Five of my Favorite Spine-tingling Television Series
Dark fantasy. Seriously, what’s not to like? A marriage between the magic of paranormal and the yummy chills of horror can’t be beat. It’s my go-to genre.
First off, this is not an all-inclusive list. If I missed your absolute favorite, apologies. In no certain order:
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
They had me at the opening credits, which tie the comic books nicely with the series. First off, I thought the casting was stellar. I wondered if they would conjure up a Melissa Joan Hart clone, and nothing against her acting, I loved her in Sabrina the Teenage Witch. However, I’d hoped the powers that be would go in a slightly different direction. Kiernan Shipka was the perfect choice. The juxtaposition of her aunties, sweet Hilda and cold Zelda, never cease to tickle me and the two symbolized the struggles of the main character’s dual nature of being half witch and half human. I enjoyed the various plot twists, and it touched me to see the masterful developments of the characters, particularly that of Susie Putnam. Every time they threatened to cancel the show, I bit my nails until they changed their tune. Of course, there were some shows that were better than others, but that’s the nature of putting together a television series show after show on a budget. My biggest disappointment was the series' finale. Those who saw it know what I’m talking about. For those who didn’t, I still think the series is well worth watching despite my feelings about the ending.
Locke & Key
That quirky music intro sets the series up nicely. As far as I’m concerned, Keyhouse, the gorgeous mansion the Locke family moves into, is also a character in itself and I want to live there. (Crushed to find out much of it is CGI-created.) With all the twists and turns in the show, I often wonder how they’re going to tie it all up in the season finales, but I’m always thrilled with the results. Hats off to all the actors for portraying flawed, realistic people in crazy situations. As much as I adore the three children, Tyler, Kinsey, and Bode, their mother, Nina, is one of the most compelling characters for me. Uncle Duncan, who I just shrugged off
initially, turns out to be so key (yes, I had to) and evolves into an incredibly fascinating character. As for the baddies, #shudders—if this series is new to you, you won’t be disappointed!
Stranger Things
I admit it—I am an 80s girl and if you aren’t, you may wonder what the fuss is all about. At first, I wasn’t sure I’d like it and I’ve got to confess, I’m not a big fan of scenes taking place in the hospital. I could do away with every single scene of Eleven hooked up to electrodes and her creepy “father” despite how essential to the plot they were. (We won’t go into my fear of hospitals atm.) My most-loved scenes were those with my favourite D&D players, Mike, Lucas, Dustin, and Will. The additions of El, Max, Robin, Nancy, Jonathan, Suzie, and Erica only, well, added to the enjoyment. The creators, the Duffer brothers, paid equally close attention to the adult characters: the children’s parents, “Papa,” Murray aka Mr. Conspiracy, Dr. Alexei, and good, old reliable Bob. The villains—OMG! They gave me delicious shivers of fear and gasps of horror.
Crazyhead
This series takes place in the UK. Squee! I’m an anglophile, so, yes, exciting news for this Texan girl. Amateur, demon-hunting at its best, Crazyhead hits it out of the ballpark. (Baseball ref=intentional.) This comedy horror show was cancelled way too soon and I can’t repeat the bad words I said when I found out. First episode, wee is involved. As a fan of potty humour, I applaud. Susan Wakoma as Raquel is amazing. Pairing her with Cara Theobold—genius. They play so well off each other. I’m happy to see Wakoma on Enola Holmes with the actor from Stranger Things, Millie Bobby Brown, but this woman deserves the lead in a series.
Wynonna Earp
Be still, my heart! I had a serious chick crush on the main character. Wynonna Earp is related to, yes, those Earps. This is a western horror fantasy extravaganza that never disappoints. Tim Rozon as Doc Holliday was incredible and almost usurped my number one love for Wynonna. Every single character shines in this series and I dare you to watch and not care. The last scene with Doc and Wynonna… sniff, sniff. Loved it. Waverly, Wynonna’s sister, fyi, a name I think is so cool and her arc, sung. The revelation of what Doc is. I don’t think there is a single episode I didn’t enjoy.
And there you have it—five of my favourite dark fantasies. So, what ones did I miss?
ABOUT ZOE TASIA
Zoe grew up in Oklahoma, lived in Scotland for many years, and now resides in Texas with her husband and three crazy cat overlords. She adores everything creepy and yet writes a sweet fantasy romance series, ‘The Shrouded Isle’. The first book is Kilts and Catnip, followed by Bagpipe and Basil. (Book 1 The Shrouded Isle). Her short story ‘Better Late than Never’ – featured in the new anthology The Haunted Train: Creepy Trains from the Graveyard is at the same time creepy and sweet.
12 comments:
Pretty good selection of newer shows, but can't believe you left out Buffy, though. That was one of the better shows in the late nineties. Think I would still watch it.
True Blood was also interesting, also not recent.
Among these five, Wynonna Earp is my favourite and the only one I’ve seen completely. I enjoyed its sassiness quite a bit! I thought of Pushing Daisies, one of my favourite shows – even though it’s not really dark, I like the sophisticated murders solved thanks to the character’s power to bring dead people back to life briefly. Locke & Key was enjoyable too but I was too much of a coward to keep watching it, will check it out again!
Tudor, I was a major BtVS fan and was even in a fan group. We met online and discussed each episode. I also watched Angel. I've not watched the True Blood series, but I'm pretty sure I read the books.
Sevinc, I've never seen Pushing Daisies, but heard it was good. Was it on HBO? Definitely give Locke & Key another whirl.
I haven't seen any of them - probably not surprising, because I don't have a TV.
Your article made me curious about Wynonna Earp. I think I would enjoy that. How 'dark' is it, in your opinion?
Rayne, I didn't find it too dark. I sat through it without getting so scared that I did that peek-between-your-fingers thing and nothing was violent enough to make me queasy. I never had a moment when I needed a break from it, like I have had to do with The Boys.
Cameron, thank you so much for having me as a guest on your blog. I enjoyed writing the piece and the comments!
I loved stranger things but I felt like it became repetetive towards the end. Still got hope for it to bring something new in the next season! Also hoping to check out Locke and Key.
Unfortunately, I only knew about Stranger Things and Sabrina but definitely should check the others. I think I’ll start with Locke&Key. Thanks for this list!
@Zoe wow, sounds like you were pretty serious about the show. I did watch Angel, it was ok, but cannot remember too much now.
Did not know the True Blood show was based on some books, might give them a go, thanks for the info :)
I should have mentioned this earlier. True Blood is based on the Southern Vampire Mysteries series by Charlaine Harris. I've read a goodly portion of her books and enjoyed them.
Locke & Key is based on a series of comic books. I've checked it out a bit, but couldn't get into it. I may try again at some point.
I haven't watched any of them in full but I definitely heard of Stranger Things and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, this makes me want to check the other 3 that you've mentioned. Will definitely give these a try.
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