Television series

We Are Who We Are

Name: We Are Who We Are
Genre: Drama, Mystery
Released: 2020
Cast: Jack Dylan Grazer, Jordan Kristine Seamón, Francesca Scorsese, Spence Moore II, Kid Cudi

Coming-of-age

A tender, visually sumptuous coming-of-age drama set on an American military base in Italy. Two teenagers navigate friendship, identity, and first love with a specificity that feels lived-in rather than performed. Luca Guadagnino's only series: intimate, sensual, achingly honest about adolescence without ever condescending to it.

TVMaze rating

2.9

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Three acts of a Black man's life, each visually distinct and emotionally devastating. Like *We Are Who We Are*, it finds poetry in small gestures and the spaces between words. Understands longing without needing to explain it.

But Very slow. Dialogue is sparse. If you need plot momentum or clear emotional beats spelled out, this will feel like watching paint dry.

My Brilliant Friend2018

Italian-set coming-of-age following two girls through adolescence and early adulthood. Richly textured, character-driven, unafraid of awkwardness and quiet moments. Same generosity toward its young characters' complexity.

But Spreads across four seasons and requires genuine commitment. The pacing is deliberate; impatience will kill it for you fast.

The Summer I Turned Pretty2022

Lighter than *We Are Who We Are*, but shares its investment in how summer reshapes teenagers. Sensory and specific about landscape, desire, and the fragile architecture of friendships at that age.

But More conventionally romantic and less willing to sit in ambiguity. The drama can feel a touch manufactured compared to quieter character work.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from We Are Who We Are

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Tomboy2011

Both understand that identity formation isn't always dramatic. Both let their young characters simply exist, and find the profound in that simplicity.

A ten-year-old navigates gender and identity one summer in suburban France. Deceptively simple: a kid playing, exploring, discovering themselves. Quietly radical in its refusal to make it a problem to be solved.

But Virtually plotless. Paced like real childhood—which means slow and sometimes boring. If you need narrative urgency, this isn't it.

Call Me by Your Name2017

Another Luca Guadagnino film about young men discovering desire and intimacy. Painterly, tactile, saturated with longing. If you loved the mood and visual language of *We Are Who We Are*, this is its spiritual cousin.

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Heartstopper2022

Teen romance that respects its characters' interiority. Sweet without being saccharine, funny without deflating emotion. Understands that coming-of-age is as much about self-discovery as it is about romance.

But Netflix brightness and relative straightforwardness might feel too tidy if you're craving the moral messiness and visual intensity of Guadagnino's work.

Normal People2020

Intimate portrait of two people's relationship across years. Restrained performances, long takes, and a camera that trusts viewers to feel what's unsaid. Understands how bodies communicate when dialogue fails.

But Very explicit in places. Also deeply, consistently sad. Not a comfort watch, even when it's beautiful.

The OA2016

Mysterious and visually ambitious, it finds the strange and transcendent in the lives of damaged teenagers. Ambitious in ways that don't always land, but when they do, they land hard.

But Cancelled after two seasons on a cliffhanger. Unfinished business might infuriate you rather than haunt you.

Girlhood2014

French coming-of-age about a Black girl's friendship and self-discovery. Textured, musical, alive to the textures of everyday adolescence. Unsentimental and radiant at once.

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A Prophet2009

Both track adolescence as a crucible where identity is forged under pressure. Both use setting—military base, prison—as a character that shapes who these kids become.

French-language prison drama about a teenager's transformation. Harsh, gripping, visually precise. Follows a young man's coming-of-age in a space designed to break him. Intensity that doesn't relent.

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