Movies like On the Waitlist (2017)
The best movies like On the Waitlist (2017) are The Miracle Season (2018), Black Dog (2024) and Gracie (2007). If On the Waitlist hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedCast Away (2000)7.7/10 from 12,739 votes
- NewestEleanor the Great (2025)Released 2025
- In ChineseBlack Dog (2024)Also in Chinese
The Miracle Season (2018)
After the tragic death of star volleyball player Caroline "Line" Found, a team of dispirited high school girls must band together under the guidance of their tough-love coach in hopes of winning the state championship!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlack Dog (2024)
Released from jail, Lang returns to his hometown in Northwest China. As part of a dog patrol tasked with clearing stray dogs before the 2008 Olympics, he bonds with a black stray. The two lonely souls embark on a new journey together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGracie (2007)
A teenager faces an uphill battle when she fights to give women the opportunity to play competitive soccer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlue Chips (1994)
Pete Bell, a college basketball coach is under a lot of pressure. His team isn't winning and he cannot attract new players. The stars of the future are secretly being paid by boosters. This practice is forbidden in the college game, but Pete is desperate and has pressures from all around.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOne Second (2020)
A movie fan escapes from a labour camp during the Chinese Cultural Revolution and strikes up a relationship with a homeless female vagabond.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPimp (2018)
An urban love story set on the hard streets of the Bronx. A struggling female pimp, named Wednesday, grows up learning the game from her dad. Once he's gone she's left to look out for her prostitute mother and girlfriend Nikki.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLighting Up the Stars (2022)
Having been released after serving his sentence, a funeral director accidentally crosses paths with a girl which brings about an unexpected change in his attitude towards life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Trials of Cate McCall (2013)
In order to be reinstated to the bar and recover custody of her daughter, a hotshot lawyer, now in recovery and on probation, must take on the appeal of a woman wrongfully convicted of murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTyson's Run (2022)
When fifteen-year-old Tyson attends public school for the first time, his life is changed forever. While helping his father clean up after the football team, Tyson befriends champion marathon runner Aklilu. Never letting his autism hold him back, Tyson becomes determined to run his first marathon in hopes of winning his father's approval. With the help of an unlikely friend and his parents, Tyson learns that with faith in yourself and the courage to take the first step, anything is possible.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAmateur (2018)
14-year-old basketball phenom Terron Forte has to navigate the under-the-table world of amateur athletics when he is recruited to an elite NCAA prep school.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEleanor the Great (2025)
94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein tries to rebuild her life after the death of her best friend. As a result, she moves back to New York City after living in Florida for decades.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTigertail (2020)
A man reflects on the lost love of his youth and his long-ago journey from Taiwan to America as he begins to reconnect with his estranged daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLong Day's Journey Into Night (2018)
Luo Hongwu returns to Kaili, the hometown from which he fled many years ago. He begins the search for the woman he loved and whom he has never been able to forget.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBack of the Net (2019)
A new student at a soccer academy is determined to beat her rival's team in the national tournament.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Second Chance (2011)
A young girl and her coach overcome adversity to make their way into the National Australian Gymnastics Squad.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Second Chance: Rivals! (2019)
As Maddy takes on coaching a team of young twelve-year-old gymnasts, she faces up to intense city versus country rivalry, racism, cyberbullying and her own self-doubt but eventually takes the challenge head on.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCaught by the Tides (2024)
Years after her boyfriend left her for the big city and promised to bring her there after he’s settled down, a Chinese woman sets out on a journey to be reunited with him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBobby Jones: Stroke of Genius (2004)
The story of golf icon and legend, Bobby Jones, who retired from competition at the tender age of 28.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisBlind Massage (2014)
The employees of a massage parlour share a close bond with each other as they all share a trait in common, they are all visually impaired.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGoal II: Living the Dream (2007)
Tempted away from Newcastle United to join Real Madrid, rising star Santiago Munez finds this latest change of fortune the greatest challenge yet - personally as well as professionally. He is reunited with Gavin Harris, though they must compete to be on the team, and estranged from fiancee Roz, whose nursing career keeps her back home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Heir to the Underworld (2020)
Sentenced to spend a day with the imprisoned demons, a woman who belongs to the noblest celestial clan meets someone who changes her world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Topless (2008)
The ever-lively and upbeat Natsuko tries to mend a broken heart by carrying on with a string of short-lived affairs after her break-up with Tomomi. But when Tomomi announces her plans to marry - a man - Natsuko becomes inconsolable.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Imagine Me & You (2006)
During her wedding ceremony, Rachel notices Luce in the audience and feels instantly drawn to her. The two women become close friends, and when Rachel learns that Luce is a lesbian, she realizes that despite her happy marriage to Heck, she is falling for Luce. As she questions her sexual orientation, Rachel must decide between her stable relationship with Heck and her exhilarating new romance with Luce.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisScented Tea (2022)
Classmates Hua and Cha escape from school over the wall in order to find Hua's lost boyfriend, not realising that it is a love trap set by Cha...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Maria Watches Over Us (2010)
Yumi Fukuzawa is an ordinary first year student at Lillian Girls' Academy. By chance Yumi meets second year student Sachiko Ogasawara, who is a candidate to become a Red Rose. Sachiko later offers her rosary to Yumi Fukuzawa which signifies she will become an older sister to Yumi. Meanwhile, Yumi, who already looks up to popular Sachiko, is perplexed why she is picked. A festival named "Cinderella" then approaches, which is run by the Yamayuri Council. Conflicts between the older and younger sisters soon begins ...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Cast Away (2000)
Chuck Noland, a top international manager for FedEx, and Kelly, a Ph.D. student, are in love and heading towards marriage. Then Chuck's plane to Malaysia crashes at sea during a terrible storm. He's the only survivor, and finds himself marooned on a desolate island. With no way to escape, Chuck must find ways to survive in his new home.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHaikyu!! The Movie: Talent and Sense (2017)
A compilation film depicting the match against Aoba Johsai High School in the second season of the anime series. It will also include new scenes portraying what happened after the match.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Haikyu!! The Movie: Battle of Concepts (2017)
A recap film depicting the match against Shiratorizawa Academy in the third season of the anime series.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisAshamed (2011)
Arts professor Jung Ji Woo is searching for a nude model for a video clip that will be played at her exhibition. When Hee-jin, one of her students, recommends Yoon Ji Woo for the job, the three woman head to the beach to shoot the video. As they spend time together, Yoon Ji Woo begins to share pieces of her past relationship with Kang Ji Woo. The film weaves the pasts and presents of the three Ji Woos and focuses on their intersecting relationship.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
In the Absence of the Sun (2014)
A tender, melancholic night is experienced through the eyes of three women as they struggle to find themselves in this ever-changing jungle of Jakarta.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like On the Waitlist?
The closest matches to On the Waitlist are The Miracle Season (2018), Black Dog (2024) and Gracie (2007). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after On the Waitlist?
Start with The Miracle Season (2018), the closest match to On the Waitlist.
What is the highest-rated movie like On the Waitlist?
Cast Away (2000), rated 7.7/10 by 12,739 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like On the Waitlist?
Eleanor the Great (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Chinese movies like On the Waitlist?
Yes: Black Dog (2024), One Second (2020) and Lighting Up the Stars (2022).
How are movies similar to On the Waitlist chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside On the Waitlist, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.