The Affair
Created by Hagai Levi, Sarah Treem
On Showtime
A serialized psychological study of infidelity and its cascading emotional damage, told through fragmented, unreliable perspectives that interrogate how desire and self-deception corrode intimacy.
The emotional effects of an extramarital relationship between Noah, a New York City schoolteacher and budding novelist with a wife of twenty years and four children and Alison, a young waitress and wife from Montauk at the end of Long Island, trying to piece her life back together in the wake of a tragedy.
Clusters
Genres
Where to watch
Questions people ask
Is The Affair sad? Yes, very. More sad than 99% of series.
Is The Affair easy watching? Barely. Less comforting than 88% of series.
Does The Affair leave you hopeful? Barely. Less hopeful than 88% of series.
Is The Affair scary? Somewhat. More frightening than 66% of series.
Is The Affair violent? About average. Almost exactly mid-range.
These describe how the series comes across across its whole run, compared with other well-known series. They are not a content list — nothing here was counted or checked episode by episode, so for age-suitability or specific content use a classification board or a dedicated content-warning service.
Written about
- The Opposite of HBOFinding
Cinnamon Score
How much this series gives you that nothing else will, and whether it delivers.
Familiar shape, done well.
How unlike any other series this one feels
How much more it delivers than it promises
How much audiences actually like it
Ensemble
Everything like The Affair, and what each one shares →
Like The Affair
Nearest across the full emotional profile.
Same Mood as The Affair
Nearest on what's most distinctive about this one.
Like The Affair, But Darker
Similar, pushed toward heavier and more intense.
Like The Affair, But Lighter
Similar, pushed toward warmer and easier.
Like The Affair, But Less Popular
Same territory, far fewer people have seen it.
