Everyone knows I love all the nerd genres of media. Horror, Sci-Fi, action., it never gets old for me. And being a Plex user and a person who collects a lot of media, I’m considered an aficionado in these things. I’m constantly asked about the best zombie movies, superhero tv shows, what’re the best franchises to get invested in. Since I’m stuck answering the same questions repeatedly, I decided to start doing a series of blog posts called “Wishlists” where I give you a list of my favorite movies, tv shows, and (maybe) music.
One of my favorite horror subgenres is vampires. So I’m making this my first list. These 10 television shows are vampire-themed or showcase vampires frequently throughout the series. So a show like Supernatural won’t make the list since there are only a few vampire-themed episodes in its 15-season run. So let’s get this started. And there’s no question about which show should start us off:
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Buffy The Vampire Slayer
I have been representing this show since it first aired in 1997. What seemed like a show with a very silly premise, turned out to be an innovative story that used vampires and other monsters as allegories for the lives of teens growing up in society. Buffy was one of the first strong female characters on TV, and writer/showrunner Joss Whedon introduced a lot of plot tropes that are standard in most genre-based shows today. Watching it today might seem like the typical superhero show, but back in the 90s, what transpired over seven seasons was groundbreaking. This show ran the gambit of funny, scary, suspenseful and somethings, heartbreaking.
Buffy is a Slayer, one in a long line of young women chosen for a specific mission: to seek out and destroy vampires, demons, and other forces of darkness. Unlike her predecessors, Buffy establishes a group of supportive friends who aids her in her battles with evil, including Willow, Xander, and Cordelia. Her battles with evil are frequent, since Sunnydale, where Buffy and friends live, sits atop a gateway to the realm of the demons.
The Strain
I know a lot of people who tried to watch this show stopped early on because it was too slow. And I have to admit, The Strain was a slow burn. But for those who stuck it out, it paid off with a band at the end. Based on the book by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan, it told a story of the rise of a vampiric virus that spread through and eventually took over New York City. To me, this show was a looooooong movie and I loved the progression of the heroic characters as they fought the losing battle ot stopping NYC from being overrun. Add to it, a nice (if not sudden) payoff at the end and you got a nice four seasons of vampire goodness.
Dr. Ephraim Goodweather, the head of the CDC’s New York-based Canary Project, is called upon to investigate when an airplane lands with everybody on board dead. What his team discovers is a viral outbreak that has similarities to an ancient strain of vampirism. As the virus begins to spread, Goodweather works with his team and a group of the city’s residents to wage a war that could hold humanity’s fate in its hand. The show’s executive producers include Oscar-nominated writer Guillermo del Toro and Emmy-winning producer Carlton Cuse.
From Dusk Till Dawn
I’m a huge fan of the 1996 movie with George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino. So when I heard Robert Rodriguez was reimagining the movie as a TV series, I was totally hyped. The first 2 seasons follow the story from the film, with a few other storylines running in parallel, and the final season goes balls out war between our heroes and the vampires. All the actors a great, including appearances by Don Johnson and Wilmer Valderrama. And I was mesmerized by the beauty of Eiza González (in the Selma Hyak role… AND SHE DELIVERS!). This series ran on the El Rey Network in 2014 so I’m not sure how many people actually watched it. It’s running on Prime Video now and I’d encourage everyone to check it out.
Bank robber Seth Gecko and his violent brother, Richie, are on the run — a robbery gone bad left several people dead — and the FBI and Texas Rangers are in pursuit. As they head for Mexico, the brothers meet the Fuller family heading the same way. They take the family hostage and continue the trip in the Fullers’ RV. Chaos breaks out when they stop at a bar to meet the cartel king who offered them shelter.
Angel
After 3 seasons on Buffy The Vampire Slayer, vampire with a soul, Angel left Sunnydale and set up shop in Los Angeles in a brand new spinoff series. Creator Joss Whedon wanted to tell more darker, adult stories on the show, but it still kept the same vibe as it’s sister show. David Boreanaz, Charisma Carpenter, and later Alexis Denisof all made the transition to the new show effortlessly. And timeline-wise the show ran parallel to Buffy and sometimes crossed over, feeling like an extra hour of Buffy every week. Again, the writing was top notch and the acting was great for it’s 5 season run. Watching both Buffy and Angel in chronological order is a great binge watch I can do once every year.
Leaving his true love, Buffy, behind in Sunnydale, the vampire Angel tries to get a fresh start in Los Angeles. Instead, he finds a whole ‘nother breed of fiends waiting to bring out his dark side. Along the way, he joins forces with several other like-minded heroes looking to protect Angelenos from the demon threat.
What We Do In The Shadows
What can I say about this damn show? As a spin-off to the 2015 movie, the writing, and ad-libs from the actors are just as good as the movie. Matt Berry (who I was a big fan of, from IT Crowd) stands about as Laszlo, along with Kayvan Novak as Nandor. The show basically follows a reality show about 4 vampires and a human familiar as they live, love, and kill through their day-to-day in Staten Island. Think The Office, or Parks and Recreation.. just with vampires. Simply hilarious.
Based on the feature film of the same name from Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi, “What We Do in the Shadows” is a documentary-style look into the daily (or rather, nightly) lives of four vampires who’ve “lived” together for hundreds of years in Staten Island.The self-appointed leader of the group is Nandor the Relentless, a great warrior and conqueror from the Ottoman Empire. Then there’s the British vampire Laszlo — a bit of a rogue and a dandy and a fop, he might say. He’s a lover of mischief and a great soirée, but not as much as he loves seeing Nandor fail miserably in every attempt. And then there’s Nadja: the seductress, the temptress, the vampiric Bonnie to Laszlo’s Clyde. Also cohabiting in the vampire household is Guillermo, Nandor’s familiar; and Colin Robinson, an energy vampire and day-walker of sorts — he feasts on humans, but not on their blood.
Interview With A Vampire
My overall favorite show of 2022, Interview with A Vampire is not a reboot, but more of a reimagined continuation from the 1994 film with Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. The reporter, Daniel is once again summoned by vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac after 28 years to clear the air and expand on the interview he gave with greater detail. What follows is 7 episodes of transformations, love, abuse, and inevitable conflict. There are no heroes and villains in the show. Lestat, Louis, and their made-daughter Claudia are all enablers and abusers. And there are no cast members to single out. EVERYONE on this show is incredible. I know a lot of people might be turned off by the homosexual undertones, but this show was so damn good. And I can’t wait for season 2.
In the year 2022, the vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac lives in Dubai and seeks to tell the story of his life or afterlife to renowned journalist Daniel Molloy. Beginning in early 20th-century New Orleans, Louis’ story follows his relationship with the vampire Lestat du Lioncourt and their formed family, including teen fledgling Claudia. Together, the vampire family endures immortality in New Orleans and beyond. As the interview continues in Dubai, Molloy discovers the truths beneath Louis’ story.
Let The Right One In
After reading the book and watching both film versions of Let the Right On In, I didn’t think the tv show could add anything to the story. And for the most part, I was right. What’s great about this show is it’s so well made. Madison Baez as Eleanor and (the incredible) Demián Bichir. are excellent in the lead roles as Father and daughter-turned-vampire. The other standouts is Ean Foreman, Isaiah and Anikia Rose as his mother, and (one of my new favorite actors) Grace Gummer as Claire Logan as the scientist trying to find a cure for vampirism to help her brother. Season one spans the plot of the movies, so I’m really hoping we get a season 2 from Showtime.
The lives of Mark and his daughter, Eleanor, were forever changed 10 years earlier when she was turned into a vampire. As Eleanor is only able to go out at night, Mark does his best to provide her with the human blood she needs to stay alive.
The Passage
I think the main reason I liked this single-season show, is because I simply LOVED the books. It’s one of my favorite audiobook series I’ve read in about 10 years. Although the tv show only covers the first third of the first book in the Passage trilogy, the showrunners manage to flesh out the story of a federal agent protecting a little girl who scientists think is the cure to the vampire plague (sound familiar?). Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Saniyya Sidney are great together as main heroes, who are trying to outrun the government while the vampire plague they unleashed is starting to take over the country. Even though it was canceled after one season, that’s kinda good. The show ends far into the future with Amy, the immune girl just starting the full adventure from the book. A second season would’ve been a whole different show, so the 10 episodes have a nice ending… even as bleak as it was. Definitely worth a binge.
The Passage is a character-driven action drama that focuses on Project Noah, a secret medical facility where scientists experiment with a dangerous virus that could lead to the cure for all diseases — but it also could potentially wipe out the human race. When a young girl is chosen to be a test subject, a federal agent is tasked with bringing her in, but he becomes her surrogate father, determined to protect her at any cost — even as Project Noah’s work threatens to unleash an unimaginable apocalypse.
Midnight Mass
It wasn’t until the last few episodes of this streaming series that it was revealed that we’re dealing with vampires. What we initially get is an unsettling story about a small town and what happens with someone comes to town to reignite the religious faith of the people. What starts out as a dark, unsettling and creepy mystery, turns into an all-out battle for survival again a newly created vampire horde. I totally appreciate the showrunners’ bait-and-switch, because the payoff is so good. The standout actor is Zach Gilford (Friday Night Lights) as the tortured son who returns to the sleepy harbor town, just as all the madness is breaking out. Even if you don’t love vampires, this 7 episode series holds up as a nice, well acted mystery and won’t disappoint.
Van Helsing
This show is a blatant cross between The Walking Dead and Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Our superpowered heroine awakes from a coma to find the world has been overrun by monsters, and she may be the only one to save her friends and the world from the vampire apocalypse. It’s a little derivative, but it all works. The best thing about this show is it doesn’t take itself seriously. It knows it’s a ridiculous show on the SyFy channel and has fun with it. What follows is a lot of action, great characters, and 5 seasons that get crazier and crazier as we go. Super-powered lead Vanessa Helsing (played by Kelly Overton) is the sexiest vampire we’ve had since Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Buffy and standout sidekick Sam (played by Jonathan Scarfe) is the definite standout character. But really, if you enjoyed Buffy, or The Walking Dead, or both.. this might be something you want to check out.
In this reimagining of the classic Dracula story, the world is dominated by vampires, requiring humans to work together to survive. The series centers on Vanessa Helsing, daughter of famed vampire hunter Abraham Van Helsing, who wakes up after a five-year coma to discover a vampire-controlled world. She soon learns that she possesses a unique blood composition that makes her immune to vampires and able to turn the creatures into humans. That power puts humanity’s last hope to return the world to how it once was before the vampires took over in Vanessa’s hands.