Tamal Kundu
Created by Andy Siara, Peacock’s ‘The Resort’ is a genre-melting series that blends romance, drama, mystery, and science fiction to tell a story about love, loss, catharsis, and the disappointment of time. The narrative is primarily divided into two timelines. In 2022, Noah (William Jackson Harper) and Emma (Cristin Milioti) arrive in Yucatán, Mexico, to commemorate their 10th wedding anniversary. It soon becomes apparent that their marital life is not particularly happy. After an accident, Emma finds an old flip phone in the jungle.
Emma soon discovers that the phone belonged to Sam Knowlston (Skyler Gisondo), who vanished along with another tourist, Violet Thompson (Nina Bloomgarden), on the day before a hurricane destroyed the hotel they were staying in. The story shifts back and forth between 2022 and 2007 as Noah and Emma try to find out what happened to the younger couple. If you have watched ‘The Resort’ and loved it, here is a list of recommendations that might fit your taste. You can watch most of these shows similar to ‘The Resort’ on Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime.
7. Death in Paradise (2011–)
Although ‘The Resort’ becomes a much more complex series, it is initially a mysteries show set in a tropical destination like ‘Death in Paradise.’ The latter is a British–French series that tells the story of Detective Inspector Richard Poole (Ben Miller), who comes to the fictional Caribbean island of Saint Marie to investigate the death of a British police officer and is paired with DS Camille Bordey (Sara Martins), whose personality is completely opposite to that of Poole. However, they make an extraordinary team, solving some of the trickiest cases on the island together.
6. Outer Banks (2020-)
While ‘Outer Banks‘ doesn’t have the science fiction and mysticism elements that ‘The Resort’ does, young men and women using obscure texts to find something that has been hidden for centuries in a hurricane-prone setting is part of the narrative of both shows. ‘Outer Banks’ takes place in a coastal town along the Outer Banks of North Carolina, where the drastic financial disparity has created two separate communities — the wealthy Kooks and working-class Pogues. While trying to find out what happened to his missing father, John B, a Pogue teenager, and his friends discover clues that can potentially lead them to a legendary treasure.
5. Outlander (2014–)
Like ‘The Resort,’ ‘Outlander’ is a romance series with a heavy dosage of time-related elements. The story predominately follows Claire Randall, a nurse affiliated with the Royal Army. As World War II begins, Claire and her husband Frank arrive in Inverness, Scotland, and the former suddenly discovers that the standing stones at Craigh na Dun have transported her to 1743. Claire meets James “Jamie” Fraser, a highlander, and they gradually fall in love.
4. The White Lotus (2021-)
Like ‘The Resort,’ HBO’s satirical series ‘The White Lotus’ is set in a tropical hotel and revolves around the guests and staff members of the facility. ‘The White Lotus’ is a comedy-drama anthology series that provides a biting commentary on privilege and classism. Although its main focus is the social elites, it doesn’t spare any of the characters regardless of their background. No matter the origin, every character is fair game in the narrative of ‘The White Lotus.’
3. The Time Traveler’s Wife (2022)
‘The Time Traveler’s Wife‘ is based on a tremendous book, the debut novel of Audrey Niffenegger. Like in ‘The Resort,’ romance serves as the central motif and the primary plot device in ‘The Time Traveler’s Wife.’ In the show, Henry DeTamble has a genetic disorder that gives him the ability to time travel. However, Henry has no control over the said ability and never knows when or where he will end up.
The show revolves around Henry’s relationship with his wife, Clare Abshire. One time when Henry goes back to the past, he tells the younger version of his wife that they will get married someday. Both ‘The Resort’ and ‘The Time Traveler’s Wife’ deal with themes such as love, the fleetingness of time, and the eventuality of separation.
2. The Twilight Zone (1959-1964)
One of the most iconic TV shows of all time, ‘The Twilight Zone,‘ is a science fiction anthology series. American screenwriter, producer, and playwright Rod Serling created the series and served as its presenter. Each episode of the show has a self-contained story. Although most of the stories depicted in ‘The Twilight Zone’ are science fiction, many belong to horror and fantasy genres as well. As a show, the uniqueness of ‘The Resort lies in the fact that it’s nearly impossible to categorize it under a particular genre. However, like in many episodes of ‘The Twilight Zone,’ mysticism plays a part in the narrative of ‘The Resort.’
1. Lost (2004–2010)
Created by Jeffrey Lieber, J. J. Abrams, and Damon Lindelof, ‘Lost‘ changed television forever. Like ‘The Resort,’ it’s a genre-melting series that also deals with themes such as life, death, and time. The story begins when an airliner crash lands on what seems like a remote island. The survivors of the crash soon realize that help might not be coming, and they might be stuck on the island for a while. However, the more time they spend on the island, the more they realize that it’s not an ordinary place.
