What are some of the best, bloody good vampire TV shows to watch on Halloween?
Vampire TV shows used to be all the rage. You couldn’t turn the channel without seeing an advert for something like True Blood, The Vampire Diaries or Twilight. While vampires are still rampant in horror, they’re not usually the main characters nowadays.
They pop up on supernatural series like Supernatural or American Horror Story, but their time in the limelight has mostly ended, at least for now. Still, there are plenty of older vampire TV shows available on streaming to check out, and what better time to do just that than on Halloween weekend? The following is a list ranking some of the best vampire TV shows.
9. Bloody good vampire TV shows: True Blood
I love True Blood. It remains one of my favorite horror shows even years after it concluded. Unfortunately, the last few seasons of True Blood lost the charm of the early days, hence why it ranks so low on this list. True Blood was a fantasy horror series based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries, written by Charlaine Harris. It was created for Alan Ball, best known for his previous work on Six Feet Under, and ran for seven seasons on HBO.
Anna Paquin starred as Sookie Stackhouse, a telepathic waitress in the fictional rural town of Bon Temps, Louisiana. Everything in Bon Temps changes when they get their first vampire visitor, Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer). In the world of True Blood, vampires have “come out of the coffin,” so to speak, and now live among humans. They’re supposedly able to get by on synthetic blood — aptly called TruBlood, but of course, some vampires are more willing to embrace the fake diet than others.
If all you want is mindless camp, over-the-top gore and hot vampire sex, then True Blood is perfect. The first few seasons are genuinely good and then things take a turn for the worse, but I’d still recommend it.
True Blood is streaming on HBO Max.
8. Bloody good vampire TV shows: From Dusk till Dawn
From Dusk till Dawn: The Series expands upon the popular cult franchise From Dusk till Dawn, which you might know best from the Quentin Tarantino film starring George Clooney, Harvey Keitel Juliette Lewis. The horror television show was developed by Robert Rodriguez and continues the Gecko brothers, Seth and Richie and Santanico Pandemonium.
From Dusk till Dawn expands on the mythology of many characters and adds more to the snake creatures’ fascinating history. The TV series became very popular with fans, but it never got as big of an audience as Netflix hoped. While it aired for three seasons and is technically not “confirmed” to be canceled, the actors were released from their contracts and there haven’t been any significant updates since 2016.
From Dusk till Dawn is streaming on Netflix.
7. Bloody good vampire TV shows: The Strain
As far as vampire television goes, The Strain has always flown a little under the radar for some reason, despite being a fantastic and genuinely creepy series. Airing on FX, The Strain was created by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan, based on their novel trilogy of the same name.
Even though The Strain never became widely known as some of the other shows on this list, it secured a loyal and devoted fanbase. It ran for four successful seasons and received several accolades during its run from the Saturn Awards, Critics Choice Awards and the Fangoria Chainsaw Awards.
The show revolves around Dr. Ephraim Goodweather, the head of the CDC’s Canary Project. he gets a call to investigate a mysterious airplane landing. Everyone inside is dead. Dr. Ephraim and his team are horrified to discover that they died of a viral outbreak with sinister similarities to an ancient strain of vampirism. If they don’t get control of it, the entire population could be ravaged.
The Strain is available to stream on Hulu.
6. Bloody good vampire TV shows: The Originals
While many fans of The Originals and The Vampire Diaries believe that The Originals is superior to its parent series, and I agree that sometimes, it is. However, it’s hard to pick which one is better because The Vampire Diaries had some terrible seasons — but so did The Originals.
While the first three seasons of the Mikaelson-led drama were excellent, the final two seasons took a massive dip in quality. The Vampire Diaries dipped in quality in Season 4, got back on track in Season 6, then took another dive.
Ultimately, I put The Originals here because it wouldn’t exist without The Vampire Diaries coming first! The central plot follows Klaus Mikaelson and his family relocating to the French Quarter in New Orleans after getting werewolf Hayley Marshall pregnant. Throughout the five seasons, they contend with supernatural politics and deadly threats to the Mikaelson legacy.
The Originals is streaming on Netflix.
5. Bloody good vampire TV shows: The Vampire Diaries
The Vampire Diaries was a massive hit for The CW when it started airing in 2009. Created by Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson, The Vampire Diaries was based on the novels by L.J. Smith. The show’s popularity managed to launch a successful franchise that includes two spin-off shows, tie-in novels, comics, merchandise, and more.
Set in the fictional town of Mystic Falls, Virginia, a town that has always been full of supernatural history, Elena Gilbert finds herself at the center of an intense love triangle between the immortal Salvatore brothers. The Vampire Diaries ran for seven seasons before concluding.
The Vampire Diaries is streaming on Netflix.
4. Bloody good vampire TV shows: Angel
Angel is a spin-off from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and it shares the same creator in Joss Whedon. Angel was great for a few seasons, but like some of the other series on this list, it took a nosedive in quality near the end. Still, we can’t ignore the impact Angel and Buffy the Vampire Slayer had on the vampire genre as a whole.
A lot of the shows on this list wouldn’t exist without them paving the way. David Boreanaz returns to play Angel, the five-season show follows him as he deals with ongoing trials and difficulties after having his human soul restored to him.
Tortured by endless guilt, Angel moves to Los Angeles and works as a private detective to try and restore faith in the city and help people who have lost their way.
Angel is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video and Hulu.
3. Bloody good vampire TV shows: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
It’s not often that a poorly-received movie goes on to form the foundation of an extremely successful television show, but that was exactly what happened with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The long-running WB series has long since surpassed the 1992 movie starring Kristy Swanson. In fact, a lot of people probably didn’t even know the show was based on a film!
The series was Sarah Michelle Gellar‘s breakout role. She played a seemingly ordinary teenage girl, Buffy Summers, who has secretly come from a long line of Chosen “Slayers,” or women who are selected to keep vampires and other forces of darkness at bay.
As badly as Buffy would like to live a normal life, she slowly begins to accept her destiny throughout the show as she comes up against increasing deadly enemies. Luckily, she has a Watcher to help her and her closest friends — also known as the “Scooby Gang.”
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video and Hulu.
2. Bloody good vampire TV shows: Castlevania
Before Netflix picked up the adult animated series Castlevania, the title was best known because of the Japanese video game series. The first two seasons of Castlevania use Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse to set the stage, introducing unfamiliar audiences to characters like Alucard and Trevor Belmont. Later seasons use other elements from the games, like the 2005 entry Castlevania: Curse of Darkness.
The general premise of the series begins with Count Dracula taking revenge against the people of Wallachia after they burn his wife at the stake, falsely believing her to be a witch. Dracula summons his demons to terrorize the country. Monster hunter Trevor takes up arms against Dracula’s forces with the assistance of Dracula’s son, Alucard, and the magician Sypha Belnades. There are three seasons of the series so far, but Netflix has renewed it for a fourth season.
Castlevania is currently streaming on Netflix.
1. Bloody good vampire TV shows: What We Do in the Shadows
Funnily enough, one of the absolute best vampire TV shows isn’t very scary at all. It’s actually a comedy-horror mockumentary called What We Do in the Shadows and it’s based on the 2014 film of the same name written by Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement. What We Do in the Shadows is about four vampire roommates living in Staten Island.
It’s a simple premise that leads to hilarious results. There are two seasons out right now, with a third in the works. The series has been nominated for several Primetime Emmy Awards and Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards.
What We Do in the Shadows is streaming on Hulu.
What are your favorite vampire TV shows? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!