Psychological Series: 20 TV Series That Every Psychologist Should See
If there is a concept that resonates with all film production companies in the world, it is “ character psychology ”. Creating deep, three-dimensional characters, who feel and suffer truthfully, is the most difficult task that a screenwriter has to face.
Creating complex profiles for characters is increasingly a requirement, and more and more what we could consider psychological series are appearing
The 20 best psychological series that no psychologist should miss
Before, when series were not in fashion and movies reigned, it was easy to hide the lack of knowledge in creating characters, with Fast-paced plots that left the characters in the background in pursuit of the action and the agile development of events.
And in this sense, despite the pace that feature films require, the truth is that there are numerous exquisite films in terms of the psychological treatment of the characters You can check it in this article:
And, furthermore, the knowledge that a good documentary on psychology can give you is not negligible:
20 series with psychological foundation
But now, with the rise of series, writers must work harder to create complex characters that can last on screen for more than one season. That makes the television series industry find itself in a fertile peak so that ‘psychological series’ emerge or, in other words, series of great interest to those who are dedicated to analyzing the behavior and mental processes of human beings.
Below we will recommend ten series that every psychology lover should see with the eyes of a psychologist.
1. Breaking Bad
Walter White (character played masterfully by Bryan Cranston) has become a reference when we talk about acceptance of illness and preparation for death. Although many have criticized the series for being a bit slow, the first season of Breaking Bad is a great class in psychology. Chapter by chapter, the scriptwriters managed to narrate in actions a transformation that occurred within the character and, whose outcome had a larger audience than the final of the Champions League.
I leave you the trailer for the first season of the series here. Eye! If you don’t want to get hooked on this magnificent series, it’s better not to watch it.
2. The Sopranos
Considered the best series in history , I personally think it should also be ranked as “the number 1 among the psychological series ever broadcast.” Tom Wolfe said about it that in a hundred years, The Sopranos will be studied in universities like Hamlet is studied. The therapy sessions between Tony Soprano and Dr. Melfi lasted seven seasons.
More than 4,300 minutes that served to develop the psychology of dozens of characters who, more than characters, were people.
Tell a screenwriter that he has to write twenty-minute episodes with two characters chatting in front of each other, without the viewer losing interest, and you will see a screenwriter sweat But if you also tell him that these talks will be psychological therapy sessions, you will see him sweat ink and hold on to the chair on the verge of collapse. In Therapy it is not just a master class in dialogue. It’s a master class in psychology. A series capable of delving into the psychology of the characters with words as the only resource.
4. Lie to me if you can
Based on the studies of famous psychologist Paul Ekman, lie to me if you can It is a lesson in non-verbal language and how it can be used to detect lies. Although the psychology of its characters is not as deep as that of the other series on psychology that I have been mentioning, the scriptwriters of this series manage to keep us in suspense until the end of each chapter thanks to their ingenuity and Ekman’s famous book “How to detect lies.” Book that, by the way, became a best-seller thanks to the overwhelming success of the series.
5. Two meters underground
There are series endings that leave you dumbfounded. Others miss their mark and disappoint their audience. But tearjerker endings like the one in Six Feet Under are difficult to achieve if you can’t get viewers to understand the story. character psychology and, more than empathizing, sympathize with them. And Alan Ball managed to intertwine, within the Fisher family, four very different psychologies that loved each other, hated each other and endeared each other as one would love a good friend.
6. Dexter
Dexter couldn’t miss A member of the forensic police of the Miami police who in his spare time is dedicated to channeling his homicidal impulses by killing criminals. This is the story of the private lives that inhabit each of us, and the different moralities that govern these areas of life that no one but us has access to. That is to say: the game between the public face of our person and the private face that we have reserved for our best friends… and enemies. Possibly its greatest virtue is ensuring that the viewer is forced to take a moral position with everything that is shown, without them abandoning the series out of pure exhaustion.
To open your mouth…
7. Hannibal
Possibly, the one that most deserves to be on the podium of the psychological series. Not so much because of its plot and its characters, which are already related to psychology (the protagonists are Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter , that is, a specialist in criminal profiles and a cannibal psychiatrist), nor because of its quality (which is very high) but because of the parade of symbolism with which the series manages to connect with the viewer. Giving meaning to the sequences in which these symbols appear is an art, and much of the narrative weight of what is explained rests on these small appearances.
Here you can see one of the trailers for the series:
8. Les Revenants
Successful French series that mixes the drama genre with a plot about mystery and natural forces, in the line of Twin Peaks and Lost The story begins when in a small town in the French Alps people who died years ago begin to appear alive, with the appearance and clothes they were wearing just before they died and without being able to remember anything about their absence. Les Revenants can be considered a psychological series for the importance it gives to the way in which families and neighbors try to adapt to this new situation despite not knowing what is happening to them and the difficulties of having to manage their feelings of attachment and irrational fear towards these “appearances”.
Here you can see a preview in Spanish:
9. Masters of Sex
Audiovisual fiction based on a book by Thomas Maier titled Masters of Sex: The life and work of William Masters and Virginia Johnson, the couple who taught America how to love. It focuses on the lives and professional careers of William Masters and Virginia Johnson, two human sexuality researchers who during the 50s and 60s changed the way the West understood sex and relationships
This is one of their promotional videos:
10. My Mad Fat Diary
British series focused on the life of Rae , a young woman who struggles to lead a normal life after leaving a psychiatric hospital where she was admitted due to her depression and eating disorders. Upon re-contacting her friend Chloe, she hides the fact that she has been hospitalized and tries to show the best side of herself to get along with others and start a new life. A highly recommended series not so much for its plot as for the honesty with which the events are narrated and the verisimilitude of its characters
This is its trailer in English:
11. Real Humans
In the Sweden of the future depicted in this series, human-like robots (hubots) have become a consumer good almost as common as refrigerators and washing machines. They can be designed and programmed to fulfill different functions: from domestic workers or drivers to friends or even lovers.
Given the popularity of the haberts, a political movement called Real Humans demands the need to eliminate the use of robots, which puts jobs and jobs at risk. threatens to destroy the social fabric of the country , breaking up families and making humans more isolated. On the other hand, a group of robots that have been reprogrammed to be free fight for the liberation of their people from what they consider slavery.
12. Eva’s fish tank
This Spanish series talks about the relationship between a high school psychologist and teenage students with whom he deals as part of his job. This television fiction deals with topics such as social isolation, school failure, bad behavior and self-esteem problems that are so common in adolescence.
13. The group
Another Spanish psychological series, although this one only has one season. It talks about a group of very diverse people who, to deal with different personal problems, jointly attend the consultation of an experienced psychologist under the condition of not interacting with each other when leaving these sessions.
One of the most recent psychological series made for HBO is Westworld, based on the film of the same name made in 1973. It takes place in a theme park that recreates life in the North American Old West, populated by completely human-looking androids who do not know that They are and that they interact with human visitors fulfilling a specific role. However, some of them begin to discover signs that they are living in a lie that is reproduced over and over again, after successive memory erases
15. Bates Motel
Television series conceived as the prequel to the very famous film Psycho, by Alfred Hitchcock. It is a journey into the most intimate part of Norman Bates’ mind, and through his episodes you can see how his ability to express himself is expressed. manipulate people his ability to eat acts of raw violence without mercy and the way in which it unfolds his relationship with his mother Norma Bates
16. Perception
In this television series, the federal government uses the famous neuroscientist Daniel Pierce so that, with your help, it is possible solve cases in which a crime has been committed The protagonist understands human behavior as a direct product of the biochemical relationships between neurons and hormones.
17. Friday Night Lights
This series focuses on the lives of the members of an American football team and the community of family and neighbors that surrounds them. In it, both the coach and his wife have an important role as guides and personal development facilitators Here we talk about coping skills in the face of defeat, insecurities, managing personal strengths, etc.
18. Criminal Minds
A series as popular as it is criticized for giving an image of omnipotence on the part of the investigation teams linked to the FBI. However, by narrating the experiences of a group of criminal profilers, it serves to understand many of the murderer behavior patterns which can be related to diagnostic labels of mental disorders.
19. Frasier
Dr. Frasier Crane, played by Kelsey Grammer, is a psychiatrist who moves to Seattle after a couple due to a divorce and a period of his life spent in Boston. In addition to being one of the most famous sitcoms, it is a successful spin-off of the series Cheers, and has 11 seasons.
20. Mr. Robot
A television fiction that talks about the life of Eliot Alderson, a computer security technician and hacker who suffers from depression and delusions , which makes him feel socially isolated and alienated in his work. His life, marked by drugs, takes a turn when he comes into contact with a secret group of hackers who want to make the oligarchies that control the world collapse.
This is the selection of the best psychological series Remember that they are all that are there, but not all that are there are, and there will always be room to discover new fascinating audiovisual fictions from the point of view of Psychology. If you think we have left out a good series that deserves to appear on this list, do not hesitate to write us a comment.
