Television series

Katy Keene

Name: Katy Keene
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Music
Released: 2020
Cast: Lucy Hale, Ashleigh Murray, Julia Chan, Jonny Beauchamp, Lucien Laviscount

Coming-of-age

Katy Keene follows four ambitious young artists navigating ambition, friendship, and survival in New York City. It's a stylish, earnest drama with musical moments and genuine warmth—less cynical than typical CW fare, more focused on craft and community than romance. For anyone who loves fashion, performance, and characters who actually support each other.

TVMaze rating

3.6

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love backstage-adjacent stories about struggling creatives, where the glamour of 1950s Manhattan fashion and the scrappy friendships matter as much as the big break you are hoping for.

Skip it if you want a tightly plotted drama with stakes that build steadily; this is a light, episodic soap with a lot of romantic tangles and a tone that often leans toward the frothy.

What it asks of you: Thirteen one-hour episodes that move briskly from one storyline to the next, so you can settle in easily without needing to track a dense mythology or long memory of earlier chapters.

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

If you liked this

Bunheads2012

A cheerful ensemble show about dancers, artists, and misfits finding their place. Sharp writing, real character development, and the same generous spirit toward its young cast. Amy Sherman-Palladino's warmth runs through both.

But It's lighter on plot and heavier on digression—more interested in character moments than forward momentum. Takes patience.

Glee2009

The DNA ancestor: young performers in a group pursuing music and success in America. Stronger on spectacle and ensemble chemistry, though it chases bigger stakes. Essential if you want to understand what Katy Keene is riffing on.

But Wildly uneven in quality. Once it finds success it often doesn't know what to do with it. The later seasons are notably rougher.

Ugly Betty2006

Fashion world drama with genuine heart and humor. Betty's journey from outsider to thriving professional mirrors Katy's creative ambition. Warm, funny, and surprisingly touching about the cost of success.

But The tone shifts noticeably across seasons. Early episodes are sharper; it softens considerably as it goes on.

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

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Get Down2016

Both are stories about young artists in New York City inventing themselves through style and performance, powered by the belief that art can change your life and your community. The Get Down is grander and rawer, but the core—the hunger, the friendship, the refusal to be small—is identical.

Baz Luhrmann's love letter to 1970s New York hip-hop culture: four young artists inventing something new while the city burns around them. Audacious, visually staggering, genuinely about the collision between art and survival. You've never seen anything like it.

But Cancelled after two seasons on a cliffhanger. The second season becomes more melodramatic. Luhrmann's maximalism is not for everyone—some find it exhausting rather than exhilarating.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel2017

A woman discovering her gifts and building a career in a ruthless industry. Gorgeous design, excellent writing, and real stakes. Shows what happens when ambition collides with the world's refusal to cooperate.

But The pacing is breakneck and sometimes exhausting. The main character's privilege, while the point, can read as tiring. Not as warm as Katy Keene.

Godless2017

A Western where a town is run by women finding their power and purpose. Visually stunning, genuinely feminist without preaching, and built on real relationships. Different genre, same DNA about ambition and community.

But Only two seasons before cancellation. The plot moves fast enough that it can feel thin in places. Western tone is quite different.

My Life as a Teenage Robot2003

An animated show about a girl trying to be both a hero and a person—about the cost of responsibility and the importance of friendship. Surprisingly mature, genuinely funny, and deeply kind.

But It's animated, which some dismiss. Much lighter in register than Katy Keene. Ends on an unresolved cliffhanger.

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend2015

Musical comedy-drama about a woman building a life in a new city. Smart, funny, self-aware about its own tropes. Rebecca's journey from chaos to self-knowledge mirrors Katy's quest to belong.

But Relies heavily on meta-humor and musical theatre knowledge. Tonal shifts are deliberate but can be jarring. Later seasons lose focus.

SKAM2015

Norwegian ensemble drama about young people in a group, their ambitions and vulnerabilities. Intimate, beautifully shot, genuinely moves between comedy and heartbreak. Real friendships feel rare in TV; this nails it.

But Subtitled (Norwegian). Format is unconventional—originally released as snippets. Some storylines are heavier than Katy Keene's tone.

Penny Dreadful: City of Angels2020

Another ensemble about outsiders in a strange city finding power and purpose. Gothic, weird, visually sumptuous. Shows what happens when young people refuse to fit the world's expectations.

But Much darker and more violent than Katy Keene. Cancelled after one season. The tone is considerably heavier and weirder.

Sing Street2016

Both believe that art and style and friendship can save you. Both are about young people in a city discovering who they are through creativity. Sing Street is a film—tighter, more focused—but it's pursuing the exact same emotional truth.

A Dublin teenager forms a band in the 1980s to impress a girl, discovers music, friendship, and purpose. Audaciously joyful, gorgeously shot, genuinely funny. A feature film that captures everything Katy Keene loves about music and ambition without cynicism.

But The romantic plot is central in a way some find reductive. Irish accents take adjustment. Some scenes run long. It's sentimental—if that word makes you wince, this might too.

Soul2020

Both ask the same question: Is the dream to make it, or is the dream the making? Katy Keene is about four people figuring this out through friendship and failure. Soul is one person figuring it out alone, then learning he was always wrong to be alone. Completely different medium and tone, but they're both arguing that ambition without connection is a kind of death.

Pixar's masterpiece about a jazz musician's obsession with success and the moment he realizes he's been looking in the wrong place. Visually experimental, spiritually serious, funny without undercutting its own depth. About ambition, purpose, and the mistake of separating art from life.

But It's animated, which filters some viewers. The second half becomes more philosophical and less plot-driven. Some find it too earnest about meaning and purpose.