Television series
Reckless
Other titles called Reckless: the 1935 film, the 1995 film, the 2014 series (CBS), the 2014 film.
A sharp-edged ITV drama about a young doctor whose life unravels when he becomes entangled with a management consultant. Reckless trades in complicated attraction, professional ethics, and the messy gap between who we think we are and who we actually become. It's intimate and darkly funny, built on the chemistry between two people who are genuinely terrible for each other.
If you liked this
Casualty1986
NHS hospital setting with the same sharp observation of how work and personal life collide. Strong ensemble cast and immediate, grounded stakes every episode. From the same era and network sensibility.
But It's gentler and more optimistic than Reckless. If you want moral murkiness, this leans toward redemption.
A Very British Scandal2021
Claire Foy and Paul Bettany in a masterclass of attraction-meets-catastrophe. Beautifully shot exploration of two people destroying each other through passion and entitlement. Same combustible chemistry.
But It's a miniseries, not ongoing drama. The pacing is different and the historical setting may feel distant.
Trust2018
Danny Boyle's sharp take on the Getty kidnapping. Features a similar dynamic of charming, reckless men making decisions that ripple outward. Stylish and darkly funny about the cost of self-regard.
But It's Americentric and sprawling. The ensemble means less intimate focus on the central relationship that drives Reckless.
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The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Shame2011
Both center on attractive, capable men whose recklessness is partly rooted in a refusal to see themselves clearly. Both understand that charm can be a weapon people use on themselves.
Michael Fassbender as a man whose charm masks compulsion. Steve McQueen's film is about desire and self-destruction without moral judgment—you watch someone lie to themselves beautifully and terribly.
But It's dark, often explicit, and offers no redemption. The pacing is glacial. It's art cinema, not entertainment.
More like this (7)
Bodyguard2018
BBC political thriller with similar electricity between its leads. Keeley Hawes and Richard Madden have that same pull—attraction wound tight with professional danger and moral compromise.
But The plot machinery overwhelms character at times. It's more thriller than character study.
The Good Fight2017
Slick legal drama with razor-sharp writing about competent people making questionable choices. Less focused on romance but the same intelligence and workplace complexity that makes Reckless compelling.
But It's American network polish. Lacks the grittier texture of British drama from the 1990s.
This Is England2007
Shane Meadows' unflinching look at how charisma corrupts. Not about romance, but about the seduction of belonging to something dangerous and the damage charming people do.
But It's brutal and difficult. The subject matter (skinhead movement) is heavy and specific in a way that demands full attention.
Pennies from Heaven1978
Dennis Potter's haunting miniseries about a man whose fantasy life collides with his actual life. Same era sensibility, same feeling that charm and desire can destroy you.
But It's formally experimental in ways that can feel mannered. The fantasy sequences won't appeal to everyone.
Cold Feet1998
Another 1990s ITV gem about adults making messy decisions. Warm and funny but unflinching about how attraction and commitment war inside the same relationships.
But It's an ensemble. You don't get the tight focus on one reckless dynamic that Reckless specializes in.
The Swimming Pool1969
Same foundation: beautiful people, summer-holiday setting (or in Reckless's case, a fresh start), and the certainty that attraction will end in wreckage. Both understand that sophistication is no protection against foolishness.
A French masterpiece about two couples and the slowly poisoning attraction between them. It's seductive, sexual, and unbearably tense—people destroying each other with style and intelligence.
But It's slow and deeply French in its sensibility. Subtitled. The eroticism is subtle and won't satisfy anyone wanting obvious passion.
Crash1996
Both treat recklessness not as a flaw to overcome but as a driving force that defines a person. Both refuse to look away or to punish attraction as though that would solve anything.
Cronenberg's controversial film about desire and obsession. It's not comfortable, but it's a serious meditation on what happens when you stop resisting your own recklessness and simply lean into it.
But It's explicitly sexual and deliberately provocative. The subject matter (a fetish for car crashes) alienates most viewers. It's philosophical when you might want narrative.
