13 shows to watch next if you love Netflix's 'Firefly Lane'

NBC's hit family drama "This Is Us" concluded its six-season run in May 2022. It tells the story of the Pearson family through many decades and across many generations.

Rebecca and Jack Pearson (played by Mandy Moore and Milo Ventimiglia, respectively) are parents to Kevin (Justin Hartley), Kate (Chrissy Metz), and Randall Pearson (Sterling K. Brown). "This Is Us" takes an in-depth journey through their family's triumphs and tribulations over the years, focusing mainly on the '70s, '80s, '90s, and 2000s.

If you love following Tully and Kate's friendship in part because of the guided tour viewers get through the '70s and '80s on "Firefly Lane," you'll also love "This Is Us." Be warned that a box of tissues should be readily available while watching either show, but they both have warm, homey vibes.

You can stream "This Is Us" now on Hulu.

If you love Katherine Heigl's portrayal of Tully in the '80s, '90s, and 2000s on "Firefly Lane," and are unfamiliar with her portfolio, the next show you need to watch is "Grey's Anatomy."

ABC's hit medical drama has aired 19 seasons to date since 2005 — Heigl became a household name portraying Dr. Izzie Stevens in the first six seasons. Her character began as an intern at Seattle-Grace Hospital and had a memorable storyline in which she fell in love with Denny Duquette (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), a patient who needed a heart transplant.

You can stream "Grey's Anatomy" now on Netflix.

HBO's dramedy "Insecure" is much funnier than "Firefly Lane," but both shows take friendship seriously.

On "Insecure," creator and star Issa Rae plays Issa Dee, a twenty-something living in Los Angeles struggling to stay afloat in her career and her relationship. By contrast, her best friend Molly Carter (portrayed by Yvonne Orji) is a lawyer navigating the dating scene in the city of dreams.

Issa and Molly lean on each other for support through their biggest mistakes in life and love. But throughout the show's five seasons, they also have fights that threaten to ruin their longtime friendship, just like Tully and Kate.

If your favorite character on "Firefly Lane" is Kate Mularkey, you need to check out Sarah Chalke as Dr. Elliot Reid on "Scrubs."

Like Heigl's character on "Grey's," Dr. Reid began as an intern at the fictional Sacred Heart Hospital, where she met her eventual on and off again love interest Dr. John "JD" Dorian (Zach Braff).

On the sitcom, Elliot was inspired to pursue medicine because she witnessed her alcoholic mother abuse her father.

You can stream "Scrubs" now on Hulu.

Young Tully (Ali Skovbye) and young Kate (Roan Curtis) first met in the 1970s because they were neighbors on Firefly Lane, a fictional suburban street in Washington. Although they undeniably struggled at times while living there, Firefly Lane is a sacred place for them because that's where their bond and the core memories of their friendship were formed.

"Virgin River," also a hit Netflix drama, similarly centers on a fictional idyllic town. The lead character Mel Monroe (Alexandra Breckenridge) escapes to the titular town in California to start a new life after her husband's death.

"Firefly Lane" centers on friendship while the main storylines on "Virgin River" are all about romance, but both shows have matching cozy vibes. If you watch "Firefly Lane" as a form of escapism, put "Virgin River" on your list of what to watch next.

You can stream "Virgin River" now on Netflix.

If you love the earliest flashbacks on "Firefly Lane" the most, you need to watch the 2021 reboot of "The Wonder Years," which will air its second season on ABC in 2023, according to TVLine. A man looks back on his life growing up in Montgomery, Alabama in the late '60s on the show, which was inspired by the 1988 sitcom of the same name.

Dean (who is played by Elisha Williams in the '60s and voiced by Don Cheadle as an adult on the show) and his family react to the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the pilot episode.

You can stream the reboot of "The Wonder Years" now on Disney Plus.

"Firefly Lane" focuses on the gender politics that women navigate in the field of broadcast journalism in the '80s and early 2000s, most clearly through Tully Hart's eventual rise to fame as a talk show titan similar to Oprah Winfrey.

There are subtle hits that foreshadow the #MeToo movement in "Firefly Lane," like when Tully is sexually harassed by Wilson King in the season one finale and refuses to accept a job from him.

If Tully's career fascinates you, so will the Apple TV+ drama "The Morning Show," which takes an in-depth look at the consequences that occur when men abuse power in the newsroom. Fair warning, though "The Morning Show" stars rom-com queens Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, it's not as light and funny as "Firefly Lane" is sometimes.

You can stream "The Morning Show" now on Apple TV Plus.

The Netflix dramedy "Dead To Me" centers on the friendship between Jen Harding (Christina Applegate) and Judy Hale (Linda Cardellini). The women meet at a grief group and subsequently navigate life, motherhood, and their occasional entanglement in fatal accidents together.

If Tully and Kate's friendship is what draws you to "Firefly Lane" the most, you must watch "Dead to Me."

You can stream "Dead to Me" now on Netflix.

Flashbacks on modern shows are fun, but if that's what you love the most about watching "Firefly Lane," try a vintage sitcom like "Laverne & Shirley."

The sitcom aired on ABC from 1976 to 1983 and has since become a classic. "Laverne & Shirley" starred Penny Marshall as Laverne DeFazio and Cindy Williams as Shirley Feeney. They were two single career women and roommates getting into all kinds of hilarious trouble in the '50s and '60s.

"Laverne & Shirley" is available to stream now on Pluto.

The early 2000s drama "Everwood" ran on the WB from 2002 to 2006," focusing on the rivalry between small-town doctors Andy Brown (Treat Williams) and Harold Abbott (Tom Amandes) and the budding romance between their teenagers Amy Abbott (Emily VanCamp) and Ephram Brown (Gregory Smith).

Like "Firefly Lane," "Everwood" is a must-watch if you need to escape to a cozy town. Chris Pratt got his start on the show as Amy's brother Bright Abbott. He eventually falls in love with Hannah Rogers, played by a young Sarah Drew.

You can stream "Everwood" now on HBO Max.

If your favorite scenes in "Firefly Lane" feature Tully and Kate as roommates and co-workers in the '80s, you shouldn't miss out on ABC's hit sitcom "The Goldbergs," currently in its 10th season.

Set in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, it follows the fictional Goldberg family through the decade, led by the overbearing matriarch Beverley Goldberg (Wendi McLendon-Covey).

Tully is just discovering the internet on season two of "Firefly Lane," but her vlogs are a way for her to stay relevant after she leaves "The Girlfriend Hour."

Freeform's hit dramedy "The Bold Type" is a current look at magazine and internet journalism, but it takes friendship just as seriously as "Firefly Lane." Jane (Katie Stevens), Sutton (Meghann Fahy), and Kat (Aisha Dee) support each other through difficult medical diagnoses, gut-wrenching break-ups, and embarrassing career mistakes at the fictional "Scarlet" magazine and beyond.

You can stream "The Bold Type" now on Hulu.

Though they are mother and daughter, Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and Rory (Alexis Bledel) on "Gilmore Girls" are still a fascinating case study in friendship.

The hit family drama, which ran on the WB and the CW from 2000 to 2007, is the perfect choice to watch after "Firefly Lane" if you need some more low-stakes, small-town drama. The fictional town of Stars Hollow is full of quirky neighbors who are just as invested as viewers are in Rory and Lorelai's respective romances and occasional fights with each other.

Like Tully and Kate, the Gilmores are the definition of "ride or die."

You can stream "Gilmore Girls" now on Netflix.