Movies like The Universe and You (2022)
The best movies like The Universe and You (2022) are Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future (1985), The Man from Earth (2007) and What We Left Behind: Looking Back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (2018). If The Universe and You hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
The Universe and You
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Truman Show (1998)8.2/10 from 21,221 votes
- NewestBackrooms (2026)Released 2026
Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future (1985)
While trying to expose corruption and greed, television reporter Edison Carter discovers that his employer, Network 23, has created a new form of subliminal advertising (termed "blip-verts") that can be fatal to certain viewers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Man from Earth (2007)
A departing professor gathers his closest colleagues for an intimate farewell, but the night takes an unexpected turn when he shares a stunning secret about his past. As the conversation unfolds, skepticism and curiosity collide, challenging everything they thought they knew about history, science, and belief.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhat We Left Behind: Looking Back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (2018)
A documentary exploring the legacy of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the reasons it went from the black sheep of Star Trek to a beloved mainstay of the franchise, and a brainstorm with the original writers on what a theoretical eighth season of the show could look like.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBackrooms (2026)
A strange doorway appears in the basement of a furniture showroom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Truman Show (1998)
In a picture-perfect seaside town, an insurance salesman begins to realize that his entire existence may be staged and observed by a vast unseen audience as part of a long-running real-time reality TV show.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisDoctor Who (1996)
The Seventh Doctor becomes the Eighth. And on the streets of San Francisco – alongside new ally Grace Holloway - he battles the Master.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDoctor Who: The Waters of Mars (2009)
In a Mars base, the inhabitants are being infected by a mysterious water creature which takes over its victims. The Doctor is thrust into the middle of this catastrophe, knowing a larger one is waiting around the corner.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisAmazon Women on the Moon (1987)
Centered on a television station which features a 1950s-style sci-fi movie interspersed with a series of wild commercials, wacky shorts and weird specials, this lampoon of contemporary life and pop culture skewers some of the silliest spectacles ever created in the name of entertainment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisSpellbound (1945)
When Dr. Anthony Edwardes arrives at a Vermont mental hospital to replace the outgoing hospital director, Dr. Constance Peterson, a psychoanalyst, discovers Edwardes is actually an impostor. The man confesses that the real Dr. Edwardes is dead and fears he may have killed him, but cannot recall anything. Dr. Peterson, however is convinced his impostor is innocent of the man's murder, and joins him on a quest to unravel his amnesia through psychoanalysis.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Lathe of Heaven (1980)
George Orr, a man whose dreams can change waking reality, tries to suppress this unpredictable gift with drugs. Dr. Haber, an assigned psychiatrist, discovers the gift to be real and hypnotically induces Mr. Orr to change reality for the benefit of mankind --- with bizarre and frightening results.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRepo Man (1984)
A down and out young punk gets a job working with a seasoned repo man, but what awaits him in his new career is a series of outlandish adventures revolving around aliens, the CIA, and a most wanted '64 Chevy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYou Don't Know Jack (2010)
Controversy and legal problems follow Dr. Jack Kevorkian as he advocates assisted suicide.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Late Shift (1996)
David Letterman vies with Jay Leno and his manager to succeed Johnny Carson, retiring from "The Tonight Show."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisZ Channel: A Magnificent Obsession (2004)
A documentary on the Z Channel, one of the first pay cable stations in the US, and its programming chief, Jerry Harvey. Debuting in 1974, the LA-based channel's eclectic slate of movies became a prime example of the untapped power of cable television.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRed Lights (2012)
Two investigators of paranormal hoaxes, the veteran Dr. Margaret Matheson and her young assistant, Tom Buckley, study the most varied metaphysical phenomena with the aim of proving their fraudulent origins. Simon Silver, a legendary blind psychic, reappears after an enigmatic absence of 30 years to become the greatest international challenge to both orthodox science and professional sceptics. Tom starts to develop an intense obsession with Silver, whose magnetism becomes stronger with each new manifestation of inexplicable events. As Tom gets closer to Silver, tension mounts, and his worldview is threatened to its core.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHailey Dean Mysteries: Deadly Estate (2017)
When Hailey helps her friend Pam sell her recently deceased parent’s estate, she becomes suspicious when Pam suddenly leaves town without notice. To make matters worse, Pam's boyfriend is the sudden victim of an accident and the man Hailey's dating, Assistant Medical Examiner Dr. Jonas McClellan, falls critically ill. Now Hailey must determine: Are all these events a coincidence?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStalked by My Doctor (2015)
When a teenage girl is miraculously saved by a heart surgeon, the doctor begins to flirt with her. Her father doesn’t believe her and unbeknownst to all, the doctor is obsessed with the girl.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMystery 101: Dead Talk (2019)
Amy heads to Seattle to give a TEDTalk-style lecture. When a tech genius dies, Amy suspects foul play. When local cops shut her out, Travis joins forces with Amy to figure out whodunit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLate Night with the Devil (2024)
A live broadcast of a late-night talk show in 1977 goes horribly wrong, unleashing evil into the nation's living rooms.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Stepmother Is an Alien (1988)
Trying to rescue her home planet from destruction, a gorgeous extraterrestrial named Celeste arrives on Earth and begins her scientific research. She woos quirky scientist Dr. Steve Mills, a widower with a young daughter. Before long, Celeste finds herself in love with Steve and her new life on Earth, where she experiences true intimacy for the first time. But when she loses sight of her mission, she begins to question where she belongs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Universe and You?
The closest matches to The Universe and You are Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future (1985), The Man from Earth (2007) and What We Left Behind: Looking Back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (2018). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Universe and You?
Start with Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future (1985), the closest match to The Universe and You.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Universe and You?
The Truman Show (1998), rated 8.2/10 by 21,221 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Universe and You?
Backrooms (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Universe and You?
Yes: Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future (1985), The Man from Earth (2007) and What We Left Behind: Looking Back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (2018).
How are movies similar to The Universe and You chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Universe and You, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.