Credit: Netflix

Did you watch Big Mistakes on Netflix over the weekend, too? We’re assuming you are here because you liked the show and you want more. But before we go there, do you remember how it starts with one decision that doesn’t seem that serious at first, and then everything that follows comes directly from that?

One thing about Big Mistakes, created by Dan Levy, keeps things very direct. It shows people getting involved in something they think they can handle, and then it expands further on that idea. In short, the plot builds from cause and effect. Two siblings who are not ready for anything serious somehow end up dragged into organised crime after a small, very stupid decision.

It starts with a small theft, which, by the way, should have stayed small. Instead, it connects them to people they should never have met or known, and from that point, they are not choosing anything anymore. The decisions are where the thrill of Big Mistakes comes from.

So if you are coming off that and wondering what to watch next, Dead to Me is the closest match you are going to find. The show starts with Jen, played by Christina Applegate, who is dealing with the sudden death of her husband in a hit-and-run. Jen is not handling this loss in as emotional a way either. She is angry and very done with everyone trying to tell her how to feel.

Just then, she meets Judy (Linda Cardellini) at a grief support group, who is a warm and affectionate person. Someone you would actually love to have around in this situation. And for a second, you think this is going to be a story about healing.

Oh, you can’t be more wrong. Because Judy is hiding something, something serious. This is not a secret that Jen finds out about, and then, after a small cold war, they mend things again. It’s in fact Judy’s connection to Jen’s husband, and from that point on, everything becomes about managing that truth.

This is where it starts to feel like Big Mistakes. Both shows run on the same idea: someone makes a bad decision, and instead of stopping there, they keep trying to fix it in the worst possible ways. One lie leads to another, and one cover-up creates a bigger mess. Before you know it, the situation is way out of control.

But there is also something that sets Dead to Me apart from Big Mistakes, and it’s the way it builds everything around the relationship between Jen and Judy. You see, these women, they are not enemies. But they are not exactly friends either. They need each other while they lie to each other, and also, at times, they protect each other. That push and pull is what keeps Dead to Me such a good watch because at one point, it becomes less about the plot and more about watching how these two women deal with what they have done.

And if we talk about the performances, they are top-notch. Christina Applegate has done an excellent job playing Jen. The way you can literally feel how everyone gets on her nerves, and she responds to them has a mix of both humour and frustration. Eventually, you get why she reacts the way she does, even when it pushes her into worse situations. Linda Cardellini balances that frustration by shaping a character who is driven by guilt but still trying to hold things together.

Just like Big Mistakes, we watch new problems unfolding right after one issue is solved.

So if Big Mistakes worked for you because of that pattern, Dead to Me is absolutely the show for you.