Sirens highlights Michaela's mythological power over everyone around her, including Simone, leading audiences, and Devon, to suspect her of leading a cult.

Michaela is certainly a charismatic leader in her community, and Devon's introduction into it is anything but smooth. As the series progresses, Devon becomes increasingly worried about her sister's well-being, despite Simone not wanting to leave. By Sirens' ending, Simone makes a shocking decision that usurps Michaela's authority. While the series has already garnered comparisons to other recent drama shows, Sirens is strikingly similar to a 2010s series that also focuses on its lead's infiltration of upper-class life, with equally dramatic results.

ABC's 2011 Series Revenge Is A Great Precursor To Sirens

Revenge Has A Very Similar Setting & Tone

Sirens has followed in the footsteps of other recent drama shows that satirize the lifestyles of the wealthy, and it has become popular in the process. Nearly 14 years earlier, ABC's drama series Revenge was ahead of the trend. Even more so than other additions to the genre, Revenge feels like a spiritual precursor to Sirens, and the two shows are perfect for the same audiences, since before Sirens, Revenge saw one woman travel to a wealthy area to cause havoc in the lives of those around her.

Rather than moving to the Hamptons and uncovering the sinister secrets of her wealthy neighbors, Emily sets out to destroy them from the start.

Revenge follows Emily VanCamp's Emily Thorne, an independently wealthy but secretive woman who moves into a beach house in the Hamptons. Once there, she begins getting to know the area's wealthy inhabitants during the summer season, but the series has a big twist. Emily has been there before, and she knows everything about her new neighbors. Rather than moving to the Hamptons and uncovering the sinister secrets of her wealthy neighbors, Emily sets out to destroy them from the start.

Sirens and Revenge have very similar tones and idyllic settings. The two series also both focus on the secrets of the wealthy and how those secrets and their behavior more generally impact those who are less privileged. Both shows have great female leads who are intriguing and messy, coaxing audiences into rooting for them, even when they may be in the wrong. The two drama shows pair very well together, though Revenge is arguably even more soapy and mysterious, in part because it was given time to develop over four seasons, giving audiences plenty to enjoy.

Revenge Was Successful At The Time, But Its Tone Works Even Better With Today's Popular Shows

The ABC Series Fits Perfectly With Today's Comedy Dramas

Revenge originally aired from 2011 to 2015, and it became one of ABC's most popular shows. The series achieved mixed to positive reviews, and critics noted that the series' drama and pacing were great at pulling viewers in. Overall, Revenge performed well while it was on air, but, surprisingly, it has not retained its popularity like some other shows from the same era. This is particularly surprising when considering how popular its type of secretive-rich-people subgenre has become recently.

Beginning with shows like Big Little Lies in 2017, the dark comedy drama genre that focuses on the lives of its wealthy characters and their interpersonal dramas has become increasingly popular. Since then, shows like The White Lotus, Nine Perfect Strangers, The Perfect Couple, and Sirens, to name a few, have been hits with streaming audiences. Each of these shows deals with slowly unraveling the huge secrets of rich people living or vacationing in beautiful, seemingly perfect environments.

Revenge is currently streaming on Hulu.

The appeal of this subgenre is easy to understand. Simply put, these shows are fun to watch, and the variation in the different series keeps them interesting. Though there are an increasing number of shows that fit into this category, the current popularity of the genre and the prospect of new seasons of shows like The White Lotus or Big Little Lies shows that this is unlikely to change soon. Even with the growing options, Revenge still marks one of the best and earliest additions, and it is certainly worth a revisit by fans of Sirens.