6 underrated horror TV shows that all fans should see

L-R Aasif Mandvi as Ben Shakir, Mike Colter as David Acosta and Katja Herbers as Kristen Bouchard appearing in Evil episode 9, season 4, streaming on Paramount+, 2023. Photo Credit: Elizabeth Fisher/Paramount+
L-R Aasif Mandvi as Ben Shakir, Mike Colter as David Acosta and Katja Herbers as Kristen Bouchard appearing in Evil episode 9, season 4, streaming on Paramount+, 2023. Photo Credit: Elizabeth Fisher/Paramount+ /
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Horror fans, we have a lot to look forward to this year. There are so many horror movies still to be released in 2024. We'll also see the return of some popular horror TV shows and the premieres of new horror shows. But with all of this horror content slated to be released soon, we can't help but think about all the horror shows that didn't receive much love.

Are you curious to know what underrated horror TV shows we're talking about? If so, keep on reading because we shared a list of some right below. While most of the horror shows on this list are no longer airing, two of them are set to return with new seasons very soon.

Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin
Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin on HBO Max, Zaria, Maia Reficco, Bailee Madison, Chandler Kinney, Malia Pyles /

Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin (2022-)

Creators: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Lindsay Calhoon Bring

Cast: Bailee Madison, Chandler Kinney, Zaria, Malia Pyles, Maia Reficco, Mallory Bechtel, Sharon Leal

Seasons: 1 with a second season on the way

While Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin did well enough to secure a season 2 renewal, it just doesn't seem like the majority of the horror community gave it a try and that's truly disappointing. It's a huge step up from the original series that aired on Freeform from 2010-2017. I'm not saying Pretty Little Liars wasn't a good show because it definitely was, but the reboot is more on the darker side. The original series was more kiddy, in my opinion. When you think of a good teen slasher, Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin should definitely come to mind.

The first season of the PLL reboot centers around a group of teenagers who band together after receiving cryptic messages from an unknown assailant calling themselves "A." The mysterious person torments the teens because of their mothers' past actions that resulted in a classmate's death on New Year's Eve in 1999.

You might want to start watching Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin as soon as possible because the second season titled Pretty Little Liars: Summer School is set to premiere on Max on May 9.

Where to watch: Max

405 - How To Fly an Airplane
L-R Katja Herbers as Kristen Bouchard, Aasif Mandvi as Ben Shakir and Mike Colter as David Acosta appearing in Evil episode 5, season 4, streaming on Paramount+, 2023. Photo Credit: Elizabeth Fisher/Paramount+ /

Evil (2019-)

Creators: Robert and Michelle King

Cast: Katja Herbers, Mike Colter, Aasif Mandvi, Kurt Fuller, Marti Matulis, Brooklyn Shuck

Seasons: 3 with a fourth season on the way

Evil centers around a forensic psychologist (Katja Herbers), a priest-in-training (Mike Colter), and a technology contractor (Aasif Mandvi), who after being hired by the Catholic Church, team up to investigate unexplained supernatural incidents.

Evil season 4 is set to premiere on Paramount+ on May 23. This is the show's final season, and it will include 14 episodes. You don't have that much time left to catch up, so try to get started on the previous seasons as soon as possible.

Where to watch: Paramount+

channelzero2
Photo: CHANNEL ZERO: THE DREAM DOOR (premieres Thursday, 10/10).. Based on the “creepypasta” short story “Hidden Door” by Charlotte Bywater, Channel Zero: The Dream Door follows newlyweds Jillian (Maria Sten) and Tom (Brandon Scott), who have each brought secrets into their marriage. When they discover a strange door in their basement, those secrets start to threaten their relationship — and their lives. With Steven Weber, Steven Robertson and Barbara Crampton, directed by E.L. Katz (Cheap /

Channel Zero (2016-2018)

Creator: Nick Antosca

Cast: Paul Schneider, Fiona Shaw, Luisa D'Oliveira, Natalie Brown, Shaun Benson, Luca Villacis, Abigail Pniowsky, Marina Stephenson Kerr

Seasons: 4

Channel Zero is a horror anthology series that aired on the Syfy network from October 2016 to October 2018. Each season is based on an online popular creepypasta horror story, with season 1, Candle Cove, focusing on a child psychologist's obsession with a children's TV show that he believes played a role in a series of strange events from his childhood. Season 2 titled No-End House follows a group of friends as they try to escape a house of horrors that consists of six rooms that are each supposed to be scarier than the last.

The third season titled Butcher's Block centers around two sisters, Alice and Zoe, who move to a small town for a fresh new start only to find out that the town is not what it seems. It's haunted by a series of disappearances that seem to be related to an odd set of stairs that appears in a local park. Alice is determined to solve these disappearances even if it puts her life in danger. The fourth and final season, The Dream Door, centers around newlyweds whose hidden secrets begin to come out and threaten their relationship when a mysterious door appears in their basement.

Where to watch: AMC+

Salem (2014-2017)

Creators: Brannon Braga and Adam Simon

Cast: Janet Montgomery, Shane West, Seth Gabel, Tamzin Merchant, Ashley Madekwe

Seasons: 3

Salem is a supernatural horror series that is loosely inspired by the real Salem witch trials. It premiered on WGN America back in April 2014, making it the TV network's first original scripted series. It even became WGN America's highest-rated show. Unfortunately, it was canceled after three seasons, ending its run in January 2017.

Here's what Salem is about via Hulu:

"As the wife of a wealthy but ailing town elder, Mary Sibley (Janet Montgomery) holds the distinction of being the most powerful sorceress in 1692 Salem. Ruthless yet vulnerable, Mary leans on her ageless accomplice Tituba (Ashley Madekwe) to help advance her supernatural agenda – but Mary's world is turned upside down when John Alden (Shane West), her long lost love, finally returns home from years at war and starts asking questions that threaten to expose Mary's darkest secrets."

Where to watch: Hulu

Penny Dreadful (2014-2016)

Creator: John Logan

Cast: Reeve Carney, Timothy Dalton, Eva Green, Rory Kinnear, Billie Piper, Danny Sapani, Harry Treadaway

Seasons: 3

Penny Dreadful is a horror drama series set in Victorian London. It explores the origin stories of many well-known literary characters, such as Dr. Frankenstein, Dorian Gray, Renfield, Count Dracula, and Henry Jekyll/Hyde.

Here are the show's plot details via the Paramount+ official website:

"A psychological thriller filled with dark mystery and suspense, where personal demons can be stronger than vampires, evil spirits and immortal beasts."

Where to watch: Paramount+

Scream Queens (2015-2016)

Creators: Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan

Cast: Emma Roberts, Skyler Samuels, Lea Michele, Glen Powell, Diego Boneta, Abigail Breslin, Keke Palmer

Seasons: 2

I will never forgive Fox for canceling Scream Queens after two seasons, but all the blame really goes to viewership numbers. Not enough people were watching the comedy-horror when it was airing, so Fox gave it the axe. Back in May 2020, co-creator Ryan Murphy said he was working on a third season, but it's been pretty much radio silence since that announcement. Fingers crossed, we do eventually get to see a Scream Queens season 3!

The first season was set at a university and centered around a bunch of sorority sisters being targeted by a serial killer dressed as the school's former mascot. In season 2, the story shifted to a hospital, where the surviving sorority sisters encounter a new serial killer called the Green Meanie.

Where to watch: Hulu

Will you be checking out any of these underrated horror TV shows?

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