10 Shows Like 'Firefly Lane' That'll Make You Feel Warm & Fuzzy
Firefly Lane is Netflix's latest tearjerker family drama to hit it big. Based on Kristin Hannah's novel of the same name, the series follows the story of BFFs Kate (Sarah Chalke) and Tully (Katherine Heigl), who stick together through 30 years of ups and downs. But with the first season now out long enough for everyone to finish a marathon-watch of it, fans have nowhere to turn until a second season is announced. Luckily, these shows like Firefly Lane will help viewers get through the tough times ahead as they wait to see what Season 2 will bring.
Firefly lane begins in the 1970s when Tully moves next door to Kate and the two of them grow into fast friends. It then jumps to the 1980s when the two are 20-something aspirational reporters at the local Seattle station before jumping ahead to 2003, as Kate's marriage crumbles and Tully wrestles with talk-show fame.
All this is not told in order, of course. The show interweaves timelines to juxtapose how their friendship has evolved and the ways it has not. It also helps hide the big twists in Kate and Tully's lives, leaving fans with not one but two cliffhangers at the end of Season 1.
So, what can fans watch while they wait for a Season 2 announcement? Here are 10 series to stream:
01'This Is Us'
This Is Us is famous for its timeline-hopping ways. But unlike Firefly Lane, it encompasses 100 years of the Pearson family instead of just 30, with extra twists besides. Even better, it's already on its fifth season, so there are plenty of episodes.
This Is Us airs on NBC and is currently streaming on Hulu through the current fifth season.
02'Sweet Magnolias'
Based on the Sweet Magnolias novels by Sherryl Woods, this Netflix series about three BFFs since childhood has everything: comedy, tragedy, and romance. It also has three strong women (played by JoAnna Garcia Swisher, Brooke Elliott, and Heather Headley) trying to make it in this modern world with only each other to depend on.
Sweet Magnolias' first season is currently streaming on Netflix. Season 2 is in production.
03'A Million Little Things'
ABC's A Million Little Things is much like Firefly Lane in that it's mainly about the little dramas that build into one collective life.
A Million Little Things airs on ABC and is currently streaming on Hulu up through its current third season.
04'Gilmore Girls'
The original female-centric relationship drama, Gilmore Girls, started on The WB before it turned into The CW. More recently, it got picked up by Netflix, which not only has all the original series but also a bonus limited series, A Year In The Life, revealing how Lorelai and Rory Gilmore handled life once the latter grew up.
All seven seasons of Gilmore Girls plus Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life are streaming on Netflix.
05'Little Fires Everywhere'
Based on the novel of the same name by Celeste Ng, Little Fires Everywhere is a Reese Witherspoon-Kerry Washington tour de force. It's a story of two families who accidentally become intertwined even as they find themselves on opposite sides of a custody case that tears the town apart.
Little Fires Everywhere is currently streaming on Hulu.
06'Grace & Frankie'
If you need a comedic version of two BFFs going through life and love together, Grace & Frankie is precisely your jam. The series stars Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, who become BFFs when their husbands leave them to marry each other.
All six seasons of Grace & Frankie are streaming on Netflix.
07'Four Weddings & A Funeral'
Hulu's reboot of Four Weddings & A Funeral is a limited series based on the movie of the same name. Starring Nathalie Emmanuel, Rebecca Rittenhouse, Brandon Mychal Smith, and John Reynolds as four best friends who reunite for a wedding, this friendship drama features four weddings, and yes, a funeral.
Four Weddings & A Funeral is currently streaming on Hulu.
08'One Day At A Time'
This reimagining of the Norman Lear classic One Day At A Time put a Cuban American family in the center of the 1975 family sitcom with fantastic results. It was canceled after Season 4, but the four seasons it lasted were full of good family feelings.
The first three seasons of One Day At A Time are streaming on Netflix. Season 4 is on Pop TV's parent company's streamer, CBS All Access.
09'Brothers & Sisters'
Before there was This Is Us, there was Brothers & Sisters. The ABC series, which ran from 2006-2011, had a star-studded cast, with Sally Field and Calista Flockhart alongside up-and-comers like Matthew Rhys. The series revolves around the Walker family, the wealthy owners of Ojai Foods, and how the family drama shakes out after the Walker patriarch's death.
All five seasons of Brothers & Sisters are streaming on Hulu.
10'Virgin River'
Netflix's Virgin River premiered in 2019 to little fanfare. But with a second season already released and a third on the way, fans are starting to sit up and take notice. The series revolves around Mel Monroe, who moves to the remote Northern California town of Virgin River to work as a midwife and nurse practitioner only to discover drama is never far behind.
Virgin River's first two seasons are currently streaming on Netflix.
