10 More Pulsating Thrillers
When The Phone Rings is an intense, twisty-turny thriller with plenty of great characters and an intriguing story that will keep you guessing all the way to the end.
If you’ve finished watching this and are looking for alternate series, fret not! We’ve combed through the archives and saved you the hassle of having to try and find something similar with our top 10 picks for alternate viewing.
To keep things simple for skim-readers we’ve added what similarities these have.
Of course for all the shows we’ve reviewed, we’ve also added a handy link so you can check out our full thoughts on that series and see if it’s something you want to invest your time with.
So without further ado, we present 10 TV shows that should whet the appetite when you’ve finished streaming When The Phone Rings!
The Trunk
Similarities – Thriller & Drama
When a mysterious trunk emerges from the bottom of a lake, it sets off a chain reaction of chaos and intrigue. As investigators dig into its origins, they discover it holds the key to solving a series of connected disappearances. But the trunk’s presence also unravels deeply buried secrets and tensions among a group of seemingly unrelated people, leading to betrayal, deceit, and a shocking climax.
Like When the Phone Rings, The Trunk is a show that thrives on suspense and unexpected twists. Its eerie atmosphere and intricate plot will leave you questioning every character’s motives, making it an easy recommendation for this list.
Through the Darkness
Similarities – Drama & Characters
Set in the 1990s, Through the Darkness is a gripping drama which centers on a mysterious killer known as ‘Red Cap’ who is terrorizing the city with brutal, random attacks on women, leaving detectives powerless. To catch him, Kook Yeong-su, head of the Criminal Behavioral Analysis team, recruits former detective Song Ha-yeong, a perceptive but reserved individual, to apply criminal profiling techniques.
As Song navigates the challenges of understanding criminals, he’s also forced to confront the emotional toll of his work.
If you enjoyed the psychological tension in When the Phone Rings, Through the Darkness offers a similarly intense experience. Its historical setting adds depth to the narrative, while the profiler’s determination mirrors the intricate, character-driven storytelling fans of the thriller genre love.
The Glory
Similarities – High-Stakes Thriller
Moon Dong-eun was once a bright young woman whose dreams were crushed by relentless bullying. Years later, she re-emerges with a meticulously planned scheme to destroy her tormentors’ lives.
Based loosely on a true story (at least when it comes to the bullying), her plan involves carefully infiltrating their inner circles, dismantling her bullies’ lives piece by piece. But as her revenge unfolds, Dong-eun confronts the emotional scars left by her past and the moral complexities of her pursuit.
The Glory’s layered storytelling focuses on psychological warfare and the consequences of revenge, adding a deeply human element to the thriller. This one’s a must-watch folks!
Marry My Husband
Similarities – Complicated Marriage
Ji-won’s life is turned upside down when her husband and best friend betray her in the worst way possible. After catching them in bed together, she’s then thrown through a glass coffee table and dies. However, when she inexplicably wakes up a decade earlier, it gives Ji-won the chance to rewrite her fate.
Armed with knowledge of their treachery, she carefully sets the stage to outmanoeuvre the dastardly pair, ensuring their downfall while reclaiming her life in the process.
The blend of suspense, time travel, and emotional intensity makes Marry My Husband a standout mystery. Although the middle episodes do drag a little, there’s enough charm and desire to see Ji-won’s revenge come to fruition to make it an easy recommendation.
Perfect Marriage Revenge
Similarities – Complicated Marriage
Perfect Marriage Revenge centers on Han I Ju, a painter adopted by Han Jin Ung and Lee Jeong Hye, who has always been neglected by her family. Married to Yoo Se-hyeok, I Ju discovers he loves her sister instead. After a car accident though, she wakes up in the past, before her engagement to Yoo Se-hyeok.
Determined to change her fate, she breaks off the engagement and proposes a contract marriage to Seo Do-guk instead, the handsome grandson of the Taeja Group’s founder. He agrees, but hopes for it to become a real marriage.
Perfect Marriage Revenge offers a captivating mix of drama and thriller aspects, all the while wrapped up in emotional stakes. Its twists and turns make it a perfect fit for fans of When the Phone Rings.
My Dangerous Wife
Similarities – Thriller
A gripping tale of love, betrayal, and survival, My Dangerous Wife dives headfirst into the complexities of marriage and the dark choices people make in their pursuit of happiness. Set against the backdrop of modern Korean society, this suspenseful drama explores just how far a marriage can be pushed.
At the centers of this is Kim Yoon-cheol, a renowned chef running a highly popular Italian restaurant. To the outside world, his six-year marriage to Shim Jae-kyung seems perfect. However, beneath the surface, cracks begin to form when he meets Jin Sun-mi, a stunning staff member at his restaurant. When he begins a passionate affair, Yoon-cheol and Sun-mi conspire to take things one step further: eliminating Shim Jae-kyung altogether. But just as their sinister plan takes shape, Kim Yoon Cheol returns home to find his wife missing and blood staining the floor.
As far as thrilling cat and mouse chases go, this one’s definitely worth checking out.
My Happy Marriage
Similarities – Complicated Marriage
My Happy Marriage follows the journey of Miyo Saimori, a young woman born into a noble family but treated as an outcast by her cruel stepmother. Deemed worthless for lacking supernatural abilities, Miyo’s life takes an even darker turn when she’s forced into an arranged marriage with Kiyoka Kudou, a feared military commander.
However, Miyo is surprised to find that Kiyoka’s harsh reputation hides a much kinder, more compassionate man than she ever anticipated. As the two navigate their complicated relationship, Miyo begins to discover her own self-worth, while Kiyoka learns to let his walls down. Together, they find love and happiness in a world that seemed determined to keep them apart.
This anime is a poignant blend of romance, drama, and self-discovery, wrapped in a rich historical setting with a touch of supernatural intrigue. It’s a tale of overcoming adversity and finding solace in unlikely places.
Remarriage & Desires
Similarities – Cat & Mouse Thriller
Remarriage & Desires delves into the cutthroat world of high-society matchmaking. Seo Hye-seung is our protagonist, who once was a content middle-class housewife living in the upscale neighbourhood of Gangnam.
However, her life turned upside down when a devastating betrayal left her with nothing. Reeling from the fallout, she crosses paths with the very woman responsible for her downfall—this time at Rex, an elite matchmaking agency that caters exclusively to Korea’s wealthiest and most influential.
Determined to reclaim her life and exact revenge, Hye-seung enters the high-stakes world of arranged marriages, where connections mean everything, and even love has a price.
This drama deliciously blends revenge, intrigue, and social commentary together, offering a sharp critique of class dynamics and ambition in modern society.
Flower Of Evil
Similarities – Romance & Thriller Elements
Flower Of Evil is a incredibly well written slow-burn thriller. It’s a show that not only subverts expectations, it does so by seamlessly hopping across various genres without ever losing sight of its main premise.
The story itself plays out as a combination of both a procedural crime drama and a cat and mouse thriller. Baek Hee-Sung is a man with a very dark past. Hee-Sung is seemingly happy in his marriage to police detective Ji-Won, with a loving daughter Eun-Ha offering up a semblance of normality.
Only, a string of unexplained murders point to Hee-Sung being the culprit behind this. The truth however, is far more shocking and emotionally stirring than one may expect.
I won’t spoil much more but suffice to say, this one subverts expectations beautifully and delivers a solid story in the meantime.
You can read our thoughts on Flower Of Evil in our full season reviews here!
My Lovely Wife
Similarities – Thriller
My Lovely Wife is a gripping tale of love, betrayal, and revenge centered around Xu Nian, a mute young woman whose life has been shaped by tragedy. After witnessing her mother’s mysterious death and enduring years of mistreatment from her family, Xu Nian hides her intelligence behind a façade of weakness, determined to uncover the truth behind her mother’s demise.
Enter Gu Ming-yan, a cold and calculating CEO haunted by his own family tragedy. Believing the Xu family is tied to his father’s death, he uses Xu Nian in a dangerous marriage contract to find answers. But in their game of manipulation and deceit, the two strong-willed individuals find their defences falling as they uncover shared truths and form an unexpected bond.
With its layered characters, intricate plotting, and beauitful emotional depth, My Lovely Wife delivers a thrilling blend of suspense and romance, making it a standout for fans of high-stakes drama.
So there we have it, our 10 TV show picks to check out when you’re finished with When The Phone Rings on Netflix.
What do you think of our picks? Do you agree? Are there any notable omissions? Let us know in the comments below!