Being Human (BBC America), True Blood (HBO), BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Season 3, 1996-2003 (©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection); What We Do in the Shadows (FX), THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, (from left): Paul Wesley, Nina Dobrev, Ian Somerhalder, (Season 1), 2009-. (photo: Andrew Eccles / © CW / Courtesy: Everett Collection)

(Photo by BBC America; HBO; ©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection; FX; Andrew Eccles / © CW / Courtesy: Everett Collection)

Updated: September 28, 2023

While the fall 2008 premieres of True Blood on HBO and Twilight in theaters ushered in the vampire craze of the aughts and early 2010s, television 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 several 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. Shows without Tomatometer scores — either because the seasons don’t have enough reviews to get a score or there are more seasons without scores than with them — are listed at the bottom.

The most recent to join the list, animated sequel series Castlevania: Nocturne, launches on Netflix on Friday, September 29, and currently has a 100% Tomatometer score. We’ll keep watch to see if it rises to Certified Fresh level and takes over the top spot.

True Blood and its sister in the outsider-caught-between-two-vamps camp, The CW’s The Vampire Diaries, of course, feature prominently. But there are other shows that have brooding undead men and the women who love them — the grand dame of teen supernatural soap operas, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, for one. Other newcomers, like the 2022 titles Reginald the Vampire, Interview with the Vampire, Let the Right One In, Vampire Academy, First Kill, and animated series Vampire in the Garden, as well as 2021’s Firebite, and 2019’s The Passage and V Wars are all on the list.

The series are ranked by Tomatometer score, then shows without Tomatometer scores are listed by Audience Score (denoted by “A” and its rank; see Audience Scores on the series’ pages), then those without any scores are listed alphabetically.

Sink your teeth into our list of the best vampire TV shows ranked by Tomatometer:

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Synopsis: Deciding to turn over a new leaf, a group of friends who also happen to be vampires and werewolves move… [More]

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Synopsis: As revolution sweeps France, Richter Belmont fights to uphold his family’s legacy and prevent the rise of a ruthless, power-hungry… [More]

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Synopsis: Newspaper reporter uncovers supernatural causes in his investigations…. [More]

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Synopsis: In the year 2022, the vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac lives in Dubai and seeks to tell the story… [More]

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Synopsis: Based on the feature film of the same name from Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi, “What We Do in the… [More]

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Synopsis: Inspired by the popular video game series, this anime series is a dark medieval fantasy. It follows the last surviving… [More]

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Synopsis: This haunting series follows the thrilling yet terrifying journeys of Sam and Dean Winchester, two brothers who face an increasingly… [More]

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Synopsis: Many people are familiar with classic literary characters like Dr. Frankenstein and Dorian Gray. “Penny Dreadful” brings those and other… [More]

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Synopsis: Fulfilling a promise to his deceased father, one-time outlaw Jesse Custer returns home to West Texas to take over his… [More]

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Synopsis: The arrival of a charismatic priest brings miracles, mysteries and renewed religious fervor to a dying town…. [More]

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Synopsis: “A Discovery of Witches” is a fantasy series based on the similarly-named novel of the “All Souls” trilogy, written by… [More]

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Synopsis: Leaving his true love, Buffy, behind in Sunnydale, the vampire Angel tries to get a fresh start in Los Angeles…. [More]

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Synopsis: This supernatural drama, based on the series of novels by L.J. Smith, details the lives of two brothers, Damon and… [More]

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Synopsis: After humanity loses its battle with vampires, a young survivor named Momo has a fateful encounter with Fine, a vampire… [More]

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Synopsis: When the Vampire King arrives to the last colonial stronghold in a remote Australian mining town, it’s up to two… [More]

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Synopsis: Sarah Michelle Gellar takes on the role of Buffy Summers in this TV version of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” based… [More]

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Synopsis: Klaus, the original vampire/werewolf hybrid, returns to New Orleans — which his family helped build — to investigate rumors of… [More]

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Synopsis: The family at 1313 Mockingbird Lane is a little… different. Dad Herman looks like Frankenstein’s monster; mom Lily and her… [More]

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Synopsis: Maintaining law and order is the mandate of the UTF, but this isn’t exactly Benson and Stabler working the streets… [More]

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Synopsis: Dr. Ephraim Goodweather, the head of the CDC’s New York-based Canary Project, is called upon to investigate when an airplane… [More]

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Synopsis: “Being Human,” based on a BBC series of the same name, features three 20-something roommates who each try to keep… [More]

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Synopsis: Lissa, a royal vampire, and her best friend and protector, Rose, navigate romance, class politics and ancient magic at their… [More]

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Synopsis: On her birthday, Clary Fray discovers a surprise concerning her life. The teenager is not who she thinks she is… [More]

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Synopsis: Based on Joe Hill’s New York Times best-selling novel of the same name, “NOS4A2” is a different kind of vampire… [More]

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Synopsis: The Count Dracula legend transforms with new tales that flesh out the vampire’s gory crimes — and bring his vulnerability… [More]

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Synopsis: Reginald lives a life of dreams deferred. One night he meets a stranger named Maurice, who decides to help Reginald… [More]

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Synopsis: Small-town Louisiana waitress Sookie Stackhouse already is viewed as an oddball by her friends and neighbors, since she can read… [More]

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Synopsis: The lives of Mark and his daughter, Eleanor, were forever changed 10 years earlier when she was turned into a… [More]

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Synopsis: A teenager discovers he is the last descendant of vampire hunter Van Helsing…. [More]

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Synopsis: Based on author Justin Cronin’s trilogy of the same name, “The Passage” is a character-driven action drama that focuses on… [More]

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Synopsis: Falling in love is tricky for teens Juliette and Calliope because one’s a vampire and the other’s a vampire hunter… [More]

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Synopsis: Based on Charlaine Harris’ book series by the same name, “Midnight, Texas” follows the lives of the strange inhabitants of… [More]

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Adjusted Score: 61697%

Critics Consensus: Chapelwaite‘s drab proceedings are stretched a bit thin over ten episodes, but those looking for an atmospheric whodunit with a few genuine frights could do worse.

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Synopsis: A doctor is pitted against his best friend when an ancient disease turns people into vampires; from the comics by… [More]

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Synopsis: In an update of Bram Stoker’s iconic novel, Dracula travels to London, pretending to be an American entrepreneur with an… [More]

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Synopsis: Krista Starr returns from Iraq to learn that her twin brother, Zack, has died under mysterious circumstances. Krista soon meets… [More]

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Synopsis: The Monahan family abandons Chicago to settle into a private mountain community, The Gates, where father Nick becomes the new… [More]

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Synopsis: When a modern-day groundskeeper opens the Collins family crypt during a treasure hunt, Barnabas Collins, the 200-year-old family vampire, emerges… [More]

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Synopsis: Based on the book by Brian McGreevy and executive produced by acclaimed horror master Eli Roth (“Hostel”), this Netflix original… [More]

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Synopsis: “Dracula” meets “The Godfather” in this complicated but short-lived supernatural drama, in which San Francisco Police Detective Frank Kohanek makes… [More]

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Synopsis: In this eerie mystery series, private investigator Mick St. John is charismatic, resourceful and undead. Alex has been a vampire… [More]

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Synopsis: A vampire returns to his family mansion in Collinsport, Maine…. [More]

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Synopsis: A young woman investigates the mysterious death of her brother at an elite university…. [More]

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Synopsis: In Imperial Tokyo, a group calling itself “Jaegers” secretly hunts the vampires seeking the Ark of Sirius; among them is… [More]

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Synopsis: Bank robber Seth Gecko and his violent brother, Richie, are on the run — a robbery gone bad left several… [More]

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Synopsis: The town of Mystic Falls has a new generation of protectors in this spin-off of “The Vampire Diaries” and “The… [More]

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Synopsis: In this reimagining of the classic Dracula story, the world is dominated by vampires, requiring humans to work together to… [More]

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Synopsis: This drama is about a vampire surgeon who treats patients and struggles for justice and the value of human life…. [More]

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Synopsis: While trying to solve a complicated murder case, Toronto private investigator Vicki Nelson encounters dashing Henry Fitzroy, who looks to… [More]

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Synopsis: Nick Knight is an 800-year-old vampire working as a homicide detective on the graveyard shift in modern-day Toronto, a result… [More]

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Adjusted Score: -1%

Critics Consensus:

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Adjusted Score: -1%

Critics Consensus:

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Synopsis: A writer (David Soul) and a boy (Lance Kerwin) hunt a vampire in their New England town…. [More]

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Synopsis: When writer Ben Mears returns to his childhood hometown of Jerusalem’s Lot, he discovers that it is being terrorized by… [More]

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Synopsis: After narrowly escaping being killed in a murder rampage, Manami runs for her life; she is chased by a member… [More]

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Synopsis: Detective Sergeant Michael Colefield discovers a secret government vampire-hunting unit while investigating the disappearance of his partner…. [More]

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Synopsis: Vlad and Ingrid move to Britain from Transylvania with their father, Count Dracula…. [More]


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