35 Shows Like ALF (1986) to Watch When You're Done
Updated August 2026
View ALF details →If you loved ALF (1986) by Tom Patchett, here are 35 TV series that share its content DNA. iRankMovies measures real similarity using cosine similarity across eight weighted dimensions — genre (50%), tone (12%), pace (10%), structure (8%), era (7%), theme (6%), audience (4%) and narrative perspective (3%) — not just the rating. The closest matches according to our analysis are My Love from the Star, Falling Skies, V. Every title is ranked by how closely it matches and backed by the iRank Score, a composite of IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic and TMDb across 12,000+ analysed titles.
The Best Shows Similar to ALF
Selected for their real similarity in content, these are the shows that share the most with ALF in terms of theme, narrative tone, and cinematic style. Every recommendation goes beyond genre — we evaluate the type of conflict, pacing, dramatic context, and the experience they create for viewers.
My Love from the Star
2013 · Choi Moon-su
An alien who came to Earth 400 years ago is almost able to return to his own planet, but when he meets a famous actress, he doesn't want to go home.
In common: Comedy · Drama
Falling Skies
2011 · David Eick
Falling Skies opens in the chaotic aftermath of an alien attack that has left most of the world completely incapacitated. In the six months since the initial invasion, the few survivors have banded to
In common: Drama
V
2009 · Jace Hall
A re-imagining of the 1980s miniseries about the world's first encounter with an alien race in which the aliens call themselves The Visitors, and have a seemingly friendly agenda that may or may not b
In common: Drama
Defiance
2013
In the near future, planet Earth is permanently altered following the sudden—and tumultuous—arrival of seven unique alien races. In the boom-town of Defiance, the newly-formed civilization of humans a
In common: Drama
Stargate Atlantis
2004 · Brad Wright
With the Ancients' city of Atlantis discovered in the Pegasus Galaxy by Stargate Command, Dr. Elizabeth Weir and Major Sheppard lead a scientific expedition to the ancient abandoned city. Once there,
In common: Drama
Shameless
2011 · Iain B. MacDonald
Chicagoan Frank Gallagher is the proud single dad of six smart, industrious, independent kids, who without him would be... perhaps better off. When Frank's not at the bar spending what little money th
In common: Comedy · Drama
Gilmore Girls
2000
Set in the charming town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut, the series follows the captivating lives of Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, a mother/daughter pair who have a relationship most people only dream of.
In common: Comedy · Drama
Teen Wolf
2011 · Marty Adelstein
Scott McCall, a high school student living in the town of Beacon Hills has his life drastically changed when he's bitten by a werewolf, becoming one himself. He must henceforth learn to balance his pr
In common: Comedy · Drama
XO, Kitty
2023
Teen matchmaker Kitty Song Covey thinks she knows everything there is to know about love. But when she moves halfway across the world to reunite with her long-distance boyfriend, she'll soon realise t
In common: Comedy · Drama
M*A*S*H
1972 · Burt Metcalfe
The 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital is stuck in the middle of the Korean war. With little help from the circumstances they find themselves in, they are forced to make their own fun. Fond of pract
In common: Comedy · Drama
Heartland
2007 · Jordy Randall
Life is hard on the Flemings' ranch in the Alberta foothills where abused or neglected horses find refuge with a kind, hard-working family. Debts abound and the bank is about to foreclose. Can they ke
In common: Comedy · Drama · Family
Mom
2013
Aan irreverent and outrageous take on true family love‐and dysfunction. Newly sober single mom Christy struggles to raise two children in a world full of temptations and pitfalls. Testing her sobriety
In common: Comedy · Drama
Entourage
2004 · Ally Musika
Film star Vince Chase navigates the vapid terrain of Los Angeles with a close circle of friends and his trusty agent.
In common: Comedy · Drama
Jane the Virgin
2014
A comedy-drama following a chaste young woman who is accidentally impregnated via artificial insemination as she struggles to inform her devoutly religious family and make the right choices concerning
In common: Comedy · Drama
Californication
2007 · David Duchovny
A self-loathing, alcoholic writer attempts to repair his damaged relationships with his daughter and her mother while combating sex addiction, a budding drug problem, and the seeming inability to avoi
In common: Comedy · Drama
iCarly
2007 · Dan Schneider
Watch Carly, Sam, and Freddie, as they try to balance their everyday 8th grade lives with their newfound fame managing and starring in the most awesome show on the web.
In common: Comedy · Drama · Family
Sex Education
2019 · Clare Couchman
Inexperienced Otis channels his sex therapist mom when he teams up with rebellious Maeve to set up an underground sex therapy clinic at school.
In common: Comedy · Drama
Succession
2018 · Lucy Prebble
Follow the lives of the Roy family as they contemplate their future once their aging father begins to step back from the media and entertainment conglomerate they control.
In common: Comedy · Drama
Chuck
2007 · Josh Schwartz
When Buy More computer geek Chuck Bartowski unwittingly downloads a database of government information and deadly fighting skills into his head, he becomes the CIA's most vital secret. This sets Chuck
In common: Comedy · Drama
The Orville
2017 · Seth MacFarlane
Follow the crew of the not-so-functional exploratory ship in the Earth's interstellar fleet, 400 years in the future.
In common: Comedy · Drama
Ted Lasso
2020 · Jamie Lee
Ted Lasso, an American football coach, moves to England when he's hired to manage a soccer team—despite having no experience. With cynical players and a doubtful town, will he get them to see the Ted
In common: Comedy · Drama
The Bear
2022 · Rene Gube
Carmy, a young fine-dining chef, comes home to Chicago to run his family sandwich shop. As he fights to transform the shop and himself, he works alongside a rough-around-the-edges crew that ultimately
In common: Comedy · Drama
Skins
2007 · John Yorke
Irreverent comedy drama which follows the messy lives, loves, delirious highs and inevitable lows of a group of raucous teenage friends in Bristol.
In common: Comedy · Drama
Stargate Universe
2009 · Brad Wright
The adventures of a present-day, multinational exploration team traveling on the Ancient spaceship Destiny many billions of light years distant from the Milky Way Galaxy. They evacuated there and are
In common: Drama
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
2022 · Akiva Goldsman
Follow Captain Christopher Pike, Science Officer Spock and Number One in the years before Captain Kirk boarded the U.S.S. Enterprise, as they explore new worlds around the galaxy.
In common: Drama
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
1993
At Deep Space Nine, a space station located next to a wormhole in the vicinity of the liberated planet of Bajor, Commander Sisko and crew welcome alien visitors, root out evildoers and solve all types
In common: Drama
Farscape
1999
A freak accident during an experimental space mission catapults Astronaut John Crichton across a thousand galaxies to an alien battlefield.
In common: Drama
Star Trek: Voyager
1995 · Rick Berman
Pulled to the far side of the galaxy, where the Federation is 75 years away at maximum warp speed, a Starfleet ship must cooperate with Maquis rebels to find a way home.
In common: Drama
Smallville
2001 · Tom Welling
The origins of the world’s greatest hero–from Krypton refugee Kal-el’s arrival on Earth through his tumultuous teen years to Clark Kent’s final steps toward embracing his destiny as the Man of Steel.
In common: Drama
Doctor Who
2005
The Doctor is a Time Lord: a 900 year old alien with 2 hearts, part of a gifted civilization who mastered time travel. The Doctor saves planets for a living—more of a hobby actually, and the Doctor's
In common: Drama
Supergirl
2015 · Rob Wright
Twenty-four-year-old Kara Zor-El, who was taken in by the Danvers family when she was 13 after being sent away from Krypton, must learn to embrace her powers after previously hiding them. The Danvers
In common: Drama
Superman & Lois
2021 · Gregory Smith
After years of facing megalomaniacal supervillains, monsters wreaking havoc on Metropolis, and alien invaders intent on wiping out the human race, The Man of Steel aka Clark Kent and Lois Lane come fa
In common: Drama
Halo
2022 · David Wiener
Depicting an epic 26th-century conflict between humanity and an alien threat known as the Covenant, the series weaves deeply drawn personal stories with action, adventure and a richly imagined vision
Resident Alien
2021 · Chris Sheridan
Crash-landed alien Harry takes on the identity of a small-town Colorado doctor. Arriving with a secret mission, he starts off living a simple life…but things get a bit rocky when he’s roped into solvi
Star Trek: Discovery
2017 · Michelle Paradise
Follow the voyages of Starfleet on their missions to discover new worlds and new life forms, and one Starfleet officer who must learn that to truly understand all things alien, you must first understa
In common: Drama
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1952 · Stanley Donen
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1936 · Charlie Chaplin
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A burger-loving hit man, his philosophical partner, a drug-addled gangster's moll and a washed-up boxer converge in this sprawling, comedic crime caper. Their adventures unfurl in three stories that i
