Television series

The Unlisted

Name: The Unlisted
Genre: Drama, Science Fiction, Thriller
Released: 2019
Cast: Vrund Rao, Ved Rao, Abigail Adriano, Miah Madden, Jean Hinchliffe

An Australian children's sci-fi thriller about twins who uncover a government conspiracy to control youth through tracking devices. Fast-paced and genuinely tense, it treats its young protagonists' resistance with real stakes. For kids who've graduated from lighter fare but aren't ready for grim YA—and parents who want something they can actually watch alongside them.

TVMaze rating

3.2

If you liked this

Stranger Things2016

Kids discovering an impossible conspiracy against shadowy authorities. Same propulsive energy, same sense that the adults are useless, same genuine dread underneath the adventure.

But It's massive and cultural in a way that makes it hard to watch fresh. Also much longer per season, so a bigger ask.

His Dark Materials2019

Children fleeing an oppressive system that controls people through sinister technology. Beautifully mounted, morally serious, respects its young cast as thinkers and fighters, not just victims.

But The BBC/HBO production is sprawling and sometimes baroque. Requires patience with worldbuilding over immediate thrills.

The 5th Wave2016

Alien invasion thriller where teenagers must evade capture by authorities who may or may not be human. Taut, paranoid, and genuinely unsure who to trust—which is exactly The Unlisted's motor.

But YA adaptation with all the attendant sincerity. The romance subplot exists. Ends on a franchise-building cliffhanger.

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

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Code 4042020

Both explore what happens when technology designed to protect becomes a tool of control, but Code 404 asks it from the perspective of the surveilled adult, not the hunted child.

A crime thriller where a revived detective partners with an AI in a surveillance-saturated future. Shares The Unlisted's paranoia about tech control, but trades kid protagonists for noir tone and satirical bite about who actually benefits from monitoring systems.

But British procedural sensibility means it's dry and witty rather than propulsive. Cancelled after season two. Assumes familiarity with British crime TV tropes.

Orphan Black2013

Corporate conspiracy using cloned bodies as unwitting tools. Propulsive plotting, ethical stakes that matter, and a cast of young people who have to think fast to survive.

But Serialized over five seasons. Mythology gets complex. The first episode is deliberately unsettling in ways beyond sci-fi thriller.

Manifest2018

Ordinary people, including teenagers, discovering they're caught in a massive government cover-up. Same paranoid energy, same 'who can we trust' spiral.

But Sprawls wildly across multiple seasons. The mythology becomes baroque and sometimes contradictory. Cult-like fan energy surrounds it.

The Giver2014

A controlled society where authorities monitor and suppress emotion in youth. Quiet, thoughtful dystopia with young protagonists waking to danger. Different mood but same skeleton.

But Slower burn. Based on a beloved book, so expectations are heavy. Jeff Bridges in a role that demands patience.

Alex Rider2020

Teenager forced into espionage against adults he doesn't trust. Slick action, real jeopardy, treats its young hero with respect even when it's painful.

But Spy-thriller tone means it can feel a bit lightweight compared to The Unlisted's conspiracy weight. Some episodes are weaker than others.

The Maze Runner2014

Young people wake in a closed system designed to control and study them. Relentless, kinetic, trusts its cast to be smart and resourceful.

But Becomes increasingly convoluted across sequels. The first film works best alone. Teen dystopian beats that wear thin if you've seen others like it.

Raised by Wolves2020

Children on the run from mysterious authority figures. Visually striking, morally murky in interesting ways, refuses easy answers about who the real threat is.

But Cancelled after two seasons. Very dark in tone and theme—bleaker than The Unlisted. Requires tolerance for ambiguity and slow-burn plotting.

Summer Camp Island2018

Both are stories about children recognizing that their trusted institutions are prisons, and choosing resistance over safety—but Summer Camp Island gets there through surrealism instead of surveillance.

A magical summer camp hides sinister secrets about control and free will. Animated and whimsical in tone, but underneath it's wrestling with the same question: what does it mean when the system that claims to protect you actually wants to own you?

But Cartoon aesthetics might feel too light for the paranoid conspiracy you're after. Also largely episodic rather than serialized. The magical setting is far from sci-fi.

The Handmaid's Tale2017

Both ask the same question from opposite ends of the life spectrum: what do you do when the system has marked you for a purpose you don't accept?

A totalitarian regime uses technology and surveillance to control bodies and remove choice. Far more adult and brutal than The Unlisted, but structurally it's the same resistance fantasy: how ordinary people refuse to be instruments of the state.

But Explicitly about sexual coercion, pregnancy, and state violence. Not a kids' show in any way. Slow and deliberate in a way that's deliberately difficult to watch.