Vampires are everywhere, whether they’re horrifying monsters or angsty love interests. Here are five vampire TV shows for every mood, and where to watch them this October!
Vampires are, fittingly, timeless monsters that we love to see in every genre and in any mood. Vampires are one of the most iconic movie monsters of our time, see Dracula, Nosferatu, and even Edward Cullen. They’re scary, sexy, and at times, sassy. TV has most certainly noticed the vampire hype and has developed a ton of shows featuring these iconic bloodsuckers. Now that Halloween is upon us, here are five vampire shows that are perfect for whatever mood you’re in.
The Vampire Diaries
Throwing back to the Twilight era vampire craze, The Vampire Diaries is the perfect teen romance to binge. For the uninitiated, The Vampire Diaries takes place in Mystic Falls, Virginia, following 17-year-old Elena Gilbert mere months after losing both her parents in a car accident. She quickly falls for “new” guy Stefan Salvatore, a 162-year-old vampire, but everything turns on its head when his mysterious older brother, Damon, comes to town bringing murder and mayhem in his wake. Drama, love triangles, some of the best villains in any CW show to date (I’m looking at you Klaus and Katherine), this 2010’s vampire romp has it all. It has two spin-off series as well, creating what’s known as TVDU–The Vampire Diaries Universe. If you’re interested in a more adult fantasy about family and redemption, The Originals is the show for you; if you’re interested in a dark academia teen drama about a supernatural school, Legacies is also a good watch. Regardless, if you want romance with your fangs, The Vampire Diaries has your back. You can now watch the show on HBO Max, and its spin-off shows on Netflix.
What We Do In The Shadows
Vampires can be badass, scary monsters, but they can also be absolutely ridiculous. What We Do In The Shadows is a mockumentary sitcom following the lives of three very traditional vampires, Nandor, Laszlo, and Nadja, an energy vampire named Colin Robinson, and Nandor’s familiar, Guillermo, as they try to navigate living in the modern world. This show proves that blood and comedy can actually mix well, and actually addresses the hilarity of super old cannibals having to pretend like they’re normal people–because in what world would that not be ridiculous? Available to stream on Hulu and fuboTV, What We Do In The Shadows is still airing new episodes, it’s season 4 just finished airing and season 5 has already been announced.
True Blood
True Blood is many things–sexy, bloody, dramatic, but most importantly, it’s camp; adult camp, specifically. The show takes place in a small town in Louisiana, where society at large is already aware of vampires now that they can survive off synthetic blood called “Tru Blood.” Sookie Stackhouse, a local mind-reader, already has a strange reputation due to her hindering gift, which is made all the more complicated after she falls in love with 173-year-old, “out of the coffin” vampire, Bill Compton. The show explores what it means to be “out” in society, drawing parallels to the LGBTQ+ community to varying success, while criticizing prejudiced conservatism. The premise may seem serious, but don’t get it twisted–this show really leans into the campy elements of a supernatural romance. It knows what it is, it’s self-aware, and if you want a wild ride of an undead caliber you can watch True Blood on HBO Max.
Castlevania
If you want horror with your vampires, but also are interested in animation, Castlevania would be worth a watch. This animated horror fantasy borrows its style from Japanese anime, following the story of Dracula himself. After his wife was wrongly accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake, Count Vlad Dracula Tepes declares war on the people of Wallachia, summoning an army of demons to destroy them, blunging Eastern Europe into an era of fear. Trevor Belmont, the last living member of the disgraced Belmont clan of monster hunters, combats these forces in order to save mankind along with a magician named Sypha Belnades, and Dracula’s dhampir son, Alucard. Fair warning, the violence in this show can be quite graphic, but the story is extremely compelling with characters you’ll love. Do you want blood, gore, and horror galore? Castlevania is available to stream on Netflix.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
We can’t have a list of vampire TV shows without Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which is so iconic it encompasses every category on this list. It has romance, drama, humor, camp, and horror, but is all wrapped up in a feminist, coming-of-age-style bow that makes it distinctly unique. The story follows Buffy Summers, the Slayer, one in a long line of women whose fate it is to fight off vampires and other forces of evil. She, along with her rag-tag group of friends, her Watcher, or Slaying mentor, Mr. Giles, and the “good” vampire, Angel, help keep Sunnydale, California safe from that which goes bump in the night. Angel also gets his own spin-off show, Angel, which follows his quest for redemption after a life of horrifying deeds. Quite possibly one of the best teen shows of all time, Buffy is an iconic piece of television history that features the first on-screen lesbian kiss, the first show to adopt a “musical episode,” and was a part of the first wave of TV shows in the ’90s and 00’s to feature strong female action heroes. In terms of vampire media, it’s certainly one of the best, and you cannot miss out. You can stream both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel on Hulu.
