Ah, vampires—love them or hate them, these fanged, sexy and sometimes sparkly creatures have captured the hearts of readers and viewers for years. From Buffy, to Anne Rice’s moody vamps to Stephenie Meyer’s marbled heartthrobs, there’s just something so satisfying and intriguing about a good vampire story.
Lucky for you, Netflix is delivering the goods in the blood-sucking department with so many vampire-themed TV shows, we can barely keep track of them all. From sexy to gorey (and sometimes both), here are nine of the best vampire shows to binge on Netflix right now.
The Vampire Diaries
It would be scandalous to talk about Netflix vampire shows without mentioning The Vampire Diaries. The immensely popular CW series has won over the hearts of many when it came out in 2009. Following the life of teenager Elena as she falls in love with a 162-year-old vampire named Stefan, it pretty much ticks everything on the Modern Vampire Story list: teenager falling in love with a 100-year-old vampire? Check. Sexy 100-year-old vampires? Check. Love triangle? Check.
Van Helsing
No, this one doesn’t have Hugh Jackman in it, but you’ll survive. Van Helsing is a fantasy drama series that aired on Syfy in 2016 and is now available for your viewing pleasure on Netflix. Set in a post-apocalyptic near future, it follows Vanessa Van Helsing, a descendant of Abraham Van Helsing, as she awakens from a coma in a world where vampires have overrun humanity. If you’re looking for a little less smooching and a bit more action, this one’s for you.
V Wars
Looks like Ian Somerhalder can’t stay away from acting in vampire-related things (he also starred in Vampire Diaries) but we’re not mad about it, honestly. V Wars follows the story of physician/scientist Dr. Luther Swann (Somerhalder) and his best friend Michael Fayne, as they face the evolving crisis of a deadly outbreak that has the potential to escalate to a future war between humans and vampires. Think World War Z but with vampires.
Hemlock Grove
If you’re looking for a gorey, bloody show with a bit of werewolf and Upir (vampiric beings) action, Eli Roth's Hemlock Grove has you covered. The show examines the strange happenings in Hemlock Grove, a fictional town in Pennsylvania—it follows Roman Godfrey, heir to the town's wealthy Godfrey family, who befriends the town's newcomer, Peter Rumancek. We recommend having a pillow nearby for this one.
Dracula
Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffatt—who co-created the BBC’s wildly popular Sherlock—also created Netflix’s Dracula miniseries, which is based on the 1897 Bram Stoker novel. This series follows Dracula from his origins in Eastern Europe to his battles with Van Helsing's descendants and beyond. If you’re looking for some of that classic vampire flair, this one’s it.
From Dusk ‘Till Dawn
From Dusk ‘Till Dawn is a series that expands on the cult film of the same name. While not exactly vampires in the pale, brooding and attractive sense, the series features snakelike people that must fight for food to survive until dawn. The show delves into Mesoamerican mythologies and Aztec and Mayan mythologies that featured vampire-like creatures and is definitely worth a watch if you’re not into vamps like Edward Cullen.
Immortals
This one might take a little while to get into, but if you’ve got it, sink some time Turkish vampire drama Immortals. It follows Mia, a human turned vampire driven by revenge, set out to vanquish Dmitry, a ruthless vampire leader who seeks an artifact that grants immortality. This series ticks both the dark (seriously, it’s a bit dark, turn your luminosity up) and the sexy vampire checklist boxes.
Vampires
Vampires is a 2020 French-language series that follows a half-human, half-vampire teenager named Doina, who lives with her mother Martha in Paris. Doina tries to suppress her vampiric tendencies by taking pills, while also being pursued by a secret vampire community—stressful but thrilling.
Shadowhunters
Based on Cassandra Clare’s popular The Mortal Instruments series, Shadowhunters follows teenager Clary Fray (try saying her name three times fast) as she grapples with the fact that she comes from a long line of human-angel hybrids called Shadowhunters. While this is not a show about vampires, there's definitely a vampire in there somewhere, so we’ll let this one slide.
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Image credit: Netflix's Dracula