15 Shows Like The Vampire Diaries You Must See

Posted by Elina Uphoff on Tuesday, May 28, 2024

Every kid and teen nowadays is crazy about the Vampire Diaries. The past two decades have seen a frenzy sweep across the younger generation, gradually making them interested in the supernatural genre whether it is movies or TV series. The blood-sucking undead all the way from Judas Iscariot to the Count Dracula have achieved a cult following all over the world. Naturally, series such as these have a fan club of their own. Here’s the list of TV shows similar to The Vampire Diaries that are our recommendations. You can stream some of these shows like The Vampire Diaries on Netflix or Amazon Prime or Hulu.

15. Van Helsing (2016-Present)

Vanessa Helsing, the gorgeous descendant of the great vampire hunter Van Helsing, is resurrected after a five-year coma. She wakes up into a world which is ripe with mayhem and has been taken over by vampires. Vanessa now must ready herself to fulfill her destiny and take up the family mantle to eradicate the Earth of the eternal night.

14. Constantine (2014-2015)

Is it possible to have no faith in the grace of God even after seeing Hell and living in a world where you can look at the angels and demons continually struggling for control over humans? Apparently, it is. John Constantine is one such individual who has seen the eternal torment of Hell and although wants to avoid it at all costs, doesn’t believe that he is a good man and hence doesn’t believe in the Good altogether. He travels across the world and stops demons who want to cross over from the dark side to this plane, in hopes that the mistakes of his past don’t end him up in the same place he has been dreading all his adult life.

13. American Horror Story

A series that comprises of seven seasons, this show is conceived of as several self contained miniseries. Thus each season has their own unique storyline and there is no continuity in the seasons. The tales follow fictional accounts sometimes loosely based on real events and the stories range from paranormal activities in a farm to freak shows and cults terrorizing suburbs. A well crafted show which doesn’t reflect the same strength in every season but delivers a memorable entertaining show nonetheless. The elements of supernatural are shown with finesse in this show harking back to the golden days of Teen Wolf.

12. Castlevania (2017-Present)

A twist to the mainstream story of Dracula, Castlevania is an animated version of Konami’s hit video game of the same name. It weaves the untold tale of Dracula who unleashes terror upon Transylvania when his wife is killed on false accusations of being a witch by the Church. One year after the incident, Dracula sets lose the army of Hell on every innocent citizen without any bias. The only man who can save their homeland is Trevor Belmont, the last heir of House Belmont which was excommunicated by the church centuries ago. Will Trevor be able to ward off the evil known as Dracula and his vampire pets?

11. Beauty and the Beast

There are some shows with potent themes, good actors and compelling scenarios. All they need is some good story-line. ‘Beauty and the Beast’ is one of them, only lacking in consistency. It is not exactly supernatural, rather it takes a sci-fi touch to a tale ‘as old as time’! Katherine Chandler witnesses the murder of her mother, and is about to become the victim herself when a man saves her life. It turns out that the man, Vincent Keller, is a soldier who is supposed to be dead. And that he is not entirely human. The idea was exciting and for its first season, the show got us invested with a breath-taking cliff-hanger. But things went downhill from the second season, and ended its run with the fourth. I lament the fate of this show because it had some truly exciting premises, good villains and some decent actors with incredible chemistry. It just couldn’t exploit its own resources due to a faulty writing team. Still, it has a charm that got it a dedicated fan-base.

10. Teen Wolf (2011-2017)

Scott McCall is a typical American teenager looking to survive his sophomore year without any more excitement. However, one night when he and his friend go into the forest for an adventurous night, his life changes forever after a werewolf bites him. Becoming a werewolf himself, Scott gets powers as he had never seen before. He becomes faster, stronger, and popular but angrier than usual. Well, mix that anger with the puberty and the different supernatural enemies he keeps running into, and you’ve gotten yourselves a literal blast.

9. Preacher (2016-Present)

Jesse Custer (Dominic Cooper) a preacher and a man of god living in Texas has slowly lost his faith and is searching for a reason to continue on God’s path. Meanwhile, a powerful entity called Genesis, a result of procreation between an angel and demon crosses the galaxy to inhabit the body of Jesse. The Preacher wakes up after three days with a power to make everything he says true. What will faithless Jesse-possessed by an entity as powerful as God himself- do when he is confronted by the truth of this creation?

8. True Blood (2008-2014)

After the development of a synthetic version of human blood, vampires no longer have to hide behind the veil of deception and come out in the open to reveal their existence to the dumbfounded humans. Two years after this Great Revelation, 173-year old vampire Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) returns to Louisiana. The series follows the story of Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), a barmaid in that town, her relationship with Bill and the chain of events that resonate across the place after they get together. With subsequent introduction of supernatural characters like werewolves, shapeshifters, witches, fairies, and even maenads the series eventually becomes a full package for anyone interested in the paranormal genre. However, the series primarily revolves around vampires and their jest to gain equal right in a human-rich world, so it is a treat for the fans of Vampire Diaries.

7. Penny Dreadful (2014-2016)

A dream come true for every goth fan, Penny Dreadful just like the original Victorian word, taps into many famous -or infamous if you think about it- characters of the supernatural genre like Count Dracula, Dr. Jekyll, Hyde, Victor Frankenstein, and many more. Horror fans will find this series unique and very entertaining due to its dark themes plot and gloomy aura. The series consists of Eva Green in the lead, playing the role of Vanessa Ives, a medium who along with others like Sir Malcolm Murray, Ethan Chandler, and Dorian Grey is responsible for dealing with the supernatural threats which want to break the piece of Victorian London.

6. The Walking Dead (2010-Present)

A tale of survival in extreme circumstances -and I mean very extreme circumstances- Walking Dead is centered on the world after a Zombie Apocalypse. Infected by a pathogen, a large part of the human population has become brainless walkers who are only interested in eating and infecting other humans. Amidst this frenzy, a police officer wakes up from his coma and witnessing the worsening situation of his surroundings has to resort some unconscionable means to survive. This series is all about what levels you need to stoop down to survive in an environment where your morality is as good as the next undead guy, who wants to eat you.

5. Supernatural (2005-Present)

Fan of vampires? How about watching a whole package with werewolves, witches, angels, Devil, and even God himself. A horror series based on the tale of two brothers Dean and Sam who have been forced to become ghost hunters by the circumstances. Supernatural lives up to its name and covers all supernatural characters possible. Dwindling with their dark past and the dreadful parallel world that exists within the humans, the two brothers struggle to keep the relation between them and their friends normal.

4. The Originals (2013-Present)

A spinoff of the Vampire Diaries, this one follows the story of the origin of vampires and the extremely-powerful Originals. Being the first humans to be made vampires through magic, the Originals family is right at the top of the food-chain and naturally, have a lot of enemies. In the first season, we see the three main Originals Elijah, Klaus, and Rebekah being forced to return to their favorite city of New Orleans, because of a stupid one-night-stand of Klaus. When Klaus, the original Hybrid, comes to know about his unborn child, he leaves his animal nature and considers saving the child for his family’s redemption. However, there is a witch lurking around the corner, whose power is something the Original family has never encountered before. Will the worst of the worst need to rethink their heinous strategies?

3. Daredevil (2015-Present)

A lawyer with a good conscience who lost his eyes in a freak accident in childhood wants nothing but to save New York from itself. However, when Matt Murdock sees how difficult it is for him to reach his destination if he continues the same way, he changes tack and starts using the martial arts training given to him in childhood to become the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen. Ripe with terrific action sequences devoid of the famed ‘shaky-cam,’ this Marvel TV series breaks all stereotypes of superhero series and brings the best out of film-making. Developing the character of the protagonist as well as the antagonist Kingpin aka Wilson Fisk in a beautiful way, Daredevil leaves no loophole whatsoever for the audience to point out.

2. Stranger Things (2016-Present)

Hawkins, Indiana is an otherwise peaceful town which has had nothing but good fortune for as long as the residents can remember. However, when a boy Will gets abducted under mysterious circumstances his family and friends must team up with a psychic girl to find him. In the search for Will in a place far off from our world, they stumble upon a secret government lab which has accidentally found a way to connect to a parallel dimension, and the strange creatures living there.

 1. Punisher (2017-Present)


One of the best series of recent times, Punisher stars Jon Bernthal who has created a sensation with his mind-blowing acting recently. Yet another adaptation of the world-renowned anti-hero Frank Castle this series is a treat for action lovers and comic fans alike. It tells the story of an ex-marine who has lost his family to his past and consequently a large piece of his psyche. Though he is continuously moving towards the ultimate destination of vengeance always on the verge of death, the series doesn’t let us forget that his insanity is always one step ahead of him. A masterpiece where it is impossible to decide whether to root for the antagonist or the protagonist, it is a must-see for people who appreciate dark plotlines and violence.

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