The 10 best underrated horror shows that deserve a second look

Deeya
Still from The Exorcist (Image via IGN)
Still from The Exorcist (Image via IGN)

Underrated horror shows are some of the best television shows to binge on. Horror is a genre that many people like and are curious about. It has the power to engage viewers like no other type of media. Therefore, it is always a treat for horror aficionados when they come upon a range of underrated horror shows that they might have missed on earlier. Here are 10 such underrated horror shows that deserve a second viewing.


Creepshow, Bates Motel, and other underrated horror shows to watch

1. Stan Against Evil

Still from the show (Image via Amazon Prime Video)
Still from the show (Image via Amazon Prime Video)

Sometimes comedy horror is all you need to get the right amount of humor and heebie-jeebies. Created by Dana Gould and starring John C. McGinley, Janet Varney, and others, this comedy horror series is one of the underrated horror shows that one must check out. The show aired for three seasons from 2016 to 2018 and focuses on a New Hampshire town that is built on the site of a massive witch burning. Therefore, it is haunted by demons, spirits, and all kinds of supernatural entities. These entities hate the authorities responsible for their death and now it is up to Stan Miller (McGinley), the former sheriff, to team up with his replacement and defend the town from the ghosts of the past. Each episode of the show is suspenseful and hilarious as it focuses on a new entity. The series’ artful mix of comedy with horror, makes it one of the underrated horror shows that one must watch.


2 Servant

Still from the show (Image via Apple TV)
Still from the show (Image via Apple TV)

Created by Tony Basgallop and executively produced by M. Night Shyamalan, this psychological horror series features Lauren Ambrose, Rupert Grint, and others. It is another one of those underrated horror shows that people sometimes miss out on. The show has four seasons and aired from 2019 to 2023. The series takes place in Philadelphia and focuses on a couple, Dorothy and Sean, who hire an 18-year-old Leanne to be the full-time nanny to their son Jericho. However, Jericho has died and has been replaced by a reborn doll that Dorothy believes is the real Jericho. When Leanne joins the house, the family begins to experience supernatural events and the show delves into the past of the couple and of Leanne. The show has received a lot of praise from the likes of Stephen King and Guillermo del Toro, who praised the show for its atmosphere. The show has a wonderful balance of the bizarre and the haunted and creates a tense atmosphere. Therefore, it is rightly one of the underrated horror shows.


3. Evil

Still from the show (Image via CBS)
Still from the show (Image via CBS)

One of the underrated horror shows with an interesting premise, this supernatural drama series is created by Robert and Michelle King and has four seasons. It aired from 2019 to 2024 and features Katja Herbers, Mike Colter, and Aasif Mandvi. The show is critically acclaimed and deals with a lot of themes that are not only supernatural. The show focuses on a skeptical forensic psychologist Dr. Kristen (Herbers), a Catholic seminarian David (Colter), and a skeptical technology contractor Ben (Mandvi), who are all hired by the Catholic Church to investigate a range of terrifying supernatural events. The show also delves into the personal lives of the three main characters and how they get intertwined with the cases they are solving. The series moves away from the typical ghosts and spirits to include a wide variety of horrifying creatures like demons in VR games, kids in creepy doll masks, and others. The series’ positive reviews and consistently good story-telling, makes it one of the underrated horror shows that one must check out.


4. Penny Dreadful

Still from the show (Image via SHOWTIME)
Still from the show (Image via SHOWTIME)

Created by John Logan and starring Reeve Carney, Timothy Dalton, Eva Green, and others, this horror and drama show is one of those underrated horror shows. The series has three seasons and aired from 2014 to 2016. The show draws upon many of the famous characters from 19th-century Victorian Gothic fiction like Dorian Gray, Frankenstein, and others. The show’s first season began in 1891 in London, where an American gunman and roadshow artist, Ethan, is hired by an adventurer and explorer Malcolm and Vanessa, to rescue Murray’s daughter from a mysterious creature. The soon receive help from a doctor called Victor Frankenstein who is stalked by the undead creature he once created and abandoned. The show is a treat for lovers of Victorian Gothic fiction and all those who want to see their favorite literary characters come to life. The story of the show continued as a comic book and even got a spin-off. It is one of the underrated horror shows that one must watch.


5. iZombie

Still from the show (Image via IGN)
Still from the show (Image via IGN)

Based on the DC comic book series by Chris Roberson and Michael Allred, this supernatural and procedural drama is developed by Rob Thomas and Diane Ruggiero-Wright. The show had five seasons and aired from 2015 to 2019. It has a unique premise and is one of the underrated horror shows. It focuses on a doctor-turned-zombie Olivia (Rose McIver), who becomes one of the undead. She now feasts on human brains, which stops her from becoming a dangerous zombie. However, Olivia decides to use this power and gets a job at a morgue and begins to help solve murders by eating the victims’ brains and temporarily absorbing their memories and personalities. The show also focuses on a zombie epidemic as more and more people are turning into one and how they are handled by the public and authorities at large. The show has a zany variety of humor and is one of those underrated horror shows that one must check out.


6. The Exorcist

Still from the show (Image via IGN)
Still from the show (Image via IGN)

Not to be confused with the famous 1973 horror classic, this supernatural drama series is a direct sequel to the original 1973 movie and ignores all the various sequels of the movie. The show takes inspiration from the 1971 novel by William Peter Blatty and is created by Jeremy Slater. Featuring Alfonso Herrera, Ben Daniels, Geena Davis, and others, the show undertakes the massive challenges of adapting the famous movie for TV and for modern times. The show received critical acclaim and even garnered a loyal fan following. However, it could not increase its ratings and had only two seasons from 2016 to 2017. Therefore, it is one of those underrated horror shows that one must definitely check out. It focuses on Herrera and Daniels as Father Tomas Ortega and Father Marcus Keane respectively, who are a pair of exorcists. They must work together to investigate various cases of demonic possession. The series has a creepy atmosphere and a talented cast, which makes it one of the underrated horror shows.


7. The Strain

Still from the show (Image via FX)
Still from the show (Image via FX)

Created by the likes of Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan, this is one of those underrated horror shows that one must watch. The horror drama is based on the novel trilogy by Toro and Hogan and the pilot episode is directed by Toro as well. The show has four seasons and aired from 2014 to 2017. The series is about Dr. Ephraim (Corey Stoll), who is the head of the CDC’s New York-based Canary Project, and is called to investigate an airplane landing, where everyone aboard is dead. However, once the doctor and his team begin to investigate, they realize that they have a viral outbreak of an ancient strain of vampirism on their hands. As the virus spreads and people begin to turn into vampires, Dr. Ephraim and a group of the city’s residents, must protect the remaining humanity. The series has many layers and also poses questions about political corruption and a dark underworld. It is definitely one of those underrated horror shows.


8. Creepshow

Still from the show (Image via Shudder)
Still from the show (Image via Shudder)

A horror anthology series that is a continuation of the 1982 movie of the same name by Stephen King, the show has four seasons and aired from 2019 to 2023. It is one of the underrated horror shows and offers classic supernatural stuff. The show focuses on the Creep, who shows audience members dark and grim horror stories that have been taken from the Creepshow comic book. The stories range from the demons and the ghosts to the werewolves and the zombies. The show is diverse as it has a variety of sub-genres that range from werewolves fighting Nazis to a rip-off of Evil Dead. Even famous actors like Justin Long, Tobin Bell, and others, come together to star in some of the episodes. The show is campy and has a Tales from the Crypt atmosphere. Therefore, it is one of the must-watch underrated horror shows.


9. Scream

Still from the show (Image via MTV)
Still from the show (Image via MTV)

Based on the famous slasher film franchise by Kevin Williamson, this anthology slasher series is developed by Jill Blotevogel, Dan Dworkin, Jay Beattie, and Brett Matthews. The show features Willa Fitzgerald, John Karna, and others. The show has three seasons and aired from 2015 to 2019. The first two seasons of the show take place in the fictional town of Lakewood, where a string of murders have taken place. Amidst all this, a teenage girl, Emma Duval (Fitzgerald), finds herself at the center of all the murders and is tied to the town’s dark past. While the show does not reach the heights of its movie counterpart, it does go in a different direction to experiment with things and is one of those underrated horror shows. The show does have the famous Ghostface serial killer, who torments the teenagers of a town, but in a serialized and anthology format. The show is a perfect watch for all those who loved the movie franchise and want to see the TV adaptation of the movie. It also has a great mix of horror and comedy and is therefore one of the underrated horror shows.


10. Bates Motel

Still from the show (Image via A&E)
Still from the show (Image via A&E)

Developed by Carlton Cuse, Kerry Ehrin, and Anthony Cipriano, this psychological horror series is based on the characters from the 1959 novel by Robert Bloch and is a prequel to the 1960s famous movie by Alfred Hitchcock. As a modern adaptation, the series is one of the underrated horror shows. The show focuses on Norman Bates (Freddie Highmore) and his mother Norma (Vera Farmiga), who lives in a fictional town. The show follows Norman, whose mental illness begins to get dangerous and Norma has to struggle with protecting his son and others from him. The show received praise for Highmore and Farmiga’s performance and was nominated for various awards. The show is one of the underrated horror shows as it is easy to forget about it. However, it expertly details the origins of Norman Bates’ psychology and the importance of his mother.

Edited by Deeya