Horror and comedy work surprisingly well together. Working from opposite emotional extremes, the best horror comedies manage to make audiences both scream and laugh without sacrificing either side. Some TV shows have been especially good at mixing monsters, supernatural threats, and ridiculous characters. They usually involve crazy premises, like vampire roommates or chainsaw-carrying demon hunters. Here are 8 of the top horror comedies on the small screen.
1. What We Do in the Shadows (2019–2024)
What We Do in the Shadows follows a group of vampires who have been alive for centuries and yet still haven’t figured out how to function like normal adults. Living in Staten Island, they try to seem like modern-day humans while dealing with everything from ancient enemies to local politics. Like all roommates, they have occasional arguments over household chores and communal spaces. The mockumentary format makes their bizarre lives hilarious. Their lives alternate between fascinating and excruciatingly boring. The show did a great job of building a supernatural world filled with witches, werewolves, ghosts, and vampires. It balances ridiculous comedy and traditional horror.
2. Ash vs Evil Dead (2015–2018)
Bruce Campbell returned as Ash Williams decades after the original Evil Dead movies, this time in television format. He had somehow become even more ridiculous with age. Ash is older, irresponsible, and still convinced he’s the coolest man alive when the Deadites return. The series brought back everything people loved about the franchise, with chainsaws, demons, extreme amounts of blood, and slapstick comedy. Best of all, it never limits the gore just because it’s trying to be funny.
3. Santa Clarita Diet (2017–2019)
Santa Clarita Diet begins with real estate agent Sheila Hammond suddenly developing an appetite for humans. Instead of treating her craving like the end of the world, Sheila and her husband Joel approach it like any other problem, looking for a logical solution. They find out that keeping an undead suburban mom fed requires quite a lot of murder. Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant make even the most gruesome situations seem sweet and adorable. The show was sadly cancelled after just three seasons.
4. Scream Queens (2015–2016)
Scream Queens is basically a slasher movie stretched into an absurd television comedy. The first season follows a group of outrageously mean sorority girls after they become the targets of a serial killer dressed as their university’s Red Devil mascot. Emma Roberts plays Chanel Oberlin, a character so selfish and horrible that she is downright hilarious. The series exaggerates every slasher cliché while giving audiences lots of murder and mystery. Its exaggerated style led to a devoted cult following.
5. iZombie (2015–2019)
Liv Moore’s life changes dramatically when she becomes a zombie. She starts working at a morgue so she can eat the brains of dead people in secret. There’s one strange side effect to her new menu: eating someone’s brain gives her bits of their memories and personality. Liv uses the visions to solve murders, making the show equal parts zombie horror and crime procedural, all the while keeping us laughing. Each new brain also gives the show’s writers a reason to completely change Liv’s personality for an episode. This keeps the somewhat repetitive crime-solving formula from getting boring and makes everything unpredictable. Rose McIver is charming as the main character. It’s a bizarre premise, but it works.
6. Wellington Paranormal (2018–2022)
This New Zealand series takes the mockumentary style of What We Do in the Shadows and applies it to two ordinary police officers dealing with abnormal crimes. Officers Minogue and O’Leary investigate a host of paranormal things like ghosts, demons, aliens, vampires, and other supernatural issues around Wellington. The humor comes from their approach, as they face each impossible situation with genuine commitment and seriousness. Their tendency to treat the absurd as ordinary makes everything even funnier. It’s a great choice for anyone who likes dry, absurd comedy mixed with the paranormal.
7. Shining Vale (2022–2023)
Courteney Cox plays Pat Phelps, a writer who moves with her family into an old house after marriage problems. Unfortunately, the house appears to be haunted. The show plays with classic haunted-house elements while also making jokes about marriage, family, aging, and mental health. It is never fully clear how much of what Pat sees is supernatural and how much might be coming from her own mind. Shining Vale has a darker edge than other horror comedies.
8. Stan Against Evil (2016–2018)
Stan Against Evil follows a cranky retired sheriff who makes a major discovery: his small New England town has been dealing with supernatural threats for centuries. Along with the town’s new sheriff, he fights witches, demons, monsters, and any other evil that pops up. John C. McGinley plays curmudgeon Stan, a man who is more annoyed by monsters than scared of them. The series happily depicts campy creatures and throws out lots of old-school horror references.