
(Photo by BBC America; HBO; ©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection; FX; Andrew Eccles / © CW / Courtesy: Everett Collection)
TV Vampires By Tomatometer
Even before the fall 2008 premieres of True Blood on HBO and Twilight in theaters ushered in the vampire craze of the late 2000s, television had immortalized the mythological creatures in series dating back to the early days of the medium.
Off-kilter 1960s sitcom The Munsters included bloodsuckers in its cast of spooky characters, and supernatural soap opera Dark Shadows, which debuted in 1966, introduced a number of nightwalkers over its six-year run.
Rotten Tomatoes has compiled a list of TV’s best and worst vampire series. While the shows don’t all have to be solely about vampires, each of the series on this list must have significant characters with the urge to suck blood. That’s why even though General Hospital spin-off Port Charles didn’t start off as a supernatural series, it made this list anyway because of the series’ vampire-related story lines.
True Blood and The Vampire Diaries, of course, feature prominently, but there are also many that debuted before Edward Cullen sparkled in the sunlight — the grand dame of teen supernatural soap operas, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, for one. We’ve also added newcomers, including the based-on-the-film FX comedy What We Do in the Shadows and Dracula, a Netflix-BBC co-production from Sherlock creators Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat.
Check out our list of the best vampire TV shows ranked by Tomatometer. Shows that don’t have series-level scores are listed alphabetically after the numbered entries.
Synopsis: The adventures of Dracula's son and daughter are chronicled in this children's series....
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Synopsis: Vanessa Helsing is the last hope for survival in a world dominated and controlled by vampires, all of whom want...
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Synopsis: A young woman infiltrates a prestigious university to solve the mystery of her brother's murder....
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Synopsis: A woman joins a group of amateur sleuths in her native Poland after witnessing a possible crime that appears to...
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Synopsis: The 'GH' spin-off had a bit of an identity crisis in that it began typically and ended gothically. A flop...
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Synopsis: The young son of the Transylvanian count prefers to sink his teeth into rock and roll, and surfing. Based on...
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Synopsis: A dogged Chicago reporter investigated the paranormal (everything from vampires and werewolves to a senator who could transform himself into...
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Synopsis: This supernatural series follows a pair of fugitive brothers after a bank heist leaves several people dead....
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Synopsis: A somewhat batty version of the Bram Stoker tale in which the vampire returns as a malevolent CEO at odds...
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Synopsis: Ghosts, witches and werewolves populated this creepy daytime serial about Maine's Collins family, which included Barnabas, a nearly 200-year-old vampire...
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Synopsis: A British cartoon about a duck who's a vampire---and a vegetarian---and his two servants, Igor and Nanny. A spin-off from...
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Synopsis: Ex-cop Vicki Nelson becomes a private investigator and finds herself working with a vampire on supernatural crimes....
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Synopsis: An `undead' private investigator helps the living, instead of feeding on them, by using his acute vampire senses. His unending...
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Synopsis: A supernatural series about the goings-on in a Pennsylvania steel town, where two suspects in a young girl's murder set...
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Synopsis: A primetime revival of the 1960s Gothic serial about a 200-year-old vampire who was unwittingly unearthed from his crypt on...
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Synopsis: A half-human, half-vampire superhero battles demonic creatures with help from a weapons specialist and a military vet....
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Synopsis: It's the late 19th century, and the mysterious Dracula has arrived in London, posing as an American entrepreneur who wants...
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Synopsis: A haven for vampires, psychics and other strange folk, Midnight gives outsiders a place to belong. Viewed as outcasts, the...
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Synopsis: A young girl is chosen to be a test subject at a secret medical facility where scientists are experimenting with...
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Adjusted Score: 66.051%
Critics Consensus: Favoring garish style over effective storytelling, the fifth American Horror Story strands a talented cast at Ryan Murphy's Hotel.
Synopsis: A horror series set in an eerie hotel in downtown Los Angeles....
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Synopsis: HBO's hit drama series created by Alan Ball ('Six Feet Under') and based on the best-selling Sookie Stackhouse novels by...
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Synopsis: Mockumentary following the LAPD's Undead Task Force as its members hunt monsters that roam the streets of California's San Fernando...
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Synopsis: On her 18th birthday, a woman discovers that she's an angel-human hybrid who hunts demons. Based on the book series...
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Synopsis: A vampire, a werewolf and a ghost share a townhouse in Boston, where they try to live like humans in...
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Synopsis: TV series inspired by Bram Stoker's Dracula, following the bloodthirsty count as he travels from Transylvania to London in 1897....
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Synopsis: A vampiric virus spreads through New York City....
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Synopsis: A cheerleader is chosen to battle the forces of evil as she weathers the storms of young adulthood in an...
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Synopsis: A ghoulishly funny sitcom about a family of misfits residing at 1313 Mockingbird Lane. Patriarch Herman, whose green complexion and...
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Synopsis: A spin-off of "The Vampire Diaries" focuses on the original vampire family who return to New Orleans to reclaim the...
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Synopsis: It's Elena's first day back at Mystic Falls High School since the tragic death of her parents. Along with her...
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Synopsis: A possessed minister teams up with his ex and a hard-drinking Irish vampire in search of answers in this drama...
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Synopsis: The enlightened vampire risks his soul to battle dark forces in the City of Angels in this noirish 'Buffy the...
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Synopsis: Twenty-six years ago, Sam and Dean Winchester lost their mother to a mysterious and demonic supernatural force. Subsequently, their father...
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Synopsis: Inspired by the video game, this medieval fantasy follows the last surviving member of the Belmont clan and his attempt...
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Synopsis: Some of literature's most terrifying characters, including Dr. Frankenstein, Dorian Gray, and iconic figures from the novel Dracula are lurking...
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Synopsis: A contemporary love story that begins against the backdrop of Oxford academic life, in a world where small numbers of...
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Synopsis: Set in New York City, What We Do in the Shadows follows three vampires who have been roommates for hundreds...
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Synopsis: Sci-fi series about three seemingly ordinary twentysomethings who live secret double lives as a werewolf, a vampire and a ghost....
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