10 Shows to Watch if You Love ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’

From 1997 until 2003, Sarah Michelle Geller took up the role of the demon slayer Buffy in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. A girl from Sunnydale who took up the mantle of Slayer, Buffy and her friends fight evil on a daily basis, even though all she wants to do is be a normal human girl – go to school, have friends, and fall in love. A coming-of-age story with the supernatural thrown in for good measure, fans of Buffy will be happy to know she isn’t the only character out there who deserves a little love.

Shows like The Vampire Diaries and Supernatural have elements and characters similar to those in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, including the supernatural (vampires, obviously), embracing destiny, a love for family, fighting, and even some romances. If you are a fan of Buffy and her antics, you should definitely consider them and watch as the drama, mystery, and adventures unfold. Hey, there’s even a Buffy spin-off that might be worth a watch!

10 ‘Charmed’ (1998–2006)

Created by Constance M. Burge

Prue (Shannen Doherty), Piper (Holly Marie Combs), and Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) are normal women living in San Francisco with jobs, friends, and relationships. Well, that all changes when Phoebe discovers the Book of Shadows in their attic. The three sisters learn that they are the most powerful, good witches in existence, also known as The Charmed Ones. With their newfound “Powers of Three,” the Halliwell sisters learn how to protect innocent people from evil coming into the world, primarily demons and evil warlocks.

Charmed is all about family and sisterhood, working together to get to a common goal of helping those who can’t help themselves. It is full of adventure with epic action sequences that showcase just how powerful the Halliwell sisters truly are. And, like Buffy, they are learning on the go, trying their best to fulfill the destinies that they kind of fell into without knowing it was their true heritage. Charmed was one of the best fantasy shows of the 1990s, a cultural phenomenon that continues to impact pop culture today, even having a 2018 reboot with the same characters.

9 ‘Vampire Academy’ (2022)

Developed by Julie Plec and Marguerite MacIntyre

Based on the novel series of the same name by Richelle Mead, Vampire Academy follows the story of Rose (Sisi Stringer), a half-human and half-vampire known as a dhampir, a guardian-in-training who is eventually tasked with protecting vampire from the evil Strigoi. In Rose’s case, it’s her best friend, Lissa (Daniela Nieves), a royal moroi vampire and the Dragomir princess. The series follows the two in their adventures at St Vladimir’s Academy, a place where Rose trains and Lissa learns about her powers, an elemental ability all vampires possess.

The show is full of horror elements, showcased through the mysteries of the academy and the secrets the older characters are keeping hidden in the shadows. While it is a reimagining, fans of Mead’s novels will enjoy the chemistry and relationships between Rose, Lissa, and the former’s love interest, Dimitri (Kieron Moore). There is a lot of action, complex personalities, and destinies that have to come to light if the vampire and dhampir races wish to continue existing.

Watch on Peacock

8 ‘Veronica Mars’ (2004–2019)

Created by Rob Thomas

While it isn’t supernatural, Veronica Mars definitely has the vibe Buffy fans know and love. A popular girl who goes through family trauma, Veronica (Kristen Bell) makes herself an outcast at school and decides to go into business with her father, helping him dig into cases as a private investigator. There aren’t vampires and monsters, but Veronica might be dealing with something worse – the rich and powerful of her hometown of Neptune, California.

The series shows Kristen Bell’s Veronica as she’s growing up, trying to figure out who she is in the world while solving hardcore mysteries. With witty writing and a strong protagonist, Veronica Mars investigates what it means to come into oneself, showing how a teenager who thinks they have everything figured out can be something so much more than what they imagined. It takes the concept of “loss of innocence” and takes off running, bringing a teenage Veronica into the dark underbelly of the rich and fabulous where nothing is what it seems.

7 ‘The Originals’ (2013–2018)

Created by Julie Plec

Bringing some fan-favorite Vampire Diaries characters into their own series, The Originals follows Klaus (Joseph Morgan), Elijah (Daniel Gillies), and Rebekah (Claire Holt) as they leave Mystic Falls behind and venture to the French Quarter of New Orleans, a place they had to flee in 1919 thanks to their vampire-hunting father, Mikael (Sebastian Roché). It’s a loveable yet dysfunctional family dynamic. Returning to the city they helped build; the original vampire siblings find tensions brewing in the supernatural community, thanks to Klaus’ protegee Marcel (Charles Michael Davis). With witches kidnapping werewolves and vampires wanting to reign over everyone, it is up to the Mikaelson siblings to restore order to the French Quarter.

The show is all about family and what a person would do to protect those they love. Full of adventure, twists, and turns, The Originals is a great show to watch for those who can’t get enough of the troubled and complicated characters first seen in The Vampire Diaries. There is a new component with this series, though, as Hayley (Phoebe Tonkin) gives birth to her and Klaus’ daughter, Hope (Danielle Rose Russell). Fans get to see Klaus, one of the most powerful supernatural beings in existence, love something so fiercely he’d burn the world down to keep her safe. While it is no secret he loves deeply, this is a side to him that has not been explored in its entirety.

6 ‘Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’ (2018–2020)

Developed by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa

A reimagining of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is a darker, grittier, and horror-inspired coming-of-age story of Sabrina Spellman (Kiernan Shipka) as she balances being half-witch and half-mortal. A teenager living in Greendale, Sabrina tries to ring in her dual nature while fighting off evil forces that threaten her, her town, her friends, and her family. Living with her two aunts, Hilda (Lucy Davis) and Zelda (Miranda Otto), Sabrina is seen just starting her occult education while trying to figure out what her life is going to look like as someone who practices witchcraft.

The series has a dark tone, something that isn’t seen in the original series, leaving Sabrina to deal with issues of morality and the effects of leaning too far into dark magic. With elements of horror thrown in for good measure, this series showcases Sabrina’s journey from a mortal girl to becoming the Queen of Hell. While it seems like a dark drama, there is some campy thrown in to bring a lightness to the dark, something that characterizes Sabrina’s personality.

5 ‘The Vampire Diaries’ (2009–2017)

Developed by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec

Based on the series by L.J. Smith, The Vampire Diaries has all of the themes and elements Buffy fans crave. A story about a small-town girl from Mystic Falls, Virginia, Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev) finds herself in the middle of a supernatural world she had no idea existed. Her boyfriend and his brother are vampires, her best friend is a witch, and there are originals who are after her blood because she’s the doppelganger and holds the key to breaking an ancient curse. There are romances, heartbreaks, backstabbing, and a whole lot of fighting between the characters to get those who like a little gore onboard with watching this series!

While Elena isn’t a Slayer (or hunter, in Vampire Diaries lingo) like Buffy, she will do anything in order to save those she loves, even if that means dying or turning herself over to the bad guy. There are strong female characters seen throughout the show, including Elena’s best friends, Bonnie Bennett (Kat Graham) and Caroline Forbes (Candice King), and relationships, whether platonic, familial, or romantic, that are tested and brought to the limit time and again. It is a show with so many twists and turns that it has the viewers glued to their seats, binge-watching all eight seasons.

4 ‘Teen Wolf’ (2011–2017)

Developed by Jeff Davis

A retelling of the 1985 film Teen Wolf, the MTV version brings viewers to the fictional town of Beacon Hills, California, where unpopular high school sophomore Scott McCall’s (Tyler Posey) life is changed forever. The night before school starts, Scott is bitten by a werewolf, something he thought was only in myths and legends. Now, he has to figure out how to balance his new supernatural abilities with his normal life, all while keeping his mom (Melissa Ponzio) in the dark. Of course, he needs some friends on his side, and what better TV friend is there than Stiles Stilinski (Dylan O’Brien)? While he’s nothing more than human, Stiles keeps Scott’s secret and is actually quite the detective, helping Scott figure out strange occurrences that are happening around their town – a hub of supernatural activity.

Teen Wolf is a great option for Buffy fans. There is action, mystery, and friendships that are grounded in secrets and their overall quest to keep their town and the innocent people in it safe. Of course, there is a hunter. But, in this instance, it is a little complicated, considering Allison (Crystal Reed) is Scott’s love interest who is out for blood and has been trained to take out werewolves her entire life. Hey, a relationship has to start somewhere, right? The series ran for six seasons, and even though it was on MTV, it still has all of the witty CW banter these types of supernatural dramas are known for.

3 ‘Shadowhunters’ (2016–2019)

Developed by Ed Decter

Based on The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare, Shadowhunters takes demon slayers to a whole new level. On her 18th birthday, Clary Fray (Katherine McNamara) learns that she is a shadowhunter, a half-human half-angel being tasked to keep demons out of the world. Behind in her training, since her mother kept her in hiding from her father, Clary groups up with other hybrids her age, learning how to fight with their many weapons and the ways of the shadow world where vampires, werewolves, warlocks, and fairies exist and are at constant odds with one another.

This, like Buffy, is a coming-of-age story about a girl who needs to fulfill her destiny, someone who is part of a larger picture that she needs to figure out. There are friendships that survive vampirism (talking about you, Simon (Alberto Rosende), romances that, at times, seem taboo until the characters learn the truth, and wars between the various factions of the shadow world. Shadowhunters is dramatic and adventurous, with a lot of fun antics sprinkled throughout to keep viewers wanting to watch more and more.

2 ‘Angel’ (1999–2004)

Created by Joss Whedon

A spin-off series based on a fan-favorite character from Buffy, Angel is a series about the title character (David Boreanaz) as he leaves Sunnydale and Buffy behind and moves to Los Angeles, California. When fans last see the vampire Angel, his soul is restored, something he doesn’t really know how to deal with. So, he moves to LA and becomes a private detective, a place where he can start fresh and atone for his sins. Unfortunately, that is easier said than done as he soon learns that Los Angeles is sipe with demons and other evil entities. He teams up with a new group of people, and together, they fight for the innocent lives around them.

While the show shares many elements and themes with its parent series, Angel was made darker and grittier. It takes the concept of demon hunting and moves it from small-town America to an urban setting to give it a more mature feel and tone. Aside from Angel, there are also character overlaps, including Cordelia Chase (Charisma Carpenter) and Wesley Wyndam-Pryce (Alexis Denisof), two people who wind up joining Angel’s team and helping him fight demons in Los Angeles. It is a darkly entertaining adventure that any fan of Buffy would enjoy watching.

1 ‘Supernatural’ (2005–2020)

Created by Eric Kripke

Dean (Jensen Ackles) and Sam (Jared Padalecki) Winchester aren’t ordinary brothers. They are in “the Family Business,” which consists of traveling the country in their black 1967 Chevrolet Impala and looking for strange occurrences that might have to do with the supernatural. The family business: fighting and killing demons, vampires, ghosts, monsters, and pretty much any other supernatural being from legends and myths. While they have their ups and downs, Sam and Dean will do whatever it takes to get rid of the things that go bump in the night and make sure each other comes out alive while doing so.

Family, brotherhood, and fighting are the name of the game when it comes to Supernatural. The series is all about learning on the job and fighting for what is right in the world. In the Winchesters’ case, it is keeping innocent people safe from every evil entity that comes into their world. An entertaining show with both horror and comedic elements, Supernatural showcases magic and monsters in a way that is too addicting not to watch. It is one of the best horror shows of the 2000s, after all!

NEXT: The Best Fantasy TV Shows of All Time, Ranked