“Chesapeake Shores” is the perfect show for fans who love romance and multi-generational family drama. Based on the Sherryl Woods novel series, it centers on Abby O’Brien, a divorced mom of two based in New York, who ventures to her hometown to help her sister navigate a business crisis. However, she soon realizes that she’s more aligned with the place where she grew up (and some of the people she’d long left behind) than she thought.
Unfortunately, the “Chesapeake Shores” series finale aired in 2022, wrapping up the O’Brien family saga, but fret not! It’s far from the only show out there that offers heartwarming (sometimes heartbreaking) character arcs and complicated familial relationships. And while every show on this list may not check every single box, each series offers up at least one of the main ingredients that makes “Chesapeake Shores” so bingeable.
Sweet Magnolias
“Chesapeake Shores” may center on Abby O’Brien, but it also focuses on her relationships with her sisters, Bree and Jess, in addition to their individual journeys. If you appreciate layered, female relationships, you might also enjoy “Sweet Magnolias.” It follows longtime friends — Maddie Townsend, Dana Sue Sullivan, and Helen Decatur — as they navigate all of the wonderful, frustrating, and heartwarming milestones life has thrown at them.
In case you were wondering why Woods decided to pen the series? “I wanted to write several books about three friends, who’d each known one another from the time they were kids, and were now at turning points in their lives,” she told <a href="https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a32906574/sweet-magnolias-sherryl-woods-interview-season-2/” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank”>Elle in 2020.
Gilmore Girls
“Gilmore Girls” is also a wonderful option for fans of “Chesapeake Shores.” Centering on the bond between young mother Lorelai Gilmore and her daughter, Rory Gilmore, family is at the heart of the show. However, because Lorelai had Rory at a young age, their relationship sometimes seems more like a friendship than a parent-child bond. But that’s part of their appeal, as they’ve become one of the most beloved mother-daughter duos of all time.
Although their relationship fuels the narrative, Lorelai and Rory also make time for their respective love lives, which means that “Gilmore Girls” is brimming with romance and all of the drama that comes with it. However, the show also derives conflict from the complicated relationship Lorelai has with her mother, who often disagrees with her choices. And yet, Stars Hollow, the town where the drama takes shape, always evokes feelings of cozy nostalgia.
Cedar Cove
“Cedar Cove” is also a Hallmark series, but that’s not the only thing it has in common with “Chesapeake Shores.” It’s also based on a book series by Debbie Macomber. It follows Municipal Court Judge Olier private life and her stressful career
Aesthetically, “Cedar Cove” is set in a small town, which makes sense given Macomber’s backstory. “Because I was born in a small town, raised in a small town, and my husband was, too, we chose to raise our family in a small town,” she explained when discussing the “core” of “Cedar Cove” with Assignment X. “So it’s about community, it’s about being friends.”
She continued, “Something that I discovered with all my visits to New York and to L.A. have been that big towns are just a series of neighborhoods. And one thing people long for, no matter where they live, is to be part of something, to have a connection.”
Virgin River
Abby from “Chesapeake Shores” uprooted her life to help her sister and then found a whole new path once venturing back home. A similar thing happens to Melinda Monroe in “Virgin River,” which is based on Robyn Carr’s novels. A nurse practitioner who’s going through a rough patch after facing tragedy, Melinda moves to a small California town.
If you’re new to this series, you may be wondering why it’s resonated with people since 2019. According to Showrunner Patrick Sean Smith, who joined the show ahead of Season 5, it’s a combination of many things. “I think in the beginning: the fact that it wasn’t dark,” he told Salon in August 2022. “That it’s hopeful. That it’s gentle in its storytelling. That it’s thoughtful. That it is timely. That it also doesn’t forget the importance of twists, surprises and cliffhangers, and kind of the fun popcorn element that you want with entertainment, that people get excited about.”
Sullivan’s Crossing
Finally, we have “Sullivan’s Crossing” (also based on a book series by Robyn Carr), which follows Maggie Sullivan, a neurosurgeon who’s forced to temporarily relocate to a small town after suffering a major professional setback that could cause her to lose everything she’s worked for. But while the bona fide city dweller, who doesn’t immediately make a permanent move to Sullivan’s Crossing, may have been forced to make a change she wasn’t ready for, she eventually realizes that she might be exactly where she should be. Does that sound familiar?
In July 2025, series creator Roma Roth opened up a little bit about Maggie’s emotional journey across the first season. “Her world in Boston has imploded, and she is forced to trade her exciting life as a surgeon for a much quieter one at The Crossing with her estranged father,” Roth told Netflix’s Tudum. “Going back to your childhood home is always a challenge, but for Maggie there’s a lot of painful history there, and returning only forces her to face the feelings of abandonment she’s been ignoring for years.” Of course, that was only the start of Maggie’s story, which has kept viewers hooked across four seasons, with a fifth slated for 2027.
