Movies like Life on Mars (2016)
The best movies like Life on Mars (2016) are Driver's Ed (2026), Adventures in Public School (2018) and Thunderstruck (2012). If Life on Mars hooked you with its comedy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedRicky Gervais: Humanity (2018)7.6/10 from 547 votes
- NewestLouis C.K.: Ridiculous (2026)Released 2026
Driver's Ed (2026)
A group of teens hit the road in a stolen driver's ed car, racing against time to help a lovesick high school senior track down his college-freshman girlfriend and win her back.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAdventures in Public School (2018)
A socially-awkward, home-schooled kid forces his way into public school against his suffocating, but loving, mother's wishes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThunderstruck (2012)
After NBA star Kevin Durant switches talent with 16 year old Brian, the teenager becomes the star of his high school team, but Durant starts struggling and eventually learns an important lesson.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRicky Gervais: Humanity (2018)
In his first special in seven years, Ricky Gervais slings his trademark snark at celebrity, mortality and a society that takes everything personally.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLouis C.K.: Ridiculous (2026)
From a bee getting shot in New York City to paying strangers to take his aging father, Louis C.K. unleashes the ridiculous thoughts in his mind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe F**k-It List (2020)
After a prank blows up a studious high school senior's life, he shares a list of certain things he wishes he'd done differently — and maybe still can.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Love My Dad (2022)
A hopelessly estranged father catfishes his son in an attempt to reconnect.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisEddie Izzard: Definite Article (1996)
Eddie arrives on stage through a huge book which opens to reveal herself sitting at the top of a staircase. Then discusses Caesar dog food, 24 hour garages, Latin, and winds her way through James Bond gadgets, Einstein and Pavlov.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMuch Ado About Nothing (2013)
A modern retelling of Shakespeare's classic comedy about two pairs of lovers with different takes on romance and a way with words.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBill Burr: Walk Your Way Out (2017)
No-nonsense comic Bill Burr takes the stage in Nashville and riffs on fast food, overpopulation, dictators and gorilla sign language.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisClass Rank (2017)
Two high school misfits join forces in an attempt to overtake the local school board. Guided by their families, they enter the perilous word of politics and, in the process, learn a thing or two about love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWet Hot American Summer (2001)
It's the last day of Camp Firewood's season, but there's still time for the big talent show, a little romance… and for everyone to be wiped out by the piece of NASA's Skylab that's hurtling toward Earth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJerry Seinfeld: 23 Hours to Kill (2020)
Jerry Seinfeld takes the stage in New York and tackles talking vs. texting, bad buffets vs. so-called "great" restaurants and the magic of Pop Tarts.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo Time for Sergeants (1958)
Georgia farm boy Will Stockdale is about to bust with pride. He’s been drafted. Will’s ready. But is Uncle Sam ready for Will?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAli Wong: Single Lady (2024)
After a whirlwind couple of years, Ali Wong returns to the stage to dish on the highs, lows and surprises of dating post-divorce.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJimmy Carr: His Dark Material (2021)
Jimmy Carr finds humor in the darkest of places in this stand-up special that features his dry, sardonic wit — and some jokes he calls "career enders."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Trouble with Angels (1966)
Mary and her friend, Rachel, are new students at St. Francis Academy, a boarding school run by the iron fist of Mother Superior. The immature teens grow bored and begin playing pranks on both the unsuspecting nuns and their unpleasant classmates, becoming a constant thorn in Mother Superior's side. However, as the years pass, Mary and Rachel slowly mature and begin to see the nuns in a different light.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAli G, Innit (1999)
Ali G travels throughout Britain, interviewing unsuspecting leaders and politicians.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCadet Kelly (2002)
Hyperactive teenager Kelly is enrolled into a military school when her new stepfather becomes the Commandant. At first she has problems fitting in and taking orders until she tries out for the drill team.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMr. Bones (2001)
A medicine man is sent looking for the son of his tribal king, and brings back an American golfer and a host of goons intent on keeping him in the golf tournament.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFascists on Mars (2006)
In 1938 a group of fascists led by the general Gaetano Maria Barbagli decides to invade the planet of Mars.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMars (2026)
A ragtag group of misfits embark on a wild space adventure to Mars, only to discover they’ve been bamboozled by a billionaire.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Mars (2010)
A new space race is born between NASA and the ESA when Charlie Brownsville, Hank Morrison, and Dr. Casey Cook compete against an artificially intelligent robot to find out what's up there on the red planet. 'Mars' follows these three astronauts on the first manned mission to our galactic neighbor. On the way they experience life threatening accidents, self doubts, obnoxious reporters, and the boredom of extended space travel.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
A Message from Mars (1913)
A Martian is sentenced to visit earth to cure a selfish man.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Mars Attacks! (1996)
A fleet of Martian spacecraft surrounds the world's major cities and all of humanity waits to see if the extraterrestrial visitors have, as they claim, "come in peace." U.S. President James Dale receives assurance from science professor Donald Kessler that the Martians' mission is a friendly one. But when a peaceful exchange ends in the total annihilation of the U.S. Congress, military men call for a full-scale nuclear retaliation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSpace Oddity (2023)
A space-obsessed man gets the opportunity of a lifetime thanks to a Mars colonization program but finds his plans compromised by his feelings for a woman who brings him down to Earth.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHoliday on Mars (2020)
We are in 2030, and on vacation we go to Mars! Having made his wife and son Giulio lose his tracks for years, Fabio (Christian De Sica) is about to marry the wealthy Bea on Mars. But what could happen if during an excursion into space, something goes wrong and Giulio suddenly becomes a sprightly old man (Massimo Boldi)? Between hilarious unexpected events and amusing misunderstandings, Fabio will find himself dealing with a seventy-year-old son and a marriage that is in danger of jumping ...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisMad as a Mars Hare (1963)
Marvin the Martian is monitoring through his telescope a rocket launch on Earth. The rocket heads straight for him and lands on Mars. The only occupant is Bugs Bunny, lured into Cape Canaveral by a carrot and sent to Mars as an expendable "astro-rabbit". Bugs is to claim Mars in the name of the Earth, but Marvin won't allow an Earth creature to contaminate his atmosphere. He trains a time-projector gun on Bugs and reverts the bunny to a Neanderthal Rabbit, who crushes Marvin with one hand.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIron Sky: The End Game (TBA)
The third part in the original Iron Sky continuum takes the story to the hidden Russian megapolis in Mars, the red planet.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Viking (2022)
Five people are recruited by the Viking Society to collaborate on the first manned mission to Mars. They were chosen because of the psychological similarities they share with the five astronauts who will travel to the red planet. These volunteers therefore form a B-team of alter egos who will experience the adventure in parallel, behind closed doors on Earth.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Like Life on Mars and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Life on Mars?
The closest matches to Life on Mars are Driver's Ed (2026), Adventures in Public School (2018) and Thunderstruck (2012). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Life on Mars?
Start with Driver's Ed (2026), the closest match to Life on Mars.
What is the highest-rated movie like Life on Mars?
Ricky Gervais: Humanity (2018), rated 7.6/10 by 547 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Life on Mars?
Louis C.K.: Ridiculous (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Life on Mars?
Yes: Driver's Ed (2026), Adventures in Public School (2018) and Thunderstruck (2012).
How are movies similar to Life on Mars chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Life on Mars, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.