Television series

Made in Chelsea

Name: Made in Chelsea
Released: 2011
Cast: Jamie Laing, Binky Felstead, Spencer Matthews, Andy Jordan, Louise Thompson

Social drama

Made in Chelsea follows the drama, romance, and social chaos of young wealthy Londoners navigating love, friendship, and status in one of the capital's most exclusive postcodes. It's glossy, catty, and utterly unashamed—part reality show, part soap opera, designed for people who enjoy watching beautiful people have ridiculous arguments about who said what at a party.

TVMaze rating

2.6

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy watching privileged people's mild dramas unfold like a soap you can laugh at, with a reality show's knack for cringe and confessional asides.

Skip it if you find rich twenty-somethings' romantic gossip tedious, since the appeal rests on drip-fed drama across more than three hundred episodes and very little else.

What it asks of you: Expect a long haul: episodes run around an hour, the run is still going, and it suits dipping in and out over close attention.

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

If you liked this

The Only Way is Essex2010

The spiritual predecessor to Chelsea's formula: young, glamorous people in a specific bubble, manufactured drama that somehow still compels, and genuine friendships emerging from the chaos. It perfected the template.

But The fake-real acting style is grating if you want subtlety. Long seasons demand serious commitment, and the Essex accent becomes wearing.

The Bling Ring2013

Sofia Coppola's elegant takedown of wealthy young people obsessed with status and appearance. It shares Chelsea's fascination with the superficial, but deploys it as social critique. Dark, funny, and visually gorgeous.

But It's a film, not a series—one sitting instead of episodic comfort watching. The characters are unlikeable by design, which some find exhausting rather than entertaining.

Gossip Girl2007

The American blueprint for aspirational teen drama set among the obscenely wealthy. Addictive plotting, genuinely witty banter, and it understands that watching privileged people scheme is a reliable pleasure.

But The early seasons are much better than the later ones, so you're committing to a declining show. It's also American prep school rather than London money.

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

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Succession2018

Both fixate on status hierarchies and interpersonal betrayal within tight social circles, but where Chelsea treats it as entertainment, Succession reveals it as a form of psychological warfare with real damage.

If Chelsea is about young people performing wealth for Instagram, Succession is about people actually wielding it—and how that transforms everything. Same fascination with status, privilege, and betrayal, but operating at a level of genuine power and consequence. Shattering.

But It's a prestige drama about corporate dysfunction, not a glossy lifestyle show. Bleak, complex, demands real attention. No one is likeable in the way Chelsea's characters are designed to be.

Love Island2019

If you like the interpersonal drama of Chelsea without the wealth-focused aesthetic, this delivers pure relationship chaos. Real stakes, instant bonds, constant shifting allegiances—it's compelling in a way Chelsea sometimes isn't.

But The format is repetitive and exhausting if you're not already invested in the specific cohort. Some find the show problematic in how it treats its participants.

Absolutely Fabulous1992

British comedy about shallow, status-obsessed characters, but played for laughs and satire rather than endorsement. If Chelsea's universe is played straight, AbFab is the sharp-eyed parody of that exact world.

But It's a comedy from the nineties and feels dated in pace and reference. The humour is broader than Chelsea's manufactured realism.

Killing Eve2018

British TV at its best: stylish, character-driven, psychologically complex. If you love the production values and location detail of Chelsea, this shows what that same polish can do with actual substance.

But The tonal whiplash between thriller and dark comedy confuses some viewers. It's also completely serious in a way Chelsea never attempts.

Summer Heights High2007

Chris Lilley's mockumentary about high school social hierarchies and the desperation to fit in. It's hilarious and sympathetic simultaneously—a sharper version of what Chelsea plays straight.

But The mockumentary format is very dated now. Some of the comedy relies on types and stereotypes that land differently than they did.

The Traitors2022

Dutch reality format that's a masterclass in manufactured social drama. People you barely know, high stakes, constant betrayal. It proves the reality-TV formula Chelsea uses can be genuinely gripping.

But It's structured as a competition rather than a lifestyle show, so the appeal is different. The psychological intensity might be exhausting if you want lighter viewing.

Married... with Children1987

Pioneering sit-com about shallow, status-conscious people, except it's hilarious and the satire is overt. If you enjoy the 'watch rich people being ridiculous' engine, this invented it.

But Eighties sitcom pace and sensibility feel very remote from Chelsea's polished modern style. The humour is broad rather than character-driven.

The Gentlemen2020

Both revel in London geography, beautiful clothes, and the particular arrogance of people who've never needed to worry about consequences. Chelsea is the drama of that world; The Gentlemen is its shadow.

Guy Ritchie's crime caper that loves expensive London and beautiful people making terrible decisions. It's Chelsea's world if the drama turned genuinely dangerous. Slick, funny, violent, and utterly committed to style over substance in the best way.

But It's aggressively masculine and relies on shock value. The plot is deliberately convoluted, and the tone flips between comedy and nastiness unpredictably.

Normal People2020

Both follow young people navigating complex friendship and romantic relationships in a specific geographic and social context, but Normal People treats interiority and consequence seriously rather than as material for entertainment.

Irish miniseries about two young people across class lines, intimately filmed and emotionally devastating. It shares Chelsea's interest in how young people navigate love and friendship, but with real psychology and genuine stakes. The opposite of manufactured drama.

But It's bleak, sexually explicit, and emotionally demanding. There's no glamour or wit—just quiet devastation. If you watch Chelsea for escapism, this will wreck you.