Best Vampire TV Shows, Ranked Worst To Best

It’s turning out to be a busy time for bloodsuckers on TV.

Since September, at least four new shows — Peacock’s Vampire Academy, AMC’s Interview With the Vampire, Showtime’s Let the Right One In and Syfy’s Reginald the Vampire — have entered the conversation, hoping to capitalize on viewers’ time-honored obsession with the undead.

But how do these newcomers stack up against the most iconic vampire shows in TV history? That’s what we’re here to discuss.

From the smoldering Salvatores of Mystic Falls to the resident slayer of Sunnydale, Team TVLine is taking stock of the 15 best shows with vampirism at their core — including one that’s still airing as we speak — and ranking them from worst to best.

(As always, “worst” and “best” are both completely subjective, and we suspect that no two readers’ lists would look the same. We’re all just having fun here.)

Read on for our ranking of the 15 best vampire TV shows of all time, then drop a comment with your own list. Were any of your fanged favorites missing entirely?

Moonlight (CBS, 2007–2008)

Image Credit: Courtesy of CBS/Everett Collection

Two years before he found sun-kissed success on Hawaii Five-0, Alex O’Loughlin briefly ruled the night in this short-lived series about an undead private investigator named Mick St. John.

The cult drama gets extra points for answering the question, What would Jason Dohring be like as a vampire? (The answer: delightful.)
Being Human (Syfy, 2011–2014)

Image Credit: Courtesy of Syfy/Everett Collection

After stints on Battlestar Galactica and Smallville, Sam Witwer was reintroduced to (and very well-received by) TV audiences as vampire Aidan Waite in Syfy’s adaptation of the British series of the same name.
A Discovery of Witches (Sundance Now/Shudder, 2018–2022)

Image Credit: Courtesy of BBC America/Everett Collection

Don’t let its witchy title fool you, this adaptation of Deborah Harkness’ novels was plenty focused on vampire Matthew Clairmont. And if the idea of Matthew Goode playing a supernatural charmer sounds good on paper, you should try seeing it on screen.
Legacies (The CW, 2018–2022)

Image Credit: Courtesy of The CW

This gone-too-soon third installment in the Vampire Diaries franchise took us back to Mystic Falls, where the next generation of supernatural beings — led by Hope Mikaelson, the daughter of history’s first vampire — fought to become the heroes of their own stories, battling an endless parade of inner and outer demons in the process.
Castlevania (Netflix, 2017–2021)

Image Credit: Courtesy of Netflix/Everett Collection

The only animated series on our list — and certainly the only show whose source material includes an eight-bit Nintendo game from the late 1980s — this unlikely hit took us completely by surprise, hooking a loyal audience with its stunning animation and compelling storytelling.
American Horror Story: Hotel (FX, 2015–2016)

Image Credit: Courtesy of FX/Everett Collection

Years before anyone would consider her an Oscar contender, Lady Gaga took home a Golden Globe Award for her portrayal of AHS: Hotel’s Countess, a fashionable force of nature who got her kicks — not to mention her eternal beauty — by satisfying her endless thirst for blood.
Midnight Mass (Netflix, 2021)

Image Credit: Courtesy of Netflix

From Mike Flanagan, the mind behind Netflix’s Haunting franchise, came this truly unconventional take on the vampire franchise — so unconventional, in fact, that the word “vampire” was never spoken throughout the limited series’ seven-episode run.
Penny Dreadful (Showtime, 2014–2016)

Image Credit: Courtesy of Showtime/Everett Collection

From the iconic Dracula to a character simply known as “The Vampire,” the undead were never in short supply on this gothic gem.
The Vampire Diaries (The CW, 2009–2017)

Image Credit: Courtesy of The CW/Everett Collection

Every teen drama in the 2010s wanted what this show had, from its tweet-worthy twists to its smoldering cast with chemistry for days. No one did love triangles like the vampires, werewolves and witches of Mystic Falls, a town so romantic it seemed downright idyllic — you know, minus the near-daily murders.
The Strain (FX, 2014–2017)

Image Credit: Courtesy of FX/Everett Collection

No one was swooning over the vampires in this apocalyptic thriller, co-created by horror master Guillero del Toro, which thrust viewers into a highly stylized war between the living and the undead.
The Originals (The CW, 2013–2018)

Image Credit: Courtesy of The CW/Everett Collection

Rather than relying on romance, this Vampire Diaries spinoff focused on family — and what a family. The show milked every ounce of drama from the thousand-year history of the world’s first-ever vampires, anchored by Klaus Mikaelson, one of the most wonderfully nuanced characters to grace the small screen. Family drama, political intrigue and a hot cast? Always and forever, indeed.
True Blood (HBO, 2008–2014)

Image Credit: HBO Max screenshot

At a time when other vampire franchises were restricted by broadcast TV standards and PG-13 ratings, this HBO guilty pleasure was free to give the people exactly what they wanted. Remember when Sookie dug Bill out of the ground and they had sex right there in the graveyard? Or when Jason and Jessica boned in the back of his pickup truck to that Taylor Swift song? Or how about the time we all saw Eric’s penis right before his entire naked body burst into flames on top of that mountain? We may not recall the specifics of the complicated fairy lore that plagued True Blood’s later seasons, but we’ll always remember the good times.
Angel (The WB, 1999–2004)

Image Credit: Courtesy of 20th Television/Everett Collection

“The vampire with a soul” was given a shot at redemption in this beloved Buffy spinoff, which relocated David Boreanaz’s titular character to Los Angeles for five seasons of battling what goes bump in the night. Angel gets extra points for also bringing Charisma Carpenter’s Cordelia along for the ride.
What We Do in the Shadows (FX, 2019–Present)

Image Credit: Courtesy of FX/Everett Collection

With 17 Primetime Emmy Award nominations under its belt, this hysterical mockumentary is the most “recognized” entry on our list — and for good reason. We hope to watch this ancient crew of undead knuckleheads struggle to navigate the modern world for years to come.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (The WB/UPN, 1997–2003)

Image Credit: Courtesy of 20th Television/Everett Collection

Let’s be honest, there’s a good chance that you clicked into this list just to see where Buffy would land — and you’re not the least bit surprised to see the slayer seated in the top spot. Sarah Michelle Gellar’s titular teen subverted expectations and tropes to become a new kind of feminist icon, one to whom countless TV heroines now owe a considerable debt of gratitude. Buffy didn’t just break the mold, she slayed it.