“Phony” is a new dramedy thriller on Hulu about a teenager named Sonny Cooke (Sam Nivola) who wakes up after a car accident to discover that his mom, Ellen (Connie Britton), looks slightly different and feels like an impostor to him. It’s a quirky coming-of-age tale and a dark, mysterious thriller in one show, so it’s probably not surprising that the vibes are hard to match. But impostor stories are popular and teens will always be growing up on TV.
After watching the first few episodes of “Phony,” you might be looking for shows that have a similar vibe or explore the same themes. Whether a dead teen is trying to solve the mystery of her own death or a whole town is trying to find one of its most popular young residents, modern teen dramas often have a mysterious edge. Plus, Britton was once at the center of another kind of impostor story. Let’s take a look at five shows to watch if you like “Phony,” because you’re going to have a void to fill while waiting for new episodes to drop each week.
School Spirits
Although it’s telling a very different story, “School Spirits” is a similar show to “Phony” in its own way. The show follows the afterlife of Maddie Nears (Peyton List) at Split River High in Split River, Wisconsin, after her mysterious death. She lives in a sort of purgatory in the high school as she tries to solve her own murder.
Her new peers are fellow teen ghosts who died at the school at various times in history. Viewers simultaneously learn about the spirits’ pasts and meet Maddie’s friends on Earth as they try to solve the mystery of her disappearance and death. Her best friend Simon (Kristian Ventura) even discovers he can communicate with her.
The plot, themes, and even the vibes of “Phony” and “School Spirits” are connected in their eclectic nature. It feels like the students at Split River would get along with the ones at Delby High School in “Phony.” Plus, the schools are an important location in both shows, considering Sonny’s mom Ellen is the principal at Delby, so it’s even hard for him to get away from the impostor while there.
Dirty John
If you’re watching “Phony” mostly for Connie Britton (totally valid), you’ve probably already seen “Dirty John” Season 1. It’s an anthology series featuring fictionalized versions of true stories about love gone wrong. Britton helps tell the story of Debra Newell, who fell for John Meehan (Eric Bana) hard and fast, ignoring warnings from her daughters Terra (Julia Garner) and Veronica (Juno Temple) about his potential lies and creepy vibes. Debra’s trust in John has dire consequences for Terra.
Britton plays the victim of the con in “Dirty John” instead of a parent who may not be what she seems as she does in “Phony.” A true crime drama has a naturally different vibe than a quirky dramedy thriller, but it’s fascinating to study Britton’s character work on either side of a con — she’s a very different type of mother in both shows.
Fake
Speaking of dating cons, the Australian limited series “Fake” also tells a story based on real-life events. Asher Keddie’s Birdie is based on feature journalist Stephanie Wood’s experience meeting a farmer and property developer on a dating app only to discover years later that he had criminal convictions for fraud, no permanent address, at least one other lover, and was financially bankrupt. She wrote a memoir about her experience, also called “Fake.”
Both “Phony” and “Fake” slowly, almost painfully, increase the tension as the protagonist realizes that the person they’ve come to trust (or trusted in the past) is not who they say they are. Birdie’s journey is particularly intense and frustrating to watch from the start because viewers see her ignore her instincts to get away from Joe (David Wenham) on their first date. She pursues the relationship because of pressure she and her mother have put on her since childhood to have a fairytale romance that doesn’t exist in reality, since no human is perfect. “Phony” and “Fake” are case studies in learning to follow instincts, no matter how old you are.
Cruel Summer
“Cruel Summer” is an anthology series centered on teenagers dealing with trauma on different timelines and with alternate episodes telling the same story from different perspectives. Season 1 focuses on the disappearance of Kate Wallis (Olivia Holt) from the fictional town of Skylin, Texas. When Kate disappears, Jeanette Turner (Chiara Aurelia), a less popular girl who had been watching Kate from afar, slowly begins to take her place in the town. She moves higher up the Skylin High social hierarchy and even dates Kate’s boyfriend, Jamie (Froy Gutierrez). Fraud is a strong shared theme in “Cruel Summer” and “Phony,” most directly seen on the former show via Jeanette’s shifting identity.
There is a traumatic crime at the center of Kate’s story, but there’s also a unique comparison to examine between Ellen from “Phony” and Jeanette’s mother, Cindy Turner (Sarah Drew). Cindy isn’t suspected of conning anyone, but as she watches her daughter change, the pressure of Jeanette’s suspected fraud actually changes Cindy as a person. She’s not in a different body as Sonny suspects Ellen is, but Jeanette definitely has a different mother. “Cruel Summer” was canceled in 2023, but Season 3 was in development at Hulu with Holt attached as of August 2025.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Netflix’s limited series “Apple Cider Vinegar” is based on the true story of a cancer con devised by Australian wellness influencer Belle Gibson (played by Kaitlyn Dever, who TVLine named performer of the series finale). The show establishes its slightly quirky vibe early on with Britney Spears’ hit “Toxic” as its opening song and Belle breaking the fourth wall to tell audiences that the show is (kind of) based on a true story.
Viewers see Belle’s story, but also see the consequences of her con through actual cancer patients. Yet, one person’s fraudulent identity is at the center of a messy spider web, which is true of “Phony” and most other thrillers based on fraudulent identities.
