Are you still watching? Netflix asked. Of course I am. I need something to help keep my mind off the real horrors going on outside my door. And there are plenty of those. I will say, horror TV isn’t what it used to be. I felt the loss of Chucky, Evil, and this off-year we are spending waiting for From to return. Was there effort? Sure. But there were more misses than shots made in the genre this year.
I love a good story and something that keeps me wanting more, especially if I’m expected to hang in there for more than six episodes. You will find a few horror shows here, but also a few horror-adjacent shows mixed in as well. I hope you’ll stick with me as I dive into ten of my favorites, the ones you have to check out because they are just that good.
10. Hell Motel
Where You Can Watch: AMC+ and Shudder
If you’re in the mood for a bit of camp in your horror TV, Hell Motel is exactly that. From the creators of Slasher (Aaron Martin and Ian Carpenter), Hell Motel is a murder mystery for true crime enthusiasts with a side of campy slasher. After a well-known massacre 30 years prior, the Cold River Motel is now open for a select few chosen to explore and promote a couple’s new business venture before things get bloody. The characters keep this one grounded and interesting, though the best parts of the show are in the first few episodes. While it feels drawn out at times, the mystery keeps you interested.
9. Revival
Where You Can Watch: Peacock
This one takes me back to the old Syfy days when I used to binge-watch episodes of Stargate SG1 and The Lost Room. In Revival, everyone who died two weeks before December 18th suddenly woke up in the town of Wausau. Based on a comic book series of the same name, this show takes the meaning of “zombie” to an entirely new level. Much like in similar series that came before (The Returned), the dead here try to reenter society and go back to normal. The six-episode series follows Officer Dana Cypress (Melanie Scrofano) as mysterious things start happening around the town. This one is a slow burn that picks up around episode 3 and is worth the ride.
8. The Creep Tapes, Season 2
Where You Can Watch: AMC+ and Shudder
You already know that Mark Duplass knows how to deliver when it comes to Peachfuzz and his antics. One of my favorite things about this season is how different, yet familiar, it feels. Each episode feels like a new adventure, and we get to see inside the mind of an unhinged killer for 30 minutes each week. With guest stars such as David Dastmalchian and a Peachfuzz Santa, this season is carving out its own dynamic space in the genre.
7. Talamasca: The Secret Order
Where You Can Watch: AMC+
The universe of Anne Rice expands with this new series that dives into the workings of a secret organization that monitors the supernatural: vampires, witches, ghosts, and demons. Fans of the AMC series Interview with a Vampire will find some overlap, but don’t go into this one expecting this to hit nearly as hard. The series follows Guy (Nicholas Denton), who possesses a very special gift, and he is approached by Helen (Elizabeth McGovern), who wants to recruit him into Talamasca. When Guy meets a vampire named Jasper (William Fichtner), it’s the best thing about the show. The two have a push-and-pull dynamic that intensifies throughout the remainder of the series, which makes this worthwhile. Jasper is alluring, fierce, and one of the most interesting characters I’ve seen in a while.
6. Wayward
Where You Can Watch: Netflix
“Soon, it’ll be like it never happened.”
I admit, this is one I gave up on after the first episode, then revisited later, and I’m glad I did. Wayward explores the truth about a town surrounding a boarding school that is led by Evelyn (Toni Collette). There’s a lot to question about Tall Pines: the school, the police, the people who live there—something is off about everything. The first seven episodes do a good job of building suspense and tension around its characters, but then it starts to get a bit messy. But don’t throw in the towel yet. If for nothing else, it’s worth revealing just how deep the puzzle goes with this one. I appreciate the diverse cast, and episode three alone has one scene that is truly gut-wrenching.
5. Squid Game, Season 3
Where You Can Watch: Netflix
While I, like just about everyone else, didn’t appreciate how this season concluded, I can’t deny how well-made and well-written overall Squid Game is. Almost like Game of Thrones, the execution of the last two episodes seemed to greatly miss the mark. However, it’s still one of the best shows in recent years. In season 3, show creator Hwang Dong-hyuk doesn’t care about our favorite characters. Anyone can get it. And they do. He throws us slivers of hope throughout the 13-episode series, only to snatch them right from us. If you haven’t cued this season up because of all the talk surrounding its finale, do it.
4. Devil May Cry
Where You Can Watch: Netflix
“Hell, as you call it, has always been the true heart of religion.”
Dante (Johnny Yong Bosch) is a white-haired demon hunter for hire, and there are two opposing forces that are after an artifact, his artifact. Though Dante doesn’t seem to be the focus of this season, it doesn’t feel like anything is missing from this eight-episode series, which also has a lot to say about classism and immigration. Instead, the show puts more focus on White Rabbit (Hoon Lee) and Mary (Scout Taylor-Compton), the two people after Dante’s amulet. Each episode is around 30 minutes, so this is one that is great to binge on a weekend. As a fan of Adi Shankar’s previous work, it’s no surprise that Devil May Cry is not only a well-rounded game adaptation. However, it is also one of the better shows on TV, thus earning itself a deserving second season.
3. Black Mirror: Season 7
Where You Can Watch: Netflix
Back for its seventh installment, Black Mirror continues to warn us of things yet to come (or have come and folks pretend it’s not happening). This season of Black Mirror included six episodes that covered everything from AI to the cost of living (literally). I found that this season was one of the strongest of the recent seasons of the show, making powerful emotional connections and tackling these controversial topics through creative writing and standout performances. Of all six episodes, I can really only say there was one that wasn’t as strong as the others. Black Mirror continues to deliver stories that get folks talking, and I’m here for it.
2. Alien: Earth
Where You Can Watch: Hulu
Already a groundbreaking franchise, the story of Alien continues in this latest series, Alien: Earth. Coming from Noah Hawley (Fargo, Legion), Alien: Earth builds a new world based on the foundation of what came before. He takes what you’d expect, and what unfolds is truly “otherworldly”. While there is plenty of alien action, that’s not what drives the show. Instead, it’s the characters. Marcy, a young girl dying from cancer, is a part of a program that transports her consciousness into a synthetic lifeform named Wendy (Sydney Chandler). She helps comfort others who then do the same, becoming a mentor of sorts. Then come the aliens and a lot of drama to follow. There is a lot happening in this first season (season two has been greenlit!), and it’s a pleasure to watch visually. And let’s not forget the score. Alien: Earth is about technology, corporations, and the monster hiding beneath it all.
1. IT: Welcome to Derry
Where You Can Watch: HBO: Max
After It and It: Chapter 2, the Muschiettis are back with another It story, this time going back to a previous cycle in 1962. With newly revealed plans for the series to be three seasons, I look forward to seeing all the mentioned cycles and how “It” comes out to play. But in this first season, we meet the Hanlons, who are new to Derry. They are navigating various dynamics (hatred, racism) within the town while their son, Will, and his friends go head to head with “It. While the ending wasn’t the one I wanted for the Hanlon family, the show overall was well executed and truly the best I’ve watched this year. From the performances to the set design, it was like being transported to a different world with each episode. In a world where we have shows like Them, it was refreshing to watch a show that showcased Black stories in a respectful, well-thought-out way, even if the source material wasn’t always that kind to us.
Here’s to hoping that next year is even better for horror TV with riskier stories that terrify us and keep us rooting for this genre.
