If you can say anything about teen dramas, it’s that there’s a show within the genre for every occasion. Beyond the Heartstoppers and Sex Educations of feel-good teen TV, there are many teen shows available to get you in the perfect mood for Halloween. Spanning everything from 26-year old classics to brand new one-season wonders, the spookier side of young adult TV is sure to send a chill down your spine as we welcome the spooky season.
Below, we’ve listed the best teen dramas to bundle up with as the fall air sweeps in, starting with series that so far (or, unfortunately, forever) only have one season for a quick fright, and ending with full-on television universes to sink your teeth into.
Vampire Academy
Vampire Academy’s inclusion on this list is bittersweet. On one hand, at least it hasn’t been erased from its original streaming service like other canceled series, so it can live on in all its vampiric immortality. On the other hand, one of the best teen dramas of the past 10 years is never coming back for more, and that’s just downright depressing. From the minds behind The Vampire Diaries Universe comes Vampire Academy, an adaptation of Richelle Mead’s novel series of the same name. Despite getting staked in the heart far too soon, Vampire Academy stands out as a soapy and mature teen drama that features a slew of compelling characters, an intriguing world, and intricate drama capable of rivaling even the most gasp-inducing twists from its predecessors. The series’ unique vampire lore makes it stand out in an overcrowded genre, and its vicious vampiric politics and battles makes it the perfect series to watch as Halloween approaches.
Wolf Pack
Besides marking horror icon Sarah Michelle Gellar’s return to the supernatural genre, Wolf Pack is also just a bloody good time. Debuting alongside the long-awaited Teen Wolf movie (despite having no canonical connection to the film or the Teen Wolf world), Wolf Pack follows a group of four teenagers who find themselves becoming a pack after two of them are bitten by a mysterious beast during a California wildfire. It’s a slow-burn at first, but the series picks up as the episodes progress, providing haunting imagery and an unshakable tension tied to the season’s various mysteries. This show has all the bite and drama of larger worlds like Teen Wolf or The Vampire Diaries in a small package, and it’s certainly worth a watch as fall rolls in—even if it still has yet to be renewed for a second season.
Wednesday
Last year’s breakout hit Wednesday felt like it came out a touch too late. But even despite its Thanksgiving release date (to coincide with its distinctly-pilgrim themes), the series became one of last year’s runaway successes, and is slowly creating buzz once again as spooky season approaches. This Halloween marks the first since Wednesday’s release, and the streets are sure to be lined with Wendesdays and Barbies making their way house to house.
Coming from the mind of Tim Burton and the showrunners behind Smallville, Wednesday is a take on the iconic Addams family, as the titular Wednesday (Jenna Ortega) attends Nevermore Academy, a school for “outcasts” like werewolves, vampires, gargoyles, and more. Ortega’s compelling (and Emmy-nominated!) performance and the show’s addictive mystery and drama allow this series to stand out from its peers of forgettable Netflix originals, and has transformed it into a true cultural phenomenon perfect for a Halloween rewatch.
Nancy Drew
Despite having a bit of a rushed conclusion in its fourth and final season, The CW’s Nancy Drew remains one of the network’s most compelling, ambitious, and frankly frightening young adult dramas. Following the titular sleuth played by a pitch-perfect Kennedy McMann, Nancy must join forces with her friends Bess (Maddison Jaizani), Ace (Alex Saxon), George (Leah Lewis), and Nick (Tunji Kasim) to solve ghostly mysteries around her small Maine hometown. Featuring genuinely chilling jump-scares and a lot of wholesome heart, Nancy Drew feels like the last of its kind, and is definitely worth watching for its spooky, found family vibes.
Stranger Things
Netflix’s Stranger Things is synonymous with Halloween. From the series’ very literal Halloween theme in the second season to the slew of Eddie Munsons that populated Halloween parties last year, Hawkins is the perfect town to revisit (or take your first trip to!) for the holiday. Stranger Things perfectly captures the ‘80s horror flick vibes, elevating the tale of Eleven (Millie Bobbie Brown) and her intrepid group of sub-17 year old friends beyond just its ‘80s references and into something that gets bigger and more unwieldy every time it returns. Season 4 was the series’ most ambitious yet, leaning further into the world of killer psychics and questionable government experiments than ever before, and providing some truly harrowing moments along the way. Despite not returning until possibly 2025 at the earliest, Stranger Things is a must-watch this Halloween season.
Teen Wolf / Teen Wolf: The Movie
Teen Wolf is a teen drama unlike any other. Just as frightening as it is charming, the series has become another entry synonymous with Halloween and fall vibes. Featuring numerous chilling season-long storylines and episodes that feel more like mini horror movies than episodes of serialized TV (I’m looking at you, Season 3’s “Motel California”), this series has just the right amount of bite to entertain all Halloween season long. Following Scott McCall (Tyler Posey) as he deals with his newfound life as a teenage werewolf, Teen Wolf eventually expands its supernatural world beyond just the wolf pack to include kitsune, werecoyote, and banshees, to name but a few. And even though fan-favorites Stiles (Dylan O’Brien) and Kira (Arden Cho) did not return for the Teen Wolf movie released earlier this year, it’s still a worthwhile return to this universe, and the perfect end-cap for a spooky season rewatch.
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina / Riverdale
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Watch on Netflix
What began as just a dark and twisted take on Archie Comics characters and settings has since transformed into one of the most ambitious shared universes in the teen drama genre, especially since the connecting Archieverse spans Riverdale, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Katy Keene, and even Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin and its predecessors. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina in particular is a horrific delight, bringing the gory gags and witchy wiles of the Sabrina comic-refresh to the screen with chilling clarity. And Riverdale, with its serial killer genes and its late-series introduction of magic and mayhem (alongside its two stellar Halloween episodes) makes for the perfect Archie Comics double feature to get you in the Halloween spirit.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer / Angel
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is, undoubtedly, one of the best supernatural teen dramas ever made. Even when Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) herself grows up and moves into adult life, the series grows with her while never sacrificing the elements that go bump in the night. Featuring two genuinely phenomenal Halloween-themed episodes in Season 2’s “Halloween” and Season 4’s “Fear Itself,” Buffy the Vampire Slayer isn’t all scares, but its extended world of Hellmouths and vampires and demons makes for a delightfully spooky watch. And even though Angel is definitely not a teen drama, its connection to Buffy makes it a must-watch as well, especially for its juicy vampiric drama and weekly demonic hijinks. For the Halloween season, a trip to Sunnydale is absolutely more treat than trick.
The Vampire Diaries Universe
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Watch on Amazon Prime (with ads)
Watch on Netflix
Despite ending rather unceremoniously last year after the sudden and unexpected cancellation of Legacies, The CW’s Vampire Diaries universe is still one of the most ambitious connected supernatural franchises on television, with over 300 combined episodes across 17 seasons. Originally tethered to Damon (Ian Somerhalder) and Stefan (Paul Wesley) Salvatore, The Vampire Diaries and its various spinoffs reach to the far corners of its vampire-infested world through the drama, romance, and thirst for power that surrounds the Salvatores, the Mikaelsons, and all those that fall in their path.
The Pretty Little Liars Universe
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Watch on Hulu
Watch on Max
The Pretty Little Liars franchise is, undoubtedly, the perfect series to step into for the Halloween season. Not only does it boast numerous sufficiently spooky storylines in its seasonal plots and overarching themes, but it also features some of the best Halloween-themed episodes on TV with its annual spooky episodes. Picking up one year after the disappearance of mean girl Alison (Sasha Pieterse), Aria (Lucy Hale), Hanna (Ashley Benson), Spencer (Troian Bellisario), and Emily (Shay Mitchell) begin receiving disturbing text messages from the mysterious “A,” an all-knowing tormentor who threatens to reveal all their secrets to the Rosewood community.
Spinning out from there, Pretty Little Liars’ extensive world reaches to the dark town of Ravenswood in its self-titled spinoff (a series unfortunately unavailable on streaming but still worth seeking out), Beacon Heights in The Perfectionists (which was unfortunately canceled after one season but is also still worth checking out on Hulu), and Millwood in Original Sin (the first PLL spinoff to be renewed for a second season!). This dark and twisted world provides all the bonkers thrills of the teen drama genre mixed with endless homages to classic horror along the way. It’s a ride more than worth taking, and there’s no better time of year to jump in than when that first leaf falls and that first text from “A” lights up your phone.
Anna Govert is the TV Editor of Paste Magazine. For any and all thoughts about TV, film, and her undying love of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, you can follow her @annagovert.
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