extended family and forces them to reckon with who they really are. Australian, visceral, and genuinely upsetting in ways that feel earned. Similar ensemble scope and interpersonal stakes.

But It's bleak and doesn't offer much comfort. Some storylines feel unresolved because real life doesn't tie things up neatly.

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

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Piano1993

Both explore how inheritance and family duty shape people into versions of themselves they don't recognize—the piano is wealth and legacy in human form.

A New Zealand film about a mute woman whose piano becomes her currency in a marriage negotiation—exploring power, desire, and family obligation. It's visually ravishing and morally complex, featuring extraordinary performances and one of cinema's most unflinching examinations of consent and desire.

But Genuinely difficult to watch in places; contains sexual violence and emotional brutality. It's art-film pacing, not drama pacing, and some sequences will make you deeply uncomfortable.

The Fall of the House of Usher2023

Modern gothic family drama where secrets, lies, and moral compromise across generations finally come due. Smart, beautifully shot, and genuinely interested in why families hurt each other.

But Deliberately ornate and slow-burn. If you want straightforward plotting, the baroque style will feel pretentious.

Ozark2017

A family in free-fall trying to maintain appearances while everything crumbles. The tension between what people claim and what they actually do drives every scene. Addictive plotting.

But After season two it leans too hard on shock value. The final season undoes some of what made it great, and watching it deteriorate is frustrating.

Big Little Lies2017

Interconnected lives, class tensions, secrets that destroy families, and performances that make you believe every lie. The first season especially nails the balance between soap and substance.

But The second season exists and most people wish it didn't. Even the first season can feel melodramatic if you're in the wrong mood.

Godless2017

A western town run by women where a drifter's arrival destabilizes everything. Gorgeous to look at, genuinely tense, and interested in how power actually works within families and communities.

But Only one season, and it ends on ambiguity that some find unsatisfying. The pacing can drag in the middle stretch.

The Newsroom2012

Ensemble cast, snappy dialogue, professional hierarchies and personal vendettas intertwined. If you like watching smart people navigate complicated relationships under pressure, it delivers.

But Aaron Sorkin's political voice is loud and sometimes preachy. If you don't share his sensibility, the sermonizing will drive you up the wall.

The Affair2014

Multiple perspectives on the same events show how family members construct different realities around a central trauma. It's ambitious, deeply unsettling, and genuinely explores how people deceive themselves.

But Deliberately repetitive and fragmentary—you'll watch the same scene four times from different angles. Some find this structure exhausting rather than revelatory.

Fleabag2016

Both centre on a character who knows exactly what people want to hear and is excellent at lying—until the cost of maintaining the lie becomes too high.

A six-episode season about a dysfunctional London family held together by performance and lies, narrated by someone breaking the fourth wall constantly. Hilarious and heartbreaking, it finds the genuine love beneath the dysfunction.

But The structure takes time to settle, and if you don't connect with the protagonist's voice immediately, it feels gimmicky. The family dynamics can read as too British and specific.

A Place to Call Home2013

Same DNA as Filthy Rich: inheritance as the engine that forces families to confront who they actually are beneath the surface performance.

An Australian family saga spanning decades where secrets, class, and old money create perpetual instability. Smart and emotionally generous where it could be cruel, it builds genuine investment in people across the full five seasons.

But Australian television pacing—things develop slowly and some subplots meander. The soap-opera elements might feel dated to viewers used to tighter modern drama.