Horror fans have been gifted a massive selection of TV shows to choose from in recent years, but that wasn’t always the case. Horror shows were usually more high-concept, failing to draw the big viewership numbers needed to survive on network airwaves. This led to unique, compelling horror shows that weren’t able to secure more than a few seasons before being escorted to the television graveyard.
So, ranging from short-lived series with long legacies to one-season shows that were ahead of their time, this is a list of the 10 best horror shows with fewer than five seasons. Now, time for some ground rules on this list: anything that was a mini-series didn’t make it, and anything that is still on the air, like From, didn’t get included, because maybe it runs for 20 years. Beyond that, anything is fair game, ranked by their overall quality and lasting impact on the genre of horror.
10
‘Kolchak: The Night Stalker’ (1974–1975)
No. of seasons: 1
Before shows like The X-Files or Supernatural, there was Kolchak: The Night Stalker. Darren McGavin starred as Carl Kolchak, a Chicago reporter who is always on the hunt for a juicy story, no matter how odd or unbelievable. Sometimes, though, the stories would start hunting him when Carl ran across vampires or other dangerous creatures that were only thought to be myths.
However improbable it was that one reporter continued to find supernatural or occult stories in one of the largest cities in the U.S., the premise of Kolchak: The Night Stalker was fun and attracted a cult following. Unfortunately, “cult following” is usually code for “no one watched it at the time,” and low ratings made Kolchak: The Night Stalker a one-and-done series. Kolchak: The Night Stalker was a show ahead of its time, and it introduced the smart concept of adding a horror element to a procedural drama that is still used today.
9
‘Chucky’ (2021–2024)
No of seasons: 3
Don Mancini took his iconic horror creation, Chucky the killer doll, and adapted his antics for television in the cable horror series Chucky. Voiced by the one and only Brad Dourif, Chucky finds a new teenager to torment in the artistic loner Jake Wheeler (Zackary Arthur). Of course, by the time Jack understands what Chucky means about being a friend to the end, a trail of bodies is already connected to the pair.
It’s hard to hate a show that takes a wisecracking killer doll all the way from the suburbs to the White House. Chucky was perfect for slasher fans who grew up with the Child’s Play series, as the show included legacy characters like the original Andy (Alex Vincent) and Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly) alongside new doomed characters. The series had a faithful following thanks to off-the-wall meta storytelling and creative carnage, but the high production cost of the Child’s Play series factored into the third season being its last.
8
‘Evil’ (2019–2024)
No. of seasons: 4
Fans of Evil are still frustrated that the supernatural investigation series isn’t still on the air. Evil followed Dr. Kristen Bouchard (Katja Herbers), an ethical but financially struggling forensic psychologist who agrees to work with Catholic priest David Acosta (Mike Colter) and tech pro Ben Shakir (Aasif Mandvi) for the Catholic Church. Kristen is not religious, but her skepticism is needed when the trio investigates supernatural claims filed with the church.
A horror show on network television that managed to be convincingly scary, Evil picked up a fanbase that loved the case-of-the-week structure and the chemistry between the trio of investigators. Critics were on board and praised Evil’s writing and atmospheric mood, and even when the series made the jump to Paramount+, there was no discernible dip in quality. Despite all the accolades Evil received, a combination of factors that included the 2023 WGA strike and production costs led to the series being cut tragically short after four seasons.
7
‘Penny Dreadful’ (2014–2016)
No. of seasons: 3
Easily one of the most elaborate horror shows of the 21st century, Penny Dreadful is an excellent horror show with a shorter run. Set in late 1800s London, Penny Dreadful follows a group of humans who become embroiled in the world of the occult and supernatural. While a rescue mission creates uneasy allies, famous literary characters like Dr. Frankenstein (Harry Treadaway) and Dorian Gray (Reeve Carney) play a part in a larger, dangerous game.
Penny Dreadful does a remarkable job of recreating a past London for an immersive Gothic horror experience. Every scene looks like it exists in a big-budget movie, and a cast that includes Josh Hartnett, Timothy Dalton, and Eva Green contributes to that feeling. Unlike certain shows that were cut short, Penny Dreadful was three seasons by design, so anyone watching for the first time can rest easy knowing they can expect closure.
6
‘The Addams Family’ (1964–1966)
No. of seasons: 2
A horror show isn’t necessarily required to be scary. The spooky sitcom The Addams Family followed the lives of a family with uniquely dark sensibilities. Gomez Addams (John Astin) and his wife Morticia (Carolyn Jones) were the heads of the household, while children Wednesday (Lisa Loring) and Pugsley (Ken Weatherwax) learned the ways of their peculiar family with the assistance of characters like Uncle Fester (Jackie Coogan).
Based on the comic strip of the same name created by Charles Addams, The Addams Family is basically the first family of all things spooky, which makes it all the more disappointing that there are only two seasons of the sitcom. A dip in the ratings for Season 2 spelled the end of the witty sitcom, but it’s impossible to keep the Addams down. The adventures of The Addams Family have continued over the years, with successful live-action and animated feature films, and most recently, the Netflix series Wednesday starring Jenna Ortega.
5
‘Hannibal’ (2013–2015)
No. of seasons: 3
Even though there was so much story left to tell, the psychological horror drama Hannibal made it three seasons before hosting its last dinner party. Based on characters from Thomas Harris novels like The Silence of the Lambs and Red Dragon, Hannibal follows the cat-and-mouse game led by the cannibalistic Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen). When FBI profiler Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) becomes overwhelmed chasing murderers, he’s urged to receive psychiatric help from a genius murderer. Obviously, Will doesn’t know about Lecter’s proclivities, but Hannibal lets us follow his journey to the discovery.
Film adaptations can be hit or miss, especially when it’s a completely new cast working in the shadows of iconic performances, but Hannibal is an exception to the rule. The cast was able to stay true to the source material from the novels of Harris while creating new interpretations that are equally riveting. Hannibal was a dark and morbid visual wonder, but the dreaded low viewership doomed the series before we could see Clarice Starling meet Hannibal properly.
4
‘Marianne’ (2019)
No. of seasons: 1
Netflix’s Marianne packed more scares in one season than some shows manage over long runs. The one-season Netflix show follows Emma Larsimon (Victoire Du Bois), a popular horror novelist who is compelled to go back to her hometown after a shocking run-in with someone she knew from her youth. Emma is faced with a horrifying truth: the scariest creation from her books, Marianne (Delia Espinat-Dief), exists in the real world.
Marianne is such a good horror show that even the viewers who hate reading subtitles should give it a chance (There’s a dubbed version, but… to each their own). It’s a show that combines psychological horror with moments of white-knuckle physical danger for the characters to offer the complete package. Marianne should have had more than one season, and it’s very puzzling why it didn’t, but even as a standalone eight-episode series, the show is a fantastic piece of horror storytelling.
3
‘Channel Zero’ (2016–2018)
No. of seasons: 4
An underrated anthology show with a cult following, Channel Zero made the most of its four-season run. Every anthology series has a hook, and Channel Zero’s was adapting the internet urban legend Creepypasta stories. The shorter nature of the Creepypasta stories meant Channel Zero had a great starting point for an idea and was able to build on it for an entire season of the show.
Although critics were kind to Channel Zero, it took audiences longer to celebrate the horror series, and by that point, the show was already canceled. Whether an audience was tuning in or not, Channel Zero maintained its quality for all four seasons, making for a fantastic horror binge. From the first season, about a creepy children’s show that never existed, to the last season featuring a horrific villain named Pretzel Jack, it’s impossible to go wrong with a viewing order.
2
‘Night Gallery’ (1969–1973)
No. of seasons: 3
Legendary television creator Rod Serling wasn’t done with the anthology format after the massive success of The Twilight Zone. Serling jumped from CBS to NBC, where he launched the more horror-focused short story series, Night Gallery. Each episode would start with Serling walking through a gallery of paintings, stopping to explain the horrific story behind the piece of art.
Springing from a pilot movie of the same name, Night Gallery ran for three seasons on NBC, presenting a much darker tone than the series Serling had become famous for. While Night Gallery is fondly remembered by horror fans who enjoyed the spiritual sequel, Serling himself was disappointed with a decreasing amount of creative control for the series. Network interference aside, Night Gallery is a largely influential show for televised horror and should not be overlooked.
1
‘Twin Peaks’ (1990–1991)
No. of seasons: 2
Twin Peaks was a short-lived show, but its legend will continue to live on. Part murder mystery, part surreal psychological horror, Twin Peaks opens with the discovery that Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee), the local teen beauty queen, has been murdered. On the surface, no one in the small town can believe a murderer is among them, but behind closed doors, everyone is hiding a secret that may connect to her death.
Twin Peaks is a turning point for modern television, and even though it only had the two seasons on ABC, that was all it needed to change history. The series introduced a large cast with multiple plotlines in a surreal and challenging narrative with disturbing and unsettling visuals that would stick in your head for days. Pressure to reveal the person who killed Laura from the network in Season 2 played a large part in deflating the show’s momentum, and ABC would not return to Twin Peaks for a third season. However, fans at least received a little more dark magic when Twin Peaks: The Return brought its trademark eccentricities to Showtime.
