Vampire TV shows - Snarkerati bloodlust
Thought it would be fun to take a look at some of the cooler TV shows that include vampires in their main storylines, yes this is all about Vampire TV shows! Some you’ll have definitely heard of, some perhaps not, one thing’s for sure, there’s probably more blood being sipped on TV screens over the years than you perhaps realize.
If you like vampires and are looking for some cool vampire TV series on DVD then this is the place for you. We won’t cover EVERY show that’s featured a vampire as that would be insane, but this will cover the main TV series with vampire characters / storylines.
Angel was of course the spin-off series from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Angel ran from 1999 to 2004 and featured eponymous protagonist Angel in the lead vamp role. The trials of vampire Angel and his pals were often seen as darker to that of Buffy and her Scooby gang. If you like one, you’ll probably enjoy the other.
Blade: The Series was based on Blade the movie series and featured Kirk Jones in the eponymous role of Blade (Wesley Snipes had the role in the films). The plot revolved around female protagonist Krista Starr as she’s unwillingly turned into a vampire and she’s helped by Blade in a revenge storyline.
Blood Ties stars the delectable Christina Cox as detective Vicki Nelson. She teams up with vampire Henry Fitzroy and they put an end to evil doers. It’s camp and fun, in similar fashion to Buffy, but without the Scooby gang. If you like wise ass female detectives, this one is for you.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, one girl in all the world. This show captured hearts and minds and turned what was a fairly dire movie into a witty and fun TV series that ran for six years. It ran for 7 seasons and features some of the best pop culture referencing and philosophies in TV.
Forever Knight followed the (mis)adventures of Nick Knight, a vampire detective working in Toronto. Like Blood Ties and Moonlight it seems a lot of vamps like a bit of the ole detective work. Forever Knight ran for 3 seasons.
Kindred: The Embraced ran in 1996 and was loosely based on the Vampire the Masquerade RPG by White Wolf games. I loved Kindred: The Embraced and its moody lead vampire Julian Luna as a Venture prince. If you like VtM and missed this one, get it on DVD, it’s worth a watch.
Moonlight is another vampire show revolving around a detective, only unlike Vicki Nelson in Blood ties, the protagonist in Moonlight – Mick St. John – is a vampire himself as well as being a detective. Sadly for fans of the series it only ran for one season and was canceled in mid May 2008.
True Blood is an upcoming series that sounds pretty cool. It stars Anna Paquin as a telepathic waitress who falls in love with a vampire. The show is a HBO series and is penciled for premiere on September 7 this year.
Hope you’ve liked this little peek at vampire TV series… some of them have bite, some of them just bite. Let us know your thoughts and feel free to add any we missed.
20 Comments
May 27th, 2008 at 9:56 am
[…] all the talk about vampire movies, Snarkerati took a look at all the different vampire television shows. I don’t know how inclusive his list is, but there are shows on it that I’ve never […]
June 5th, 2008 at 9:37 am
[…] Vampire TV shows - Snarkerati bloodlust Thought it would be fun to take a look at some of the cooler TV shows that include vampires in their main storylines, yes this is all about Vampire TV shows! Some you’ll have definitely heard of, some perhaps not, one thing’s for sure, there’s probably more blood being sipped on TV screens over the years than you perhaps realize. If you like vampires and are looking for some cool vampire TV series on DVD then this is the place for you. We won’t cover EVERY show that’s featured a vampire as t […]
November 11th, 2008 at 1:15 am
What about Vampire high?
November 22nd, 2008 at 3:30 am
93/93. There was a show that came on in the 80’s that was kind of like a vampire mafia show? I remember in the show one of the vampire bosses sons was in a motorcycle club called the Shrikes. Unfortunately, the network (I think that it was CBS) moved the shows schedule around so much that it was hardly watched and its rating fell. The show was then canceled. Do you know what the name of the show was? 93/93.
November 22nd, 2008 at 10:09 pm
Hi David,
I think the show you are referring to was called “Blood Ties” and it may have been a movie. It revolved around an LA bikers club who were vampires. This is not to be confused with the cool new detective series “Blood Ties” which follows female detective (Christina Cox) and her vampire partner as they solve weird crimes.
The original “Blood Ties” was made by Jim McBride in 1991, I believe this is the one you’re looking for. You can get in on R1 DVD.
Hope that helps
December 9th, 2008 at 7:49 pm
Last year Moonlight, the tv show was canceled. Perhaps CBS should consider that it was canceling a great and popular show. Dumb move CBS.
January 28th, 2009 at 8:48 am
In my opinion, the best vampire tv show I’ve ever watched is True Blood, I just love it! I hope more tv shows and films dealing with vampires will come up, but as good as true blood or twilight, because otherwise it wouldn’t worth a watch.
February 1st, 2009 at 7:47 pm
What about Dracula :The Series, where Geraint Wyn Davies (nick knight in forever knight) starred as Van Helsing.
I LOVE Forever Knight and wish it’d gone longer than 3 seasons.
February 15th, 2009 at 7:08 pm
there was a vampire show on the wb a back in the early/mid 90s the star of the show was killed in a wreck i think. Do you know what this could be?
February 16th, 2009 at 10:03 pm
Hey John,
I think the series was probably “Kindred the Embraced”. A great show loosely based on the Vampire the Masquerade RPG. The lead in the series - Julian Luna - was played by Brit actor Mark Frankel who was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident and a second series was never made.
You can get the entire series on DVD… I have it and it’s pretty cool. I’d check eBay or Amazon.
Hope that helps
Angela
May 4th, 2009 at 5:11 pm
they need more vampire showes the ones i seen already got borring
May 29th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
Love all the information on Vampires shows but what I noticed you haven’t any information on Vampire High a highly underrated show.Well worth the viewing. Epsecially if everyone loves Vamipes but the Professor he is the secret element in the show and does make for fascinating viewing.
June 8th, 2009 at 10:28 am
Glad I found this site - there are a few shows listed here that I hadn’t heard of.
One glaring omission though - Dark Shadows: The Revival! Totally over-the-top and melodramatic but so addictive. I was a fan back when it aired in 1991 and it still holds up. Ben Cross makes a great Barnabus Collins!
June 14th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Hello all YOUR NOT VAMPIRES VAMPIRE WANABEES!
August 5th, 2009 at 7:21 pm
The best one is YOUNG DRACULA or VAMPIRE HIGH
August 10th, 2009 at 2:12 am
ok so i like this website an all, but honestly there are some pretty cool anime shows about vampires like Vampire Knight or Vampire Princess Miyu. they’re both in jap but seriously its subed so you can understand. so i think mayb they should go on the list cause you need more than just the “real life action” these anime stuff is really cool and anyon who likes vampire shows will LOVE Vampire Knight that is the best outta the two i metioned. i hope you watch and enjoy the films im requesting if you plan on watching them that is.
August 10th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
Love all the program reviews on the site, but there is still a program not mentioned maybe because it was a Canadian Production but none the less Vampire High. This show was greatly underrated by coporate bosses at the time and was cancelled because there was to much drama on TV.The underlying story of the show has been copied by other TV shows but it being the first is still always the best.That is why I built a site dedicated to Vampire High in the hope to bring it back to the screen.Star Trek refused to die so why should this show.
August 21st, 2009 at 1:48 pm
I love True Blood. Its like good script meets porn.True Blood has become so popular that other look alike shows have began cropping up on main television (Vampire Diaries for instance) I hope these new look alike shows don’t turn out to be crap festivals.
August 29th, 2009 at 6:57 am
Love this site but No show vampire or not will EVER touch Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Best show ever period and I don’t feel the same way about the Angel series although I loved Angel on Buffy. I literally grew up with Buffy, I was 11 when the show started and I laughed, I cried, I learned and I truely loved that show!
August 31st, 2009 at 4:56 am
Geez cant any of you think outside the US?? One of the best and truly original vampire TV shows ever made was the series “Ultraviolet” set in England. Not to be confused with the movie Ultraviolet which has nothing to do with the English TV series. In fact any of you who love Bill from true Blood will recognize a younger Stephen Moyer who is a charachter in Ultraviolet the tv series.
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