Sumith Prasad
Created by Vanessa Gazy, Netflix’s thriller series ‘Echoes’ revolves around Leni and Gina McCleary, two identical twin sisters who swap their lives every year, sharing everything they “own,” including their husbands. When one of the twins vanishes, the other one gets forced to deal with the consequences of the disappearance alone. Starring Michelle Monaghan as Leni and Gina, the show is an engrossing exploration of sisterly bonds, the human psyche, and emotional boundaries. Intrigued by the intricacies of the show’s narrative, we have compiled a list of similar shows that reminded us of Gazy’s creation.
7. Ringer (2011-2012)
The CW’s thriller series ‘Ringer’ revolves around Bridget Kelly and Siobhan Martin (Sarah Michelle Gellar), two twin sisters based in Wyoming and New York respectively. When Bridget’s life gets threatened, she arrives in New York while her sister Siobhan appears to commit suicide by jumping into the ocean. Bridget starts to pretend to be Siobhan in front of her family and close acquaintances, only to get involved with her sister’s darkest secrets. Bridget’s involvement with Siobhan’s secrets does remind us of Leni’s involvement with Gina’s secret affairs as the latter disappears from Mount Echo while pretending to be the former sister.
6. Sanctuary (2019)
‘Echoes’ begins with Leni, who pretends to be Gina, getting startled by the news of her sister’s disappearance. She travels to Mount Echo from Los Angeles to find Gina, only to get “trapped” in the secrets of her sister. The Swedish show ‘Sanctuary,’ which revolves around twin sisters Helena and Siri, revolves around a very similar plot. When Helena arrives at a sanatorium to meet her sister Siri, the latter disappears. Helen gets mistook for Siri by the sanatorium officials, who “trap” her in the institution along with several psychopaths. Both ‘Echoes’ and ‘Sanctuary’ center around the lives of two twin sisters, following one’s life when the other one mysteriously disappears.
5. Twin (2019-)
‘Echoes’ succeeds in depicting the complications that arise when someone pretends to be someone else, specifically a twin sibling, in front of the rest of the family and acquaintances. Reminding us of Gina’s suffering while pretending to be Leni, the Norwegian series ‘Twin’ revolves around Erik, who gets forced to pretend to be his twin brother Adam when the latter gets killed by his wife Ingrid accidentally. Starring ‘Game of Thrones‘ fame Kristofer Hivju, the series progresses through the sufferings Erik confronts upon starting living as his brother. Both ‘Echoes’ and ‘Twin’ have two twin siblings at the center of their narrative, whose lives are differentiated by the difference in their financial status.
4. The King’s Affection (2021-)
In ‘Echoes,’ Gina fills the shoes of her sister Leni by pretending to be the latter to become a mother to Leni’s daughter Mathilda “Mattie” Beck. Leni fills Gina’s shoes in front of her husband Charlie Davenport when the latter disappears. In the South Korean series ‘The King’s Affection,’ Dam Yi fills the shoes of her twin brother Crown Prince Lee Hwi when he gets murdered without revealing her real identity. Starring Park Eun-bin as the twin brother and sister, the series progresses through the conflicts she faces while pretending to be her twin sibling in the wake of a crisis as the McCleary twins do by extending their support to each other.
3. The Lying Game (2011-2013)
ABC Family’s drama series ‘The Lying Game’ revolves around estranged twin sisters Emma Becker and Sutton Mercer, who reunite as teenagers. When Sutton disappears to find out the truth behind their mysterious separation, Emma starts to pretend to be her sister. Both ‘Echoes’ and ‘The Lying Game’ prominently revolves around disappearances. Like Leni pretends to be Gina when the latter disappears, Emma does the same to be Sutton, paving the way for severe consequences. Sutton’s opulent life in Phoenix reminds us of Gina’s luxurious life in Los Angeles while Emma’s life in a forcer system reminds us of Leni, who lives on a ranch in Mount Echo.
2. I Know This Much Is True (2020)
HBO’s thriller series ‘I Know This Much Is True’ centers around twin brothers Dominick and Thomas Birdsey, who deals with the repercussions of the latter’s paranoid schizophrenia together. Starring Mark Ruffalo as the brothers, the show explores the childhood and adolescence of the twins, reminding us of the flack back scenes that portray Leni and Gina’s early years, and their connection with the present lives of Dominick and Thomas. The brothers, like Leni and Gina, nurture an unhealthy and at times abusive relationship as well. Both show also explore the human psyche and mental illness in detail.
1. Orphan Black (2013-2017)
‘Echoes’ depicts the consequences of living the life of someone else with the same appearance. The repercussions of Leni and Gina’s actions turn out to be life-threatening as well. Sarah Manning’s life in ‘Orphan Black’ gets threatened in the same way after she assumes the identity of her doppelgänger named Beth Childs after the suicide of the latter. Soon, she realizes that she is a clone and that she has several “sisters” throughout North America and Europe. Both ‘Echoes’ and ‘Orphan Black’ offer a distinctive exploration of the theme of sisterhood as well.
