Although ahorrorTV show doesn’t have to follow the monster-of-the-week formula, it’s an effective trope for a reason and helps get viewers acquainted with the world of the story.Some of the best horror TV series of all time are monster-of-the-week showsthat incorporate character development and season-long arcs into the episodic format of the weekly evil. As time has progressed, fewer monster-of-the-week shows are being made since audiences are so familiar with their formulas. However, this hasn’t diminished appreciation for the projects that already exist.
Many of themost anticipated horror TV shows of 2025are more serialized since shorter seasons and the budgets of streaming services have allowed for more experimenting and fewer filler episodes. However,there’s something comforting and familiar about the procedural format,even if the heroes are chasing down monsters and demons. Knowing that the heroes will have to band together to take down the villain and that good will triumph over evil is the appeal of these series. Despite this, there are plenty of shows that subvert expectations and leave viewers on cliffhangers throughout the episodes.
Based on the original 1964 TV series,Kolchak: The Night Stalker,Night Stalkerwas an exciting update to this story, even if it was short-lived. A young Gabrielle Union stars as the journalist Perri Reed, alongside Stuart Townsend as Carl Kolchak, the reporter chasing down supernatural leads. Haunted by his dark past and the belief that something dark and dangerous is out there, Carl pulls Perri into his supernatural world, searching for answers about his wife’s murder and the strange occurrences around them.
Set in Los Angeles,Night Stalkerbalances the realism of the city with the fantastical nature of its monsters, using them as a metaphor for the urban decay surrounding the characters.
As one of thebest TV shows with only one season,Night Stalkeronly has a few episodes, but each one is memorable. Going back to watch the original series and following it up withNight Stalkermakes for a compelling juxtaposition between the way monster-of-the-week shows have changed across the decades. Set in Los Angeles,Night Stalkerbalances the realism of the city with the fantastical nature of its monsters, using them as a metaphor for the urban decay surrounding the characters.
6.3/10
Evil
Cast
Evil is a psychological mystery series that follows a skeptical forensic psychologist, Kristen Bouchard, who teams up with a Catholic priest-in-training and a tech expert to investigate purportedly supernatural incidents. The series delves into complex themes of religion, science, and the nature of evil through its deeply layered narrative and character development. The show stars Katja Herbers, Mike Colter, and Aasif Mandvi.
Religion takes center stage inEvil, as Mike Colter playsa Catholic priest, David Acosta, who’s charged with investigating reports of divine and demonic intervention.Though Acosta is firmly a believer in the shocking encounters he has, his partners, Dr. Kristen Bouchard (Katja Herbers) and Ben Shakir (Aasif Mandvi), aren’t quite so quick to trust what their eyes tell them. The monsters inEvilare some of the best parts of the show, as they tackle supernatural folklore and religious imagery with great effect.
There are many reasonswhyEvilseason 5 needs to happen, as the series recently exploded in popularity after being added to streaming services. However, there are no official plans for another installment of this iconic modern horror show, despite the fact thatEvilhas been hailed as one of the best monster-of-the-week series to come out in the last few years. Like any good story that follows a formula,Evilis careful to slowly build on its ongoing narrative through the individual scares.
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86%
7.8/10
Millennium
Millennium is a TV show that aired in 1996, starring Lance Henriksen as Frank Black, a former FBI agent with the ability to see into the minds of criminals. Set in the lead-up to the year 2000, the series follows Black as he works for the mysterious Millennium Group, investigating crimes that hint at an impending apocalypse. Created by Chris Carter, the show blends elements of crime, horror, and the supernatural.
Lance Henriksen stars inMillenniumas Frank Black, an ex-FBI agent working outside the traditional routes of law enforcement to go after killers and criminals. Though it’s never definitively confirmed that Frank is psychic, his uncanny ability to understand the murderers he chases goes beyond the typical skills of a profiler.As the seasons ofMillenniumprogress, it becomes clear that the organization Frank works for isn’t telling him everything,and the supernatural becomes an everyday part of Frank’s life.
Millenniumwas never afraid to put Frank through a lot and make him question his loyalties.
Millenniumwas canceled after season 3, but because the series shared a creator withThe X-Files, Frank appeared in a spinoff episode ofThe X-Filesin season 7, “Millennium.” It was agreed upon thatMillenniumhad a much darker tone thanThe X-Files, as Frank was typically investigating horrible crimes much closer to home.Millenniumwas never afraid to put Frank through a lot and make him question his loyalties.
8/10
Supernatural
Supernatural is a television series that follows brothers Sam and Dean Winchester, who were raised by their father to hunt and combat supernatural entities after losing their mother to a demonic force. Traversing the American landscape in their ‘67 Chevy Impala, they face numerous paranormal threats.
For fifteen seasons,Supernaturalwas one of the most popular horror-fantasy TV showson television, and when it finally came to an end in 2020, it left a hole in the genre. A lot changed over the course ofSupernatural’s many seasons, as what the show was before season 5 and after are considered significantly different series. At the start,Supernaturalwas a classic monster-of-the-week show, following the brothers, Sam and Dean Winchester, as they traveled across the U.S. chasing monsters and hunting demons.
Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles brought Sam and Dean to life,and the actors’ chemistry as brothers was a strong emotional anchor for the show. Though the major antagonists of everySupernaturalseason influenced the direction of the show, the series continuously relied on the monster-of-the-week formula to create excitement and drama over the years.Supernaturalwill likely remain one of the best-known series of the genre for many years to come, as it’s still widely discussed.
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8.4/10
Warehouse 13
When Secret Service agents Myka Bering and Pete Lattimer are reassigned to Warehouse 13 in rural South Dakota, they find themselves part of a team of agents tasked with tracking down and recovering supernatural artifacts, to be stored in the warehouse.
As long as there have been governments, there have been government conspiracy theories, andWarehouse 13draws its premise from one of the most common. The show begins with Secret Service agents Pete Lattimer (Eddie McClintock) and Myka Bering (Joanne Kelly) being transferred to South Dakota as part of the Warehouse 13 team. While other supernatural series might focus on monsters and demons,Warehouse 13is more concerned with gadgets and artifacts,with the agents and their partners traveling to recover them in each episode.
Though there are elements ofWarehouse 13that lean into campy and comedic territory, this helps to balance out the seriousness of some episodes and the dangerous situation the characters are in.
Though there are elements ofWarehouse 13that lean into campy and comedic territory, this helps to balance out the seriousness of some episodes and the dangerous situation the characters are in. The adventures that Myka and Pete go on throughoutWarehouse 13draw them into a world of lore and history, disrupting many of the beliefs they previously held. However, with every expedition and newly found artifact, the team grows closer, and the audience continues to appreciateWarehouse 13.
82%
90%
7.6/10
Angel
A spin-off of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel is a drama series with supernatural elements that stars David Boreanaz, reprising his role as the titular vampire. An immortal cursed with his human soul returning to his body, which makes him susceptible to human emotions such as remorse. Angel lives in Los Angeles as a private detective, seeking redemption for his murderous past as a vicious warlord. Angel will face threats such as humans and demons that rival his own cruel potential as he ventures to help those in need.
After Angel (David Boreanaz) left Sunnydale and Buffy behind inBuffy The Vampire Slayerseason 3,the tortured vampire sets up shop in Los Angeles as a private detective.This is whereAngelpicks up, and this addition to theBuffyuniverse deserves more attention, especially considering how much further it pushed the initial concept of the fantasy world. ThoughBuffyisn’t afraid to get dark,Angelis even more bleak, and the characters in the show are pushed to their limits.
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In both movies & TV shows, a spinoff can move into darker territory than the original because it must differentiate itself from the source material.
AngelsavedBuffy The Vampire Slayer’s Cordelia(Charisma Carpenter), as well as many other characters from the original series. At first,Angelput a more crime-oriented spin on the monster-of-the-week format that the show shares withBuffy The Vampire Slayer. However, because of the loss and intensity featured inAngel, the show went through many transformations,resulting in one of the best final seasons of television of the 21st century.
87%
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7.9/10
Grimm
Detective Nick Burkhardt discovers he’s a Grimm, a guardian tasked with keeping the balance between humanity and mythological creatures. As he navigates his new role, he battles dangerous Wesen while uncovering secrets about his ancestors. With the help of allies, Nick confronts dark forces threatening both worlds.
Taking its name from the famous Brothers Grimm, who compiled and wrote many European fairytales that are well known today,Grimmfollows a man with the ability to see these mythical monsters. David Giuntoli plays Detective Nick Burkhardt, the descendant of a long line of Grimms, who are people able to see through the illusions and understand there are supernatural forces at work. Throughout the show,he balances his duties as a detective with his calling as a Grimm.
Set in the Pacific Northwest,Grimm’s style and aesthetic lent itself to the moody fantasy procedural format of the story.
Set in the Pacific Northwest,Grimm’s style and aesthetic lent itself to the moody fantasy procedural format of the story. Unlike similar TV series that touched upon the darker side of fairytales,Grimmwas more violent and complex, with Nick often coming up against the forces of evil on his own. However, this isn’t to say that Nick doesn’t find a fantastic team and continuously fights to have a normal life while being a Grimm.
89%
Fringe
This sci-fi procedural follows the FBI’s secretive Fringe Division and its agents Olivia Dunham, Walter Bishop, and Peter Bishop. Together, they investigate cases regarding strange events that threaten society, including cases of parallel universes, human experimentation, and other strange phenomena.
ThoughFringeis typically compared toThe X-Files,the similarities between the shows aren’t as far-reaching as they might seem. From the start,Fringeis fully entrenched in science fiction and leans into its otherworldly narratives, delving further into the outlandish with each passing season. Monsters take many forms inFringe, as they’re sometimes the results of experiments gone wrong or are invaders from a parallel universe. The parallel universe is something that becomes a critical part ofFringeby the final season.
AsFringeprogressed, the series became more serialized,but it never lost the monster-of-the-week elements that made audiences fall in love withFringeat the beginning. Today,Fringeis considered a cult classic amid the horror and sci-fi genres, as it might start as an FBI procedural, butFringeis much more than that. Thanks to its all-star cast featuring Anna Torv and Joshua Jackson as the will-they-won’t-they couple,Fringekept the viewer invested in even the most improbable plot lines.
80%
The X-Files
The X-files takes the police procedural formula and applies it to sci-fi mysteries. Conspiracy theorist Fox Mulder and skeptic Dana Scully team up to solve cases surrounding alien invasions and other unexplained, paranormal phenomena.
The X-Fileswas a groundbreaking addition to the crime procedural genre, taking the dynamic of the skeptic and the believer to the extreme through Scully and Mulder.Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny were the perfect actors to bring these characters to lifeonThe X-Files, as their chemistry and timing gave Scully and Mulder a timeless dynamic. ThoughThe X-Filesinitially came to an end in 2002, two additional seasons were released in 2016 and 2018, completing the show.
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From Supernatural to Hannibal, many horror shows took a while to find their tone and identity but eventually improved upon their first seasons.
As time has progressed,The X-Fileshas come to be known as one of the most influential crime-horror TV showsof all time, with many series following its example. Like a traditional crime show,The X-Filesgives Scully and Mulder a new case to tackle every week, but because of their division, these are the typical crimes FBI agents are assigned to. InThe X-Files, the monsters the agents deal with are literal instead of their human counterparts.
74%
8.6/10
Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a television series created by Joss Whedon, focusing on Buffy Summers, portrayed by Sarah Michelle Gellar, a young woman chosen to battle against vampires, demons, and other supernatural forces while navigating the complexities of teenage life.
As arguably thebest vampire TV show of all time,Buffy The Vampire Slayerbrought the monster-of-the-week and supernatural teen drama genres back to the forefront of television.With 22 episodes in an average season,Buffyhad plenty of room to incorporate standalone storiesas well as narratives that drove the season’s overarching plot forward. While some of these weekly demon-centered episodes could be considered filler, they comprise some ofBuffy’s greatest installments.
ThoughBuffyis ahorrorseries, the writers and creators understood how to balance the scares and terrifying demons with heart and humor, always making the characters' development the most important part of the show. As Buffy and her team were facing down horrible monsters, there was always a deeper connection with what the characters were going through, and a metaphor for common issues that people face in adolescence. Using the monster-of-the-week format in conjunction with coming-of-age was a stroke of genius onBuffy The Vampire Slayer.
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8.3/10
