PHOTO: COURTESY NETFLIX
When it comes to supernatural TV shows, I'm a huge fan. Give me a show with vampires, werewolves, ghosts, or zombies and I am immediately drawn in.
The year is crawling with popular supernatural shows like “Stranger Things” and “American Horror Story” and yes, those two shows are some of my favorites, but I want to recommend shows that may have been forgotten or maybe you haven't heard of before.
Some of the shows below were cancelled before closing out their storylines and others were cancelled and were wrapped up well enough, but it’s our job as fans to support shows of all genres by watching them while they’re airing on TV. In a world where streaming has become second nature, it can be hard for networks to renew shows when ratings start to dwindle.So, if there's a show you love, support it as much as you can.
“Roswell”
No, I’m not talking about The CW show “Roswell, New Mexico.”
“Roswell” was the first TV adaptation of the “Roswell High” book series and aired between 1999 and 2002. Although I didn’t watch “Roswell” when it was airing on TV, but rather binged it years later, I can credit this show for my love of the supernatural genre.
The show is based in 1999 in the small town of Roswell, New Mexico. The town lives around the rumors of the famous Roswell UFO sightings from back in 1947.
The show follows Liz Parker and her relationship with Max Evans as they navigate highschool. After an incident at work, Max saves Liz from a fatal gunshot which leads her to speculate who and what he is. Max reveals that he, his sister Isabel and their friend Michael are in fact aliens who arrived in Roswell back in the unexplained 1947 spaceship crash.
Throughout three seasons, the show's main characters must work together to evade FBI agents, local police, and even a shapeshifter. Although the show introduces the cast as high schoolers, the plot turns them into so much more, taking you on a wild ride in a short lived 61 episode series.
“Roswell” starred Shiri Appleby, Jason Behr, Katherine Heigl, Brendan Fehr, Majandra Delfino, Colin Hanks, Nick Wechsler, and Wiliam Sadler. You can stream the series on Hulu.
“Ghost Whisperer”
I can’t confidently say how many times I have watched “Ghost Whisperer,” but let’s just say I go through periods of time where I just invest myself wholeheartedly in Melinda Gordon’s life.
The show stars Jennifer Love Hewitt as Melinda Gordon, a young woman who has the ability to see and hear earthbound spirits who haven't crossed over into the light.
Melinda uses her ability to help the spirits and figure out what unfinished business they may have. She lives in a small town in New York with her husband Jim, who is aware of her ability and loves her all the same. Melinda and Jim navigate newlywed life at the beginning of the show, and then parenting later in the series. Melinda does her best to live a somewhat normal life, working in her antique shop when she’s not dealing with the supernatural.
I’m sure many of us can say that watching the cartoon show “Courage the Cowardly Dog” gave us the heebie jeebies when we were younger, sometimes it still does.
To this day, when I watch the opening credits to “Ghost Whisperer,” I still get creeped out as much as when I watched “Courage the Cowardly Dog.”
The shows intro begins by showing Melinda as a little girl and bells chiming as she walks into a funeral. An older Melinda proceeds to narrate by saying: “My name is Melinda Gordon. I’m married. I live in a small town. And I own an antique shop. I might be just like you. Except that from the time I was a little girl I knew that I could talk to the dead. Earthbound spirits my grandmother called them. They’re stuck here because they have unfinished business with the living and they come to me for help. In order to tell you my story, I have to tell you theirs.”
Okay, chilling.
Her role as Melinda Gordon earned Jennifer Love Hewitt a 2007 Saturn Award for “Best Actress in a Television Program” and a 2008 Saturn Award for “Best Actress on Television.”
The show can be streamed on Hulu.
“Lost Girl”
Starring actress Anna Silk, “Lost Girl” is a Canadian TV series that aired five seasons throughout 2010 and 2015. However, the show didn’t premiere in the U.S. until 2012 on the Syfy channel.
“Lost Girl” follows Bo, a succubus who is unaware of her true origin. She grew up in an adopted human family but after running away and growing up, she learns she is a descendant of the supernatural beings called the “Fae.”
Being a succubus, Bo feeds off the life energy of others through sexual contact. Unaware of her supernatural ability and how to control it, Bo accidentally killed her highschool boyfriend, leading her to a life with no attachments and no real emotional relationships.
Early in season one and on her journey to discover her origins, Bo is confronted with the decision to choose a side between “Light” or “Dark” Fae. Despite being Fae, Bo feels no connection to the community and chooses to be neutral, openly siding with humans.
In the opening title sequence to the show, Bo summarizes her story with a monologue saying “Life is hard when you don't know who you are. It's harder when you don't know what you are. My love carries a death sentence. I was lost for years, searching while hiding; only to find that I belong to a world hidden from humans. I won't hide anymore. I will live the life I choose.”
Bo, being the main character was never labeled as bisexual but she developed two romantic relationships in the series. One, with a female human doctor and the other with a male Light Fae. The recurring characters on the show are never labeled by their sexuality and they have relationships with whomever they want. Because of this, the show was praised for being a sex positive series that showcased sexuality as natural and judgement free.
“Lost Girl” can be streamed on Netflix.
“Santa Clarita Diet”
Starring Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant as married couple Sheila and Joel Hammond, “Santa Clarita Diet” is a horror comedy released by Netflix that received positive reviews across all three seasons of the series.
The premise of the show is that Sheila and Joel live a quiet life, both working as realtors and raising their teenage daughter in Santa Clarita, California. Soon, their lives take a dramatic turn when Sheila becomes part of the undead and craves human flesh. As they try to get to the root of Sheila’s transformation, they begin to unravel the secrets behind a century long mystery.
When the word “zombie” is introduced in season three of the show, the undead take huge offense to being labeled as such. It’s really funny actually. A show based off gore, death, and crime is balanced out by humor and the want for the greater good.
Season three holds a 100 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes and is described as “a generous meal of entrails, morbid humor, and a touching affirmation of marital love—with Barrymore and Olyphant's pitch-perfect chemistry brightening each blood-soaked installment.
Unfortunately, Netflix cancelled the series on April 26, 2019, leaving fans with many questions unanswered about the storyline.
“The Haunting of Hill House”
I remember constantly seeing articles and posts on social media talking about one of the most horrifying shows that was making viewers throw up when they watched it. When I finally got around to watching “The Haunting of Hill House,” I didn’t throw-up, but I was definitely scared and even screamed in one or two episodes. The show was released on Netflix as a ten episode series in 2018.
Because of its popularity and high ratings, the show was renewed for a second season as an anthology series. Season two will be titled “The Haunting of Bly Manor” and will tell a completely new story and is set to premiere in 2020.
“The Haunting of Hill House” is told in flashback to the summer of 1992, when the Crain family first lived in Hill house and it also flashes forward to present day and shows three different timelines that follow the now adult Crain children.
In 1992, when the family lived in Hill house, they experienced paranormal activity that ended in the tragic loss of their mother. Now adults, the Crain children are still haunted by their experiences at Hill house and are each dealing with personal demons that led them in completely different directions in life. When another death in the family hits them by surprise, they find themselves returning to Hill house for the first time since the deadly night they fled.
“The Haunting of Hill House” is a chilling ghost story that does an incredible job of showing how you can’t outrun the consequences of your actions, no matter how much time has passed or how you choose to handle a situation.(If you like shows like “The Haunting of Hill House,” you’ll enjoy “Chambers.”)
Personally speaking...
I know it may be blasphemous to say but I have never watched fan favorites like “Supernatural” or even “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” but I hope I enticed you to watch something new!
The world of the paranormal and sometimes unexplainable can be very intriguing and I hope you give it a chance. You never know what your new favorite supernatural TV show will be.