# Russian Doll

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-doll/1029529>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\
**Created:** [April 24, 2026, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-doll/1029529 "2026-04-24T09:11:55Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\
**Post date:** [April 24, 2026, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-doll/1029529/1 "2026-04-24T09:11:55Z")

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Russian Doll is a series on Netflix with two seasons. The first one was great writing. The second season was a hot mess in my opinion, but the final episode was absolutely beautiful.

Can anyone think of a similar series?

That is, metaphorically pull a rabbit out of a hat,

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**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\
**Post date:** [April 24, 2026, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-doll/1029529/2 "2026-04-24T14:43:07Z")

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I only watched the first couple of episodes, but _Dispatches from Elsewhere_ has a similar weird, vaguely sinister feel that the first half of the first season of _Russian Doll_ had.

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**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\
**Post date:** [April 24, 2026, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-doll/1029529/3 "2026-04-24T15:00:01Z")

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The creators of _Russian Doll_ have openly discussed taking inspiration from _The Good Place_, including having a character killed by a falling air conditioner .

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**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\
**Post date:** [April 24, 2026, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-doll/1029529/4 "2026-04-24T15:07:39Z")

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I thought the HBO show **The Leftovers** was very good in the first two seasons and the third season was kind of meandering. But I was very satisfied with the final episode.

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**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\
**Post date:** [April 24, 2026, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-doll/1029529/5 "2026-04-24T15:43:51Z")

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Maybe **Legion**? Personally I thought the first season was great, the second even better, and the last one stumbled a lot but got across the finish line anyway. Weird, surreal, clever, and keeps you guessing.

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**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\
**Post date:** [April 25, 2026, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-doll/1029529/6 "2026-04-25T00:24:45Z")

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_The Good Place_ is one of my favorites ever.

Yes, I got the homage 🙂