It's no secret that sticking the landing for long-running TV shows can be a difficult task. While some shows have good endings, there have been a ton of bad finales, especially in recent years. Game of Thrones' controversial finale is still a sore point years later, and most recently, those with a Netflix subscription were treated to the Stranger Things series finale. And I've got to address the hate that's been coming at The Duffer Brothers since its release.

There was a ton of expectations ahead of Stranger Things' final episode, which included a long epilogue that provided closure for its beloved cast of characters. But some fans still had problems, leading to a fan theory about a bonus episode. I was personally very satisfied with how the show ended, and think that we need to remember some of the actual bad finales we've gotten in recent years.

Stranger Things's Series Finale Is Getting Too Much Hate

Since Stranger Things is one of the best Netflix shows to binge-watch and has been the streamer's flagship series for years, it was going to be impossible to please everyone. Some folks complained that the final battle against Vecna went too quickly, with others wanting to see Demogorgons involved. And others were bummed about Eleven's fate, particularly those who didn't believe Mike's story and think she actually perished when The Upside Down was destroyed.

But despite how you might feel about Eleven's apparent sacrifice, I think that Stranger Things' epilogue offered a ton of closure. Joyce and Hopper got engaged, The Party graduated from high school and moved on from Hawkins, and the older teen characters were shown coming into their adulthood. And seeing the full cast unite in order to kill Vecna once and for all was thrilling.

Personally, I think that folks out there who are hating on Stranger Things' finale online need to be reminded of some of the terrible TV endings we've gotten. Game of Thrones is a big example of this, particularly Bran becoming King and Dany and Jon's fates. But that's far from the only example.

Dexter's finale was similarly disappointing when it aired in 2013, especially since it was airing at the same time as Breaking Bad's triumphant final season. I also recently watched True Blood, and was reminded how bad the entire seventh season was, including its last episode. Fans hated the How I Met Your Mother finale, and it hasn't gotten better with time. With all that history, I think it's safe to say that Stranger Things' finale doesn't belong on a list with those disappointing entries.

While you can't please everyone, Stranger Things offered a finale that I think will get more love as time goes on. The entire series is streaming now on Netflix, and a BTS documentary about its final season is set to debut January 12th as part of the 2026 TV schedule.

Stranger Things is one of the best Netflix shows to binge-watch, and is arguably the streaming service's biggest hit series. Those with a Netflix subscription were recently treated to the first chapter in the show's fifth and final season on the air, with fans comparing to say goodbye to their favorite residents of Hawkins, Indiana. But after recently re-watching True Blood, my feelings are changing about Stranger Things ending after just five seasons on the air.

I'm someone who binge-watches TV shows at the gym while doing cardio, and True Blood (which is streaming with a HBO Max subscription) was a fun re-watch to distract me during my time on the elliptical. While re-watching the first few seasons was a blast, I can't get over just how weird and bad Season 7 was. And now I'm glad that Stranger Things won't have the ability to sour by running for too long.

True Blood's Seventh Season Is So Bad That It Made Me Glad Stranger Things Is Ending with Season 5

True Blood was a wildly popular show during its tenure on HBO, but it is unfortunately among the worst series finales ever. While I remembered hating the finale, I was surprised when re-watching just how bad the entirety of Season 7 is. Starting by killing Tara Thornton off-screen and then following with Alcide's unceremonious murder and both Bill and Eric contracting Hep V, the seventh season of the beloved TV series is a sorry state of affairs. And this is an issue that lots of shows have when they're tasked with running for over five seasons.

While Stranger Things feels like it's been on forever thanks to its long gaps between entries, five seasons is actually not that long when compared to other long-running titles like True Blood, Game of Thrones, or Dexter. But ending after Season 5 worked great for others like Breaking Bad and Six Feet Under, both of which have some of the best series finales of all time.

Obviously, we don't know how Stranger Things is actually going to end, as the series finale won't be released until New Year's Eve. The pressure is definitely on to stick the landing, but keeping the show's story confined to just five seasons might be what's best for its legacy. The Duffer Brothers created an epic saga, but this helps it go out on top rather than risking a long and meandering run. And titles like True Blood might have served as cautionary tales that inspired the writers to make this choice.

So much of True Blood is an excellent show, so I don't mean to admonish the HBO series as a whole. I adore the characters and the majority of its seasons, which did truly hold up on the re-watch. But if it ended prior to its seventh season, it might have a better reputation these years later. We'll just have to wait and see if Stranger Things manages to craft a satisfying ending for its countless fans out there.

Stranger Things 5 will return for Volume 2 on December 25th, before we get the finale on December 31st as part of the 2025 TV schedule. As for True Blood, you can re-watch that steamy series over on HBO Max.

True Blood is a HBO show that got people talking, and had a long and successful run on the air. I recently decided to give it a re-watch with a HBO Max subscription, after being obsessed throughout its original run. While I've had fun watching the True Blood cast back in their signature roles for the start of Spooky Season, I can't believe how much foreshadowing about the series as a whole was crammed into the first few episodes. Talk about some well done storytelling!

While True Blood was eventually full of a ton of magical creatures, the first season told a smaller story. It was mostly about the town of Bon Temps, especially Anna Paquin's Sookie Stackhouse, adjusting to having vampires. But in just the first four episodes we got a number of teases about what's to come. And yes, my mind is blown.

True Blood Season 1 Set Up A Ton Of Future Plot Lines And Characters

True Blood is one of the best vampire shows ever, and creator/writer Alan Ball was doing a ton of world-building in the first season. The show's success wasn't a guarantee, but the fact that it was a book to screen adaptation meant that the writers had an understanding of where things could go narratively. That's exactly what we saw happen, including the early tease of future characters.

First up is the character Nan Flanagan, played by Jessica Tuck. She's shown on TV various times in Season 1, defending Vampire rights as a public figure. She'd later get a larger role as future seasons explore the Vampire Authority.

Another of these that I noticed was an early (and brief) appearance by Michael McMillian's Steve Newlin. His father's death was blamed on vampires thanks to his anti-vamp stance, and Steve can be see on the news making these types of accusations early in Season 1. As you might remember, Steve would become a fan favorite villain and eventual vampire, who appears in all seven seasons in one way or another.

Another character that was teased early on is Evan Rachel Wood's Queen Sophie-Anne Leclerq. While not mentioned by name, Episode 3, "Mine," features conversations between vampires about her. While Malcolm, Diane, and Liam are visiting Bill and trying to get a taste of Sookie, he says that there are "higher authorities" he could go to. They reference a female figure, which will be revealed to be Sophie-Anne during Season 2. She'd later appear in the third and fourth seasons, as well.

Then, of course, there's the the source of Sookie's telepathic powers. In Season 4 it's eventually revealed that she's part Fairy, explaining her abilities and why she smells and tastes so good to vampires. Her fight with the Rattrays in Episode 1 show her using her fae skills to wrap a chain around Mack's neck. The fact that it took years for an explanation to these events further shows how impressively methodical the storytelling of True Blood was... even in its early days.

True Blood is streaming in its entirety now on HBO Max. We'll just have to wait and see if the 2025 TV schedule offers anything nearly as spicy and vampirical as the beloved series.

The American South is full of lore and stories. The nature of the United States is such that every region is unique, and that means every region has its own legends and history to draw from. Over the years, television has tapped into that rich culture of the South with some of the best shows of all time. This is dedicated to those shows and those stories, the TV shows of the American South.

Atlanta

The city of Atlanta has been called "the capital of the South," so it only makes sense that the show named for the town, Atlanta, starring (and created by) Donald Glover, should feature on this list. The show won a slew of awards for its storytelling in the modern South of a music manager (Glover) helping his client, played by Brian Tyree Henry, navigate the music industry, and America, for that matter.

Matlock

There isn't a more classic Southern show than Matlock. We're talking about the original here, of course, the one set in Atlanta starring Andy Griffith as Ben Matlock. It's a stone-cold classic show (and frequent butt of jokes, especially on The Simpsons), and no list about shows about the South would be complete without it. The modern remake is great too, but alas, it is set in New York City.

Friday Night Lights

High school football is a huge part of modern Southern culture, and Friday Night Lights tells that story better than anything else. Over five seasons, following a small town high school football team led by Coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chadler), which is based on a book (and a movie that followed) by Buzz Bissinger, the show did a deep dive into the culture and brought it to life in inspiring fashion.

Treme

New Orleans is the most unique city in America. It's truly like no other place on this continent. Treme brings the city to life like no other show ever has. Like creator David Simon's other famous HBO show, The Wire, the city is the main character here. The people who live in the city are what make it New Orleans, and in Treme, we see every aspect of life in the Crescent City.

A Different World

While the show that A Different World was spun off from, The Cosby Show, was set in New York City, A Different World follows Huxtable's daughter Denise (Lisa Bonet) as she goes off to college at the fictional Hillman College in Virginia. Bonet left after just one season, but the show still went on to become an iconic Black sitcom.

Bad Monkey

There's an old saying that the further south you go in Florida, the more north you get, but author Carl Hiaasen, who wrote the book that Bad Monkey is based on, has the great ability to show the Southern side of all of Florida. The show, which you can watch with an Apple TV+ subscription, is just a wonderful and hilarious look into life in the Sunshine State that you don't see on the tourism ads.

Dallas

There's nothing like the drama of a rich Southern oil family to get people excited, right? Dallas captivated audiences for 14 seasons and included one of the most celebrated cliff-hangers of all time with "Who Shot J.R.?"

Eastbound & Down

Danny McBride has really figured out how to tap into the humorous side of Southern culture. With shows like The Righteous Gemstones, Vice Principals, and perhaps his best example, the over-the-top-but-wonderful Eastbound & Down. The show, which is available with an HBO Max subscription, is one of the funniest shows about the South ever, even if it strayed in the later seasons. That first season will always be pure comedy gold.

Designing Women

In the 1980s, no sitcom defined Southern charm than Designing Women. Yet another movie set in the great city of Atlanta, the show about the all-female team of a design firm had one of the best casts of any sitcom from the era. A cast that included Delta Burke, Dixie Carter, Jean Smart, and Annie Potts. In the later seasons, Jan Hooks got in on the fun as well.

The Walking Dead

Though The Walking Dead is a story that could happen anywhere, almost all of it takes place in the South. The show starts in Atlanta (including an early mission to the CDC in the capital of Georgia), and ends with the crew mostly living outside of Washington, DC, in the Virginia suburbs.

Nashville

Well, as the name says, Nashville is set, of course, in the capital of Country Music. In recent years, starting around when this show debuted in 2012, Nashville, TN, has become the place to live in the South. Everyone from recent college graduates to big stars is flocking to the city with one of the richest music histories in the United States.

The Golden Girls

You might not think of Miami as the South, and to be fair, it doesn't have a ton in cultural common with say, Birmingham, but it's right there on the map, as far south as you can get in the continental U.S., so Golden Girls counts here! The show, which has lived on for decades in syndication, is famous for its zingers and, in the end, its heartfelt message of friendship. It really needs no introduction, does it?

The Waltons

Even if you've never seen The Waltons, a show about a Depression-era family living in the Virginia Appalachian Mountains, you probably know how each episode ended with the tight-knit family saying good night to each other. It oozes Southern sensibilities.

The Dukes Of Hazzard

One of the most popular and most controversial shows on this list has to be The Dukes of Hazzard. Beloved for its daredevil driving scenes and the humorous relationship between cops and bandits, the show was a staple of '70s and '80s TV. In more recent decades, the show has been criticized for its use of the Confederate flag painted on top of the General Lee (which is still a really cool car, regardless).

Tyler Perry's House of Payne

Tyler Perry is a proud resident of Atlanta, and he's invested heavily in developing what has become one of the movie-making capitals of the world. It makes perfect sense that the first sitcom he ever created, Tyler Perry's House of Payne, would be set in the city. The show, which balances silly moments with serious themes, has had a remarkable run on TBS first, and later on BET. It's gone well over 300 episodes, making it one of the most successful sitcoms with a predominantly Black cast.

The Righteous Gemstones

From the demented (and wonderful) mind of Danny McBride, The Righteous Gemstones is simply brilliant. The show, which aired on HBO for four seasons, has a fantastic cast, including McBride, alongside John Goodman, Adam DeVine, Edi Patterson, and some sublime supporting work from Walton Goggins.

The Andy Griffith Show

There may be no show on this list that espouses the gentile way of life in a small, southern town like The Andy Griffith Show. The name of the fictional town in North Caroline, Mayberry, has even become a noun to describe wholesome small towns all across the United States. The legendary show aired a total of 249 episodes over eight seasons on CBS. It also helped launch the career of Ron Howard, of course.

Army Wives

While not strictly a show about life in the South, Army Wives is set on a naval base in Charleston, SC. The popular Lifetime show didn't have the broadest appeal, to be sure, but it had a dedicated fanbase for the seven seasons it was on.

Dexter

Like some others on this list, we'll admit that Dexter doesn't always feel like a "Southern show" since it is set in Miami, but Florida, even South Florida, should definitely count here, right? How much really needs to be said about the now-iconic Showtime show about a serial killer hunting serial killers? At least we can acknowledge that Jon Lithgow plays one of the most ruthless villains in TV history.

Justified

There aren't a ton of shows set in Kentucky, but Justified would probably be the best, even if there were others. This is a show that has shown incredible legs over the years, remaining as popular–if not more popular–than it was when it first aired on FX.

NCIS: New Orleans

NCIS has had a whole lot of spinoffs. NCIS: New Orleans was the second in the franchise when it was spun off in 2014. Though it was surprisingly canceled after it's seventh season on CBS, it still ended up a very successful show in the popular franchise.

CSI: Miami

One of the most popular TV franchises of the early 21st Century is, without a doubt, the CSI group of shows on CBS. The original, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (set in Las Vegas), first hit the airwaves in 2000, and just two years later, David Caruso returned to TV as Horatio Cane in CSI: Miami. For many, including myself, Miami was just as good as its parent show, and ratings showed that. The show aired for 10 seasons and more than 200 episodes.

True Blood

Anne Rice may be the most famous teller of vampire stories to hail from Louisiana, but Charlaine Harris, who wrote the books upon which HBO's True Blood was based, is a close second these days. True Blood is set in the fictional town of Bon Temps, LA, but it is anything but "good times" for the residents, as this neo-gothic classic show highlights again and again.

In The Heat Of The Night

Based loosely on the book and the 1967 film starring Sidney Poitier of the same name, In The Heat Of The Night followed a small town police chief (Carroll O'Connor) and his top detective, Virgil Tibbs (Howard Rollins). The show, which aired first on NBC before moving to CBS, was set in Sparta, Mississippi, and it was unafraid to tackle complex subjects like racism and police corruption.

One Tree Hill

For nine seasons, One Tree Hill transported fans to Wilmington, North Carolina, in the CW TV show. One of the more popular shows among many Millennials, the show still has its die-hard fans today, more than a decade after ending its nine-season run.

Reba

Reba McEntire first entered our hearts as an actor in the cult classic Tremors. She's wonderful in it, and after another decade of parts here and there in movies and TV, the country music legend landed her own sitcom, appropriately called simply Reba. The hard-working McEntire was born and raised in Oklahoma, but the show was set in Houston. In fact, it's weirdly one of the few shows ever set in the Texas metropolis.

Fresh Off The Boat

ABC's Fresh Off The Boat is a unique take on the Southern show, as it features an immigrant family from Taiwan working to make the American Dream happen for them in Orlando, Florida. Constance Wu gave her breakout performance on the show as the hard-charging daughter, Jessica.

Ozark

I get it, some people might push back on Missouri being in the South. I'm from the Show Me State, so I understand. That said, southern MO, especially in the area around Lake of the Ozarks, definitely has more Southern influence than Midwest, so I just have to include the brilliant Netflix original, Ozark.

I Dream Of Jeannie

"The South" might not be the first thing you think of when you think of I Dream of Jeannie, but it was set in Florida. Tony Nelson, Larry Hagman's character who lives with Jeannie (Barbara Eden), is an astronaut, if you remember, living where so many other NASA pilots lived, Cocoa Beach, FL.

True Detective

When I talk about True Detective, I'm usually talking about that brilliant first season. Other seasons of the anthology show have been set in California and Alaska (two states that are definitely not The South), but the first season was set in that most southern of states, Louisiana. The third season was also set in the South, in the hills of Arkansas.

Hart of Dixie

Any show called Hart of Dixie can't be left off this list. It's also one of the few TV shows set in Alabama, so we just had to squeeze in the popular show from The CW, starring Rachel Bilson as a fish-out-of-water New York doctor living in small-town Alabama.

Saving Grace

One place that doesn't feature in a lot of TV shows or movies is Oklahoma City. Saving Grace, starring Holly Hunter, bucks that trend. The TNT show, which aired for three seasons in the late '00s. The show often featured famous spots in the town, and, honestly, it's one of my favorite Holly Hunter roles. The show is underappreciated for that alone, never mind the rest of the excellent cast.

It seems that, with each generation, people continue to be obsessed with preserving their youth. However, I cannot say that I submit to that mentality because I have watched my fair share of movies and TV shows that deal with eternal life, and it really does not sound like all it's cracked up to be.

That being said, the mere idea of having a life without end and being able to experience multiple eras in history firsthand has always fascinated me, which is why I do tend to enjoy these kinds of stories. We could spend an eternity discussing all the best tales of immortality from the big and small screen, but here are some of the essentials.

Death Becomes Her (1992)

In Robert Zemeckis' darkly comic, classic '90s movie Death Becomes Her, actor Madeline Ashton (Meryl Streep) discovers that the secret to her longtime rival, author Helen Sharp's (Goldie Hawn), sudden success and "glow-up" is a potion that grants eternal youth. However, it also makes maintaining that youthful glow more challenging, especially after Madeline and Helen suffer insane accidents, which Sabrina Carpenter and Jenna Ortega parodied in the "Taste" music video.

Peter Pan (1953)

I remember looking forward to the freedoms of adulthood when I was younger, but now that I am a grown-up, I think Peter Pan and his Lost Boys had the right idea about staying in Neverland, where they could stay children forever. Steven Spielberg would even use J.M. Barrie's classic fantasy tale as the catalyst of a story exploring the loss of one's inner child in 1991's Hook, which stars Robin Williams as a grown-up Peter Pan.

Deadpool (2016)

Many of the funniest and most gruesome moments from star Ryan Reynolds' adaptation of Marvel's Deadpool comics revolve around the eponymous anti-hero's incredible healing abilities, which also prevent him from aging. Quick-witted mercenary Wade Wilson gained this blessing, or curse, after participating in an experimental program to cure his cancer, which also left him with a grotesque skin condition, inspiring him to wear a costume covering him head to toe.

Doctor Who (1963-Present)

A sci-fi TV show that has managed to get away with featuring the same character in the lead for its entire decades-long run is the British cult favorite phenomenon, Doctor Who. The title character is the last of an alien race known as the Time Lords, meaning he can continue to live on infinitely by regenerating and changing his appearance, which explains why he is played by a different actor every few seasons or so.

The Picture Of Dorian Gray (1945)

One of the most influential stories involving immortality is The Picture of Dorian Gray, in which the title character suddenly ceases to age while his likeness in a recent portrait begins to grow more decrepit over time. One of the most widely praised adaptations of the 1890 novel from Oscar Wilde stars Hurd Hatfield in the title role.

Mr. Nobody (2009)

Writer and director Jaco Van Dormael’s Mr. Nobody is unlike any other film regarding the concept of eternal youth, because the main character is the only one who is not immortal, thanks to a cutting-edge surgical process. Academy Award winner Jared Leto stars in the moving, surreal sci-fi drama as the last mortal man in a utopian future, where he recounts the life (or lives) he has experienced up to this point to a confused journalist.

Interview With The Vampire (1994)

We cannot talk about eternal youth without talking about vampires, and there are few tales of the like that incorporate the theme of immortality as potently as Interview with the Vampire. Director Neil Jordan's adaptation of Anne Rice's novel stars Brad Pitt as Louis, who tells a 20th-century journalist (played by Christian Slater) the story of his life as an ageless creature of the night, dating back to the late 1700s when he is bitten by Lestat (Tom Cruise).

Hancock (2008)

In Hancock, a superhero movie not inspired by a comic book, Will Smith plays the titular boozy, homeless man, who has been mysteriously blessed with extraordinary abilities, including indestructibility and agelessness. However, he comes close to losing those gifts due to a shocking secret about his forgotten past.

Highlander (1986)

It is said in Russell Mulcahy's original cult favorite that there can only be one Highlander. However, the action-packed fantasy thriller, starring Christopher Lambert as a more-than-400-year-old Scottish warrior facing the battle of his life in modern New York City, spawned several sequels and a TV series.

True Blood (2008-2014)

One of the most popular vampire TV shows of all time is HBO's True Blood. Based on a series of novels by Charlaine Harris, the drama takes place in a world where humans and fanged creatures of the night are able to co-exist, thanks to the eponymous, synthetic substitute for blood.

Eternals (2021)

Created by legendary comic book writer and artist Jack Kirby, the Eternals are a group of superheroes given the gift of immortality, among other distinct abilities, by their creators, the Celestials. The Marvel Comic would inspire an MCU film from Academy Award-winning director Chloé Zhao and starring the likes of Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Salma Hayek, and more.

The Sandman (2022-2025)

The Sandman is Netflix's long-awaited series adaptation of Neil Gaiman's widely acclaimed fantasy comic book series of the same name, published under DC's Vertigo imprint in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Tom Sturridge's title character, also known as Dream and plenty of other aliases for his purpose of manipulating the human subconscious, is one of several beings known as the Endless, who each personify a different abstract concept, such as Death and Desire.

Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)

You can always count on a filmmaker like Jim Jarmusch to come through with a stunningly unique take on the horror genre, such as with his acclaimed vampire movie, Only Lovers Left Alive. The dramedy follows the reunion between a rock star (played by Tom Hiddleston) and his lover (played by Tilda Swinton), who have been in an on-and-off relationship for a very long time.

Torchwood (2006-2011)

The Doctor may be the last of the Time Lords, but he is not the only character from the Doctor Who universe who cannot die. The hit spinoff, Torchwood, following the adventures of a secret organization defending Earth from supernatural threats, stars John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness, who was turned immortal when he was revived by the power of the Time Vortex after he was killed by a Dalek.

In Time (2011)

Widely regarded as a movie with a brilliant concept but a lackluster execution is the Justin Timberlake-led sci-fi thriller In Time, set in a futuristic society in which people stop aging at the age of 25. However, they can only live perpetually if they have enough time, which is also treated as currency. In other words, the wealthy are truly immortal, while the poor literally struggle to survive until the next day.

What We Do In The Shadows (2014)

One of the funniest films about vampirism is the horror-comedy movie favorite, What We Do in the Shadows, which later inspired a hit FX series of the same name. The faux documentary follows what goes on in the lives of a group of centuries-old bloodsuckers (played by Taika Waititi, Jemaine Clement, and Johnny Brugh) sharing a house in New Zealand.

Spring (2015)

Directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorehead's romantic horror movie Spring is a beautiful, Lovecraftian take on a Richard Linklater-style drama like Before Sunrise. It follows an American man (played by Lou Taylor Pucci) visiting Italy when he falls for a woman (played by Nadia Hilker), who is not only cursed with agelessness, but hides another transformative secret.

The Fountain (2006)

From Darren Aronofsky, The Fountain is a trippy thriller starring Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz that is told in a nonlinear, anthology-style structure and takes place over the course of 1000 years. One segment, set in the 1500s, follows a quest for the Fountain of Youth, another centers on a modern-day surgeon and his terminally ill wife, and the last follows a man passionately tending to a tree while traveling through space in the deep future. The question the film leaves you with is whether or not Jackman's roles are all the same person.

The Age Of Adaline (2015)

One film that effectively illustrates the challenging consequences of eternal youth is The Age of Adaline. Blake Lively stars in the title role of a mid-20th-century woman who suffers a freak accident that suddenly causes her to stop aging, forcing her to go on the run and live anonymously for decades.

Forever (2014-2015)

The short-lived crime procedural Forever stars Ioan Gruffudd as a man working as a medical examiner in New York City. However, the most perplexing mystery he struggles to solve is why he has not aged in more than two centuries.

The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus (2009)

Known for being the final film starring Academy Award winner Heath Ledger, director Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus stars Christopher Plummer in the title role, who was gifted eternal life by the Devil (Tom Waits) in exchange for the soul of his daughter, Valentina (Lily Cole), once she reaches her sixteenth birthday.

Altered Carbon (2018-2020)

While most stories about eternal life are considered fantasy, the concept is not entirely implausible. For instance, the Netflix series Altered Carbon imagines a dystopian future in which immortality is achieved by digitally preserving human consciousness and uploading it into a new body.

The Man From Earth (2007)

Writer Jerome Bixby was the legendary mastermind behind some of the best episodes of The Twilight Zone, and his final produced work before his death, The Man from Earth, does feel like something that would have been right up Rod Serling's alley. The film stars David Lee Smith as a professor who, during his impromptu retirement party, reveals to his colleagues the shocking revelation that he has inexplicably existed for thousands of years.

He Never Died (2015)

Without giving too much away, He Never Died is a bizarre thriller starring Henry Rollins as a man calling himself Jack, who has been on Earth longer than even he has been able to keep track of.

Cronos (1993)

The feature film debut of writer and director Guillermo del Toro, Cronos, is a chilling thriller about an ancient, highly coveted device shaped like a scarab that can grant people the gift of immortality.

Tuck Everlasting (2002)

Based on the 1975 novel of the same name by Natalie Babbitt, Tuck Everlasting stars Alexis Bledel as a 19th-century teen who falls in love with a "young" man (played by Jonathan Jackson) whose family has accidentally discovered the Fountain of Youth.

Blade Of The Immortal (2017)

Director Takashi Miike, the mastermind behind some of the shocking Japanese horror movies of all time, brings his signature style to this live-action adaptation of the graphic novel, Blade of the Immortal. The film stars Takuya Kimura as a samurai cursed with eternal life, who is enlisted by a young girl to help avenge her father's death.

The Last Witch Hunter (2015)

Vin Diesel's Dungeons & Dragons character served as the inspiration for his role in The Last Witch Hunter, in which he plays a man whose immortality has allowed him the time to become the most skilled asset in war against witchcraft.

Zardoz (1974)

Writer and director John Boorman's Zardoz is better remembered for the ridiculous futuristic outfit that Sean Connery wears than the plot of the bizarre sci-fi adventure. The story is set in the 23rd Century, in which Connery's deadly warrior, known as Zed, comes across a community where death has been rendered obsolete.

New Amsterdam (2008)

Not to be confused with a hit NBC medical drama that happens to bear the same name, New Amsterdam is a short-lived Fox crime drama starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as a New York detective granted eternal youth by a Native American woman he saved 400 years earlier.

The Old Guard (2020)

Based on the graphic novel by Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernández, the Netflix original film The Old Guard stars Charlize Theron as the leader of a group of ageless mercenaries. It would spawn a sequel that deepens its lore, which was released in 2025.

Immortality (1998)

Also released as The Wisdom of Crocodiles to reflect the novel that inspired it, the aptly named Immortality stars Jude Law as a vampire preying on women in hopes of finding the one who redeems him.

Some of the best TV theme songs were already hits or great songs that were adapted as a theme song. These are songs that were written for the show, like the retro ones that still slap, but these are all great songs.

Like The Who contributing to the CSI franchise, or Jane's Addiction lending one of its songs to Entourage. For this list, we're going to avoid covers or reworked versions of the songs that were already famous, like the cover of The Beatles' "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da," which was used for the show Life Goes On. This is our list of existing songs that became awesome TV theme songs.

"Who Are You" - CSI

All of the CSI franchise shows have used songs by The Who as their theme song, creating a nice symmetry between the shows. The original show, CSI, or later CSI: Las Vegas used "Who Are You," and it turned out so great, that when CSI:Miami became the first spinoff, the producers chose

"California" - The O.C.

The band Phantom Planet released their second album, The Guest, in 2002, which included the earworm "California." It was a natural choice for The O.C. which has to be one of the most "California" shows ever. A fun fact about the song is that Phantom Planet's drummer at the time, and on the track, was actor Jason Schwartzman.

"I Don't Want To Wait" - Dawson's Creek

"I Don't Want to Wait" was first recorded and released on Paula Cole's second album, titled This Fire, in 1996. A couple of years later the song was chosen to be the theme song for the WB's first mega-hit Dawson's Creek. The song likewise became a hit, rocketing to #11 on the Billboard charts.

"Bad Reputation" - Freaks And Geeks

19 years after Joan Jett told the world she didn't care about her "Bad Reputation," the cult classic show Freak And Geeks used it as its theme song for its one and only season. The song has had a life far beyond the show, just as the show has had a long life beyond it's only season.

"With A Little Help From My Friends" - The Wonder Years

If you're going to set a TV show in the '60s, it's a good idea to dig deep into that well of amazing rock and soul music of the era. The Wonder Years smartly used tons of great music from the era, including a theme song by a famous musician who first had a hit with it in 1968. Joe Cocker's version of The Beatles song "With a Little Help from My Friends" was a bigger hit than The Beatles' version, and this was the song that led off The Wonder Years.

"We Used To Be Friends" - Veronica Mars

The Dandy Warhols are one of the great cult bands from the late '90s/early '00s. It was one of their songs, "We Used To Be Friends," that was chosen to be the theme of Veronica Mars and it's frankly the perfect choice for the show. The band, like the show, has a strong fanbase that won't let the song, or the show, be forgotten.

"Way Down In A Hole" - The Wire

This one is a little tricky because technically it breaks our rule about having cover versions of the original song (or the original hit, at least). The first season of The Wire featured a version of the Tom Waits song "Way Down In The Hole" by the Blind Boys Of Alabama. But we're in luck because the second season of the HBO classic features Tom Waits' original version. The 3rd, 4th, and 5th seasons would also feature cover versions of the song.

"C'mon, C'mon" - Rescue Me

The Von Bondies were a good band that really only gained the attention they deserved when their song "C'Mon, C'Mon" was chosen to be the theme song of Rescue Me, starring Denis Leary. For seven seasons, the song ran over the opening titles and as a result, became a big hit for the group.

"Teardrop" - House

Massive Attack has never been a...massive band in the United States. In Britain, however, they are huge. The trip-hop electronic act has released a slew of fantastic records, though their third album, Mezzanine, remains probably the most popular. One of the best songs on that album, "Teardrop" became the theme song for House, though a different, more generic song has been used on streaming and in syndication.

"Reflections" - China Beach

There aren't a lot of shows about Vietnam, but there are a lot of movies about the war. All those movies feature great songs from the era and thankfully the one hit show about the Vietnam War followed suit. China Beach chose the fantastic song "Reflections" by Diana Ross & the Supremes. Solid choice, for sure.

"Save Me" - Smallville

"Save Me" was the lead single on the album The Golden Hum, by the band Remy Zero. It was dubiously released on September 10th, 2001. A week later the WB hit Smallville debuted, using "Save Me" as its theme song. The song became a minor hit for the band, but sadly, Remy Zero broke up before recording a follow-up album.

"Woke Up This Morning" - The Sopranos

"Woke Up This Morning" by the British band Alabama 3 was a minor hit in the U.K. in 1997, when it was released, but didn't gain any traction in the U.S. That changed in a huge way when it was picked to be the theme song of The Sopranos. The song became one of those spine-tingling moments whenever viewers would here that famous HBO audio mark right before the beat of the song would hit as Tony drove from New York City to his house in New Jersey each week.

"Love And Marriage" - Married... With Children

For a show that took pride in just how crude it can be, it's kinda awesome that the theme song was by one of the classiest singers of all time. Married... With Children used the Frank Sinatra song "Love And Marriage" as its theme song and it worked amazing for that intro with the shot of a fountain in Chicago.

"Little Boxes" - Weeds

Malvina Reynolds wrote "Little Boxes" in 1962 and gave it to her friend, legendary folk singer Pete Seeger, who had a minor hit with it in 1964. It was Reynolds' version that would become the biggest hit when it was used as the theme for Showtime's Weeds.

"Superhero" - Entourage

Jane's Addiction had their biggest hits in the early '90s before they broke up (for the first time) in 1994. When they reconvened in 2001, they finally recorded their third "proper" album, Strays (JA fans will tell you it was their fourth album, including their debut live album commonly called XXX). The song "Superhero" from Strays became the best-known song from the album when it was used for the theme of HBO's Entourage.

"Stand" - Get A Life

Highlighting just how offbeat Get A Life, starring Chris Eliot, was, the show managed to score an REM hit for its theme song. "Stand" from the REM album Orange was a huge hit and the band was notorious for protecting their songs from too much commercialization. In short, they were the last band you'd expect to allow one of its songs to be used on TV. But the show was so unique, that it made perfect sense.

"Rock Around The Clock" - Happy Days

We know what you're thinking, "Wait a minute, Happy Days had its own song. You're right, but that famous theme song wasn't used until the show's second season. The theme in the first season was the Bill Haley and the Comets hit "Rock Around The Clock."

"Jessica" - Top Gear

"Hold on! Top Gear used a cover version of The Allman Brothers Band's song "Jessica"" is what you're thinking here. Well, you're right. But the old Top Gear, the original version that ran from the '70s until the late '90s, used the original version by The Allmans.

"Wanted Dead Or Alive" - Deadliest Catch

Even reality shows like to use big hits. Take, for example, The Deadliest Catch, which used a perfect song, Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead Or Alive." There's no way you can find a more perfect theme, nor could anyone write a more perfect one.

"Straight Up And Down" - Boardwalk Empire

One of the coolest ideas the showrunners of HBO's Boardwalk Empire had was to use a very modern song by The Brian Jonestown Massacre. For a show set in the 1920s, you wouldn't expect a song like "Straight Up and Down" and yet it works perfectly.

"Low Rider" - The George Lopez Show

It might be a little on the nose, but somehow it still works. The George Lopez Show uses the band War's hit "Low Rider" which is one of the best songs Chicano rock songs of all time.

"What A Wonderful World" - Family Matters

This is another one where you might be thinking that the show had its own, unique theme song and you're right. For most of its run Full House used its own song, but for the first five episodes of Season 1, the show used the classic "What A Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong.

"Carry On My Wayward Son" - Supernatural

If we're being honest, "Carry On My Wayward Son" by Kansas doesn't jump out as the perfect theme song for a fantasy show like Supernatural, but today, it's impossible to think the theme song to the show could be anything other than the 1970's hit.

"Tea For The Tillerman" - Extras

"Tea For The Tillerman" by Cat Stevens is the perfect choice for the Ricky Gervais show Extras. The song wasn't a huge hit, it was more of a coda on Cat Stevens' album by the same, which was a huge hit when it was released in 1970.

"Bad Boys" - COPS

COPS is one of the longest-running TV shows of all time, as it's basically been on the air in one form or another since 1989. In total, there have been well over 1000 episodes of the groundbreaking reality show and all of those episodes have started with the song "Bad Boys" by reggae legends Inner Circle.

"Closer To Free" - Party Of Five

Wisconsin band BoDeans landed their biggest hit when their song "Closer To Free" from their fifth album became the theme song to Party Of Five. The song charted as high as #16 once the show took off.

"Bad Things" - True Blood

Singer-songwriter Jace Everett released "Bad Things" in 2005, but it failed to make a big impression on the public. It was a great song though, and when it was picked as the theme to the HBO hit True Blood, the song, like the show, took off and became a hit among fans of the show.

"Livin' On The Edge" - Ice Road Truckers

Following in the footsteps of his cousin, Deadliest Catch, Ice Road Truckers picked another song from a hair metal band. The theme for the first four seasons of the nail-biting show was "Livin' On The Edge" by Aerosmith, a perfect choice.

"Next Year" - Ed

NBC's Ed found a cult following during its four seasons on the air, but the band whose song was the theme, The Foo Fighters, is anything but a cult band. They were then and are still one of the biggest bands in the world and their song "Next Year" is one of their many hits.

"Flagpole Sitta" - Peep Show

it's sad to say that Harvey Danger, who released "Flagpole Sitta" in 1997, is a one-hit wonder. They deserve so much better. But alas, "Flagpole Sitta" was their lone hit, but what a hit it's been. It's seemingly everywhere, even more than two decades since its release. That includes as the theme for the British show Peep Show for the show's final eight seasons.

"Where You Lead" - The Gilmore Girls

The Gilmore Girls has been a surprisingly enduring show over the years. Though it ended almost two decades ago, the show remains beloved by its fans. It's fitting that the show's theme song is an enduring hit too. "Where You Lead," by Carole King, was first released in 1970. it's worth noting that the theme song is slightly reworked by King and recorded for the show by King and Louise Goffin.

"Forever Young" - Parenthood

Parenthood pulled off quite the coup when they landed the Bob Dylan song "Forever Young" as its theme song. Dylan is famously protective of this music.

Gilmore Girls was not just a hit that ran for seven seasons in the early 2000s, but a show that’s still beloved by fans to the point where a sequel miniseries was made in 2016 (which you can watch with your Netflix subscription), nine years after the original finale. It’s also one of the most rewatchable shows ever that gives fans a nostalgic experience, but if you’ve recently completed a binge of the family dramedy, then it’s good that we have a list for you of 32 movies and shows that feature the Gilmore Girls cast. Enjoy!

Supernatural (2005-2020)

Sure, this list could have started anywhere, but why not start with the portrayer of (mostly) sweet Dean, Jared Padalecki? His supporting role on Gilmore Girls couldn’t have prepared fans for his hugely successful run as the creature-of-the-night hunting Sam Winchester on Supernatural. The series ran for 15 seasons and has tons of amazing episodes, especially if you enjoy spooky stuff.

How To Get Away With Murder (2014-2020)

Overall, most of the players from GG saw a boost in their careers after the show, and likely helped make it possible for Liza Weil, who played the ever-stressed Paris Geller, to eventually make her way to a major role on the thrilling ABC hit, How to Get Away with Murder.

The O.C. (2003-2007)

Is bringing up Fox’s early aughts mega-hit teen drama The O.C. this quickly a bit of a cheat? Sure, but we can’t deny that without the popularity of his Dave Rygalski in Season 3, we might never have gotten actor Adam Brody as the funny, loyal, Summer-obsessed Seth Cohen in one of the defining teen shows of all time.

The Handmaid’s Tale (2017-2021)

Much like viewers were probably not prepared to watch Padalecki fight monsters after his time on Gilmore Girls, I doubt most could have expected to see star Alexis Bledel take on Dr. Emily Malek, the strong-willed and rebellious Handmaid first known as Ofglen. She won an Emmy Award for her role, so this is one drama not to miss.

Parenthood (2010-2015)

There might be no character more strong-willed, funny and quirky than Lorelei Gilmore, who was brought to life so exceptionally by Lauren Graham. If that character description sounds a lot like Sarah Braverman-Holt from NBC’s family drama, Parenthood, then you get why Graham was a perfect fit for both.

Bride & Prejudice (2004)

A small role is a role nonetheless, and if you check out the amazing Jane Austen-inspired rom-com, Bride & Prejudice, you’ll see Bledel as Georgie Darcy, Will’s younger sister.

The Good Wife (2009-2016)

Say what you will about being Team Logan, but the Huntzberger boy still has his supporters even today. This is probably because Matt Czuchry did such a good job portraying him, much like he did the charming go-getter Cary Agos on CBS’ legal drama, The Good Wife.

Fire Country (2024)

As one of the biggest dramas on CBS, Fire Country is hard to miss and even harder to dislike. That’s why it’s the perfect show to check out to see Jared Padalecki as the still-grieving firefighter Camden Casey during Season 3.

Saw IV (2007)

Honestly, were you expecting to see something as horrific as Saw IV on this list? Well, you might be even more surprised to know that Scott Patterson, who played Luke Danes, appeared in a total of three Saw films as determined FBI agent Peter Strahm.

This Is Us (2016-2022)

Can you imagine if anyone has forgotten This Is Us? NBC’s family drama was an immediate success, with the trailer for the very first season racking up a staggering number of views. Of course, you can revel in your Team Jess status by watching Milo Ventimiglia portray loving patriarch Jack Pearson.

13 Reasons Why (2017-2018)

13 Reasons Why is a teen drama that made major waves during its run on Netflix, but you might not know that Keiko Agena, who brought Lane Kim to life on GG, spent the first two seasons playing the kind and protective communications teacher, Pamela Bradley.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (2024)

If you can be in the mood for a holiday film all year long, then 2024’s The Best Christmas Pageant Ever should be added to your viewing calendar. In it, Lauren Graham brings her signature charm to the role of Beth Bradley.

Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014)

Of all the GG actors who one might have expected to appear in a giant blockbuster franchise, few fans would likely have bet on the actor who gave us the wonderfully nice but odd Kirk Gleason, Sean Gunn. After a supporting role as Kraglin in the original Guardians of the Galaxy in 2014, he’s now reprised the part in seven MCU films and TV series.

Bridesmaids (2011)

For the first time on this list, we get to Melissa McCarthy, who played beloved chef Sookie St. James. She was in several projects after Gilmore Girls ended, but the comedy hit Bridesmaids, where she played the loyal but crude and somewhat erratic Megan, launched her career into the stratosphere. She received an Oscar nomination for her work, so it’s not to be missed.

Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist (2020-2021)

The jukebox musical dramedy series, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, was a treat, but if you missed its two seasons on NBC, know that Lauren Graham played a major role in Season 1 as Zoey’s strict boss, Joan.

The Cleaning Lady (2022-Now)

Any show about gangsters needs a good cop investigating and trying to bring them down, and Liza Weil has starred as confident and cunning FBI agent Katherine Russo on The Cleaning Lady for the thriller’s entire run so far.

The Heat (2013)

Need a wild action comedy about two mismatched officers (one a prim, by-the-book FBI agent, and the other a crass, quick-to-anger, by-any-means-necessary local cop) who have to get along enough to get a drug lord off the streets? Then you should watch Melissa McCarthy as police detective Shannon Mullins ASAP.

The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers (2021-2022)

This follow-up to The Mighty Ducks film franchise hit Disney+ and brought GG fans more of Lauren Graham, as she starred as Alex Morrow, who forms and then coaches a new underdog hockey team after her son is cut by the Ducks.

The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants (2005)

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is a two-film franchise that still means a lot to those who were young women at the time it was released. There’s no better time than now to revisit (or watch for the first time) Alexis Bledel as Lena in both films.

An Unmarried Woman (1978)

Here’s a throwback for you. The 1978 romantic comedy-drama, An Unmarried Woman, features a performance from none other than Emily Gilmore herself, Kelly Bishop, as Elaine, a good friend of the title character.

The Lost Boys (1987)

Alright, this one’s technically a throwback, too, it just doesn’t go back quite as far. But, The Lost Boys is a definite teen horror classic, along with talents like Kiefer Sutherland and Corey Feldman, stars Richard Gilmore actor, Edward Hermann, in an important role.

Prodigal Son (2019-2021)

This Fox crime drama may not have lasted long, but it certainly had a dedicated fanbase, and some of that was likely because of Keiko Agena’s work as the kind, trusting, and socially awkward medical examiner, Dr. Edrisa Tanaka.

Sullivan’s Crossing (2023-2024)

The family drama, Sullivan’s Crossing, came to The CW with a treat for Gilmore Girls fans, as it brought Scott Patterson back to the network as the estranged father, Sully, of the lead character, big city neurosurgeon Maggie Sullivan, who returns to her small Nova Scotia town after a scandal.

Mike & Molly (2010-2016)

The long-running comedy Mike & Molly is another of Melissa McCarthy’s post-GG projects. This CBS hit saw the titular couple fall in love after a health-related meet-cute, and work on their relationship while attempting to deal with their often wacky families and friends, and life’s many ups and downs. Check it out for McCarthy’s Emmy-winning performance.

Sin City (2005)

Based on the comic book series of the same name, Sin City is a noirish, action-filled crime drama that just so happens to feature Alexis Bledel as a…well, not entirely trustworthy participant in the rampant criminal shenanigans that abound in the sinful city of the title.

The John Larroquette Show (1993-1996)

One of the very few series to take place in St. Louis, Missouri, The John Larroquette Show was a sitcom that saw the actor portray the night manager of a run-down downtown bus station, with Liz Torres, who played the bubbly and gossipy dance teacher Miss Patty on Gilmore Girls, as his secretary. Torres received two Emmy nominations for her work here, so it’s definitely worth a watch.

The Resident (2018-2023)

Considering the number of medical shows that tend to fill the airwaves, it’s a bit of a surprise that it’s taken this long to get to one, but it is a pretty fine one. The Resident stars Matt Czuchry as the conceited (but still somehow charming) Dr. Conrad Hawkins, a third-year resident who practices with unconventional techniques and a knowledge of the business of medicine who’s determined to stop younger residents from putting their chosen profession on a pedestal.

All In The Family (1971-1978)

If you haven’t yet watched the classic ‘70s sitcom, All In the Family, you’re missing out. Not only does the Norman Lear series use its humor to tackle a number of hot-button issues that are still very relevant for today’s audiences, but it also features Sally Struthers (she was Lorelei and Rory’s nosy neighbor in Stars Hollow, Babette) in her Emmy-winning role as Gloria, the somewhat childish, college-aged daughter of Archie and Edith Bunker.

Walker (2021-2024)

After his immensely successful run on Supernatural, Jared Padalecki moved right on to yet another show on The CW. This one, Walker, was a reimagining of the long-running Chuck Norris hit Walker, Texas Ranger, which saw Padalecki take on the lead role as he returned home after being undercover for two years while trying to reconnect with his teenage children and figure out how his wife really died.

True Blood (2008-2014)

Here’s one that’s easy to miss, even if you’re a die-hard Gilmore Girls fan. Among the many characters, human and supernatural, who populated the HBO vampire series True Blood for seven seasons, you see plenty of Merlotte's Bar & Grill short order cook, the kind but troubled Terry Bellefleur. But, did you know that he’s portrayed by Todd Lowe, the same guy who brought us Hep Alien’s dim, womanizing, guitar-playing, lead-singing wanna-be rock star Zack Van Gerbig? Well, now you do!

Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018)

Melissa MacCarthy was able to hit the Academy Awards red carpet as a nominee again when she starred in the biographical film Can You Ever Forgive Me? As writer Lee Israel. It’s based on Israel’s memoir of the same name, where she talks about her attempt to revive her writing career by forging letters from deceased celebrities and selling them. This critically acclaimed drama is one not to miss.

Spy (2015)

Last, but not least, we have another of Melissa McCarthy’s winning comedies in Spy. The movie follows CIA employee Susan Cooper, who is only allowed to assist her James Bond-esque partner via a desk job at the home office and an earpiece. But, when an operation goes wrong and leads to her partner’s death, Susan volunteers to go into the field and get to the bottom of things. Seeing as how this is a McCarthy film, you can bet that the situation gets hilariously out of hand before all is said and done, and you’ll be better for it!

As you can clearly see, while Gilmore Girls has been off the air for nearly 20 years, not only has it not been forgotten, but its stars have continued to keep us entertained in a number of other TV shows and movies, and hopefully will for many years to come!

Vampire stories have existed for over a century, with various mediums covering various icons of undead bloodsucking. Whether they’re funny, frightening, or somewhere attractively in between, vampire stories are too good to pass up. So if you’re looking to hang out with these creatures of the night, check out this list of the best vampire movies and TV shows! (Sorry Twilight fans, you didn’t make the cut.)

The Lost Boys (1987)

One of the best ‘80s movies ever, The Lost Boys introduced us to David (Kiefer Sutherland), the Peter Pan of vampires. Director Joel Schumacher’s horror-comedy kept vampires terrifying, while also adding the attractive allure that we’ve seen repeated throughout various incarnations. Not to mention, this has one of the best final punchlines a movie has ever landed.

True Blood (2008 - 2014)

Adapting Charlaine Harris’ novels revolving around Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), True Blood is an HBO hit that fans still reflect upon. By the end of its seven-season run, the small town of Bon Temps encountered sultry romance, dark comedy, and terror at the hands of werewolves, fairies, and witches. But the bedrock of this series has always been the social commentary told in a world where vampires are widely acknowledged…and are naturally persecuted.

Interview With The Vampire (1994)

For a performer as versatile as Tom Cruise happens to be, it’s still a disappointment that he was never given the chance to return to the role of Lestat de Lioncourt. Interview with the Vampire’s 1994 film adaptation saw Brad Pitt play the forlorn Louis de Pointe du Lac to Cruise’s chaotic sadist, and the contrast is amazing to watch in action. Also, Kirsten Dunst lands one hell of a breakout performance as Claudia, making this disturbing vampire family complete.

Fright Night (1985)

Charley Brewster (William Ragsdale) was your typical ‘80s movie teenager…until Jerry Dandridge (Chris Sarandon) moved into the neighborhood. Director Tom Holland’s vampire classic shows us what happens when a dopey teen squares off with a seductive yet sinister supernatural force; and it doesn’t skimp on the blood or the comedy in the process.

What We Do In The Shadows (2019 - 2024)

Six seasons still doesn’t feel enough for FX’s What We Do in the Shadows adaptation. Expanding Taika Waititi’s 2014 mockumentary into an extended universe of lunacy, following Long Island’s found family of fang bearers (and Harvey Guillén’s Guillermo) became one of those rare cases where the TV version outdid the source film it was based on. From its humble origins, straight through to What We Do in the Shadows’ perfect series finale, the series was a consistently funny delight.

Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)

Much as 2024’s Nosferatu strived to be a more modern adaptation of F.W. Murnau’s classic mockbuster, 1992’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula gave fans fresh blood when telling this time-worn classic. Gary Oldman plays the Francis Ford Coppola-directed spin on this character as both a tragic romantic and a vicious adversary.

Dark Shadows (1991)

Reinventing the classic ABC soap opera as a darker, moodier affair, the short-lived NBC revival of Dark Shadows tried to make a name for itself in 1991. As Ben Cross stepped into the iconic role of Barnabas Collins, it’s miles away from the 2012 Tim Burton adaptation, which turned the more gothically inclined story into a silly comedy. It probably didn't help that this dramatic reimagining was staked after a short first season.

Shadow Of The Vampire (2000)

Decades before Willem Dafoe would play for the human team in Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu, the Academy Award nominee actually dipped his fangs into the legendary off-brand remake of Dracula through Shadow of the Vampire. A dark comedy that shows us the “real story” behind F.W. Murnau (John Malkovich) and his horror milestone, the plot alleges that Dafoe’s Max Schreck was an actual vampire/movie-making diva.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1997 - 2003)

Joss Whedon’s horror/comedy cult classic found a second life as a seven-season TV series, with Sarah Michelle Gellar embodying a more grounded incarnation of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The tone wasn’t the only improvement, as some of the best Buffy episodes experimented with form, and gave us impressive guest stars like John Ritter and a pre-fame Pedro Pascal. It was also one of the most effective heartbreakers, thanks to some deaths and romances that didn’t always involve the undead.

Nosferatu (2024)

Robert Eggers is a modern horror master that understands the classics. His 2024 adaptation of Nosferatu proved that fact yet again, thanks to a new spin on director F. W. Murneau’s bootleg classic. Despite Bill Skarsgard’s gross-out latex stories and Count Orlock looking quite imposing, his would-be romance with Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp) is as haunting as it is intriguing.

The Strain (2014 - 2017)

Co-creators Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan created a horror literary hit with their trilogy of books telling the story of The Strain. So when it came time to adapt the series to TV, FX gave it a four-season epic that covered this apocalypse from its very beginning. Dishing out vampire lore, while giving us intriguing characters on both sides of the conflict, the tale even gave us one of Stephen King’s favorite TV monster hunters!

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

It sucks that the big twist of Robert Rodriguez’s From Dusk Till Dawn kind of needs to be spoiled in instances like this. What begins as a crime thriller that sees the Gecko Brothers (George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino) kidnapping a family as cover for their escape to Mexico turns into something much more deadly. I’m not going to say it’s vampires, but if you know this list, or even know this movie, you know what’s up.

Midnight Mass (2021)

Creator Mike Flanagan delivered an opus of horror and humanity in the Netflix limited series Midnight Mass. “Transformation” is the one word this story could be boiled down to, as the mysterious Father Paul Hill (Hamish Linklater) arrives on Crockett Island just as some interesting occurrences start to take shape. You can expect to be frightened, but don’t be surprised if you end up crying here and there.

Let The Right One In (2008)

A methodically haunting film, Let The Right One In is a vampire movie on its surface. As bullied loner Oskar (Kåre Hedebrant) starts to strike up a friendship with Eli (Lina Leandersson), their deepening connection leads to an unintended web of death. But the more you look under the surface of author John Ajvide Lindqvist’s screenplay adapting his own book, the more you’ll see the subtle mix between the disturbing and the melancholic.

Angel (1999 - 2004)

It’s rare that a spinoff can pack as much of a punch as its predecessor, but Angel managed to do just that. The David Boreanaz-led offshoot from Buffy the Vampire Slayer was cut short at the end of Season 5, despite co-star James Marsters noting Angel’s huge audience spike. So if you’re ready for a noir-tinged L.A. adventure that ends rather abruptly, look no further.

Van Helsing (2004)

What do you do when you’ve landed two successful Mummy movies with Brendan Fraser? Well, if you’re director Stephen Sommers, you try your hand at the rest of the Universal Monsters universe in one fell swoop with a movie like Van Helsing. With Hugh Jackman playing a variant of the titular legendary vampire hunter, there are all sorts of creatures that he has to contend with; leading to an adventure that’s just as blood-pumping and hysterical as The Mummy.

Castlevania (2017 - 2021)

Netflix’s adaptation of the Konami video game Castlevania didn’t have to go that hard. And yet, the religious overtones and painted blood both flowed as Dracula himself tried to start a reign of terror in Romania. A terrific video game adaptation, and a hell of a cartoon, the legacy continues in a follow-up series, Castlevania: Nocturne.

The Last Voyage Of The Demeter (2023)

It took decades for The Last Voyage of the Demeter to finally become a reality. Focusing on the chapter of Bram Stoker’s Dracula in which the vampiric menace makes his crossing to England, this ensemble horror show is a beautiful slow burn. Audiences may not have dug this one upon initial release, but director André Øvredal’s richly drawn nightmare is ripe to be discovered by audiences in the mood for something underrated.

The Munsters (1964 - 1966)

Yes, The Munsters technically counts as a vampire show. With Lily (Yvonne DeCarlo) and Grandpa (Al Lewis) making up the fanged contingent of the family, their misadventures with the lovably dopey creature Herman (Fred Gwynne) made for a memorable TV sitcom. And to think, between the debuts of The Addams Family and Batman, network execs somehow thought there wasn’t room for this monstrous slice of life.

Blade II (2002)

People might see the first two Blade movies as interchangeable on a list like this. They’d be wrong, because while Wesley Snipes’ origin story in the Marvel Comics universe is impressive, Blade II really makes him sing. Director Guillermo del Toro not only got to sort of test out his vampires for The Strain through the designs of the Reapers, he also gave us scenes between Snipes and Ron Perlman that only make the action even more...exciting.

Being Human (2008 - 2013)

Can a ghost, a vampire, and a werewolf truly live together? That might sound like the setup to a joke, but the BBC series Being Human did ask, and answer, that very question through five seasons. With the vampire part of the equation being filled by John Mitchell (Aidan Turner) and later Hal Yorke (Damien Molony), creator Toby Whitehouse’s show would eventually be remade in the US, with none of the casting switch-ups of its source material.

Abigail (2024)

Radio Silence’s abilities with comedy and horror are cranked up and given fangs in Abigail. As a bunch of amateur kidnappers wander into a job where they have to grab and babysit a 12-year-old girl (Alisha Weir), the tables soon turn as this older-than-she-looks menace hunts her would-be captors. If you’re looking for more Kevin Durand vampire action, fans of The Strain should give this flick a spin.

Rosario + Vampire (2008)

Vampires can be rather cute if you write them the right way. The two-season anime adaptation of the manga Rosario + Vampire is one such project, as it follows young man Tsukune Aono who accidentally finds himself going to a monsters-only boarding school. Luckily for him, vampire girl Moka Akashiya helps him survive, as she’s not only friendly, but she also has a crush on our hero.

Vampires Vs. The Bronx (2020)

There are two huge reasons vampire fans should watch the ever-charming horror-comedy Vampires vs. The Bronx. The first one is obviously because of the fact that using gentrification as a metaphor for a vampiric conquest is pretty sharp. But another fantastic note to make is that this is a modern flick that establishes Blade as a sacred vampire text. So if you like Wesley Snipes’ Daywalker, this Netflix original is an easy option.

Anne Rice’s Interview With The Vampire (2022 - )

There is a lot of queer subtext that the movie adaptation of Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire couldn’t fully dig into in the mid-’90s. So when AMC got its hands on the rights to reinterpret the entire book series, the new Louis (Jacob Anderson) and Lestat (Sam Reid) were able to really sink their teeth into everything fans already knew about these undead foils.

Fright Night (2011)

It’s always amazing when a remake can stand on its own two feet, honoring its source while also doing its own thing. 2011’s revamped version of Fright Night is a beautiful case in point, especially when focusing on the villainous vampire Jerry Dandridge. Played by Colin Farrell, Jerry’s romantic melancholy is replaced with dude bro sociopath energy aimed at Anton Yelchin's Charlie Brewster. Also, David Tennant’s Peter Vincent, heavily influenced by mid-aughts illusionist Criss Angel, is another deliciously R-rated note in this picture’s arsenal.

The Vampire Diaries (2009 - 2017)

If you mix in a little bit of Twilight with a touch of Supernatural and a heaping dose of Dracula, you’ve got the formula for The CW hit The Vampire Diaries. With two spin-offs and plenty of smoldering good looks from cast members like Ian Somerhalder and Nina Dobrev, this is a pure example of what the network was known for in its heyday.

Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018)

Kids need to be introduced to vampires at some point, and the Hotel Transylvania series is probably the best way to get youngsters acquainted with creatures of the night. But suppose you really want to go for the comedic gold. In that case, it's recommended you watch Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation, as it pits lonely widower Drac (Adam Sandler) against his would-be hunter/potential love interest Ericka (Kathryn Hahn)...the great-granddaughter of the Van Helsing (Jim Gaffigan.)

American Horror Story: Hotel (2015 - 2016)

The fifth season of Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story mixed two things that people can’t get enough of: murder hotels, and the creatures that run them. Acting as a web of mayhem, intrigue, and bloodletting orchestrated by the alluring Countess (Lady Gaga), things get as twisted and steamy as you’d expect from FX’s long-running masterpiece of fright.

Jesus Christ: Vampire Hunter

Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter is a movie you should absolutely not take seriously. Unless you take your low-budget musical horror comedies gravely serious; in which case continue as planned. Director Lee Demarbre and writer Ian Driscoll leave it all on the field in a picture that’s so absurd, that no synopsis would do it justice. You’ll just have to trust your heart, and The Lord, and this one.

NOS4A2 (2019 - 2020)

Author Joe Hill’s NOS4A2 is a twisted gem that father Stephen King is probably very proud of. Sharing similar sensibilities to his master of horror dad, vampire Charlie Manx (Zachary Quinto) hunts young children to stay immortal, and uses a sickly sweet Christmas village to do just that. Of course, with a seemingly psychic woman on his trail (Ashleigh Cummings), the playing field is a bit more evened out in this two-season scrap.

Vamp (1986)

If you’re heading out for a little bit of nightlife, you should always keep in mind where you’re headed. The young men at the heart of 1986’s Vamp didn’t get that warning, which is what leads them to the nightclub that introduces them to the enigmatic Katrina (Grace Jones). A night of fatal misadventure follows, as this After Hours style horror-comedy doesn’t let our protagonists off easy.

Television is a valued and iconic part of the pop culture landscape and continues to create viral and memorable moments. That includes TV mistakes, whether they be poor writing or a flub that's noticed by the public. And there are 32 TV mistakes off the top of my head that stand out, spanning scripted, reality, and live television. Let's break it all down.

To be clear, this isn't a list of solely continuity errors or viral newscaster flubs. Instead, it's combining both of these categories, as well as narrative issues that have continued to plague the reputation of popular TV shows. And some of them just happen to be the most memorable TV moment from that particular show. In no specific order here is the list. Although a spoiler alert is in play for the scripted shows.

Warren Beatty And Faye Dunaway's Oscars Flub

The biggest story to come out of the 2017 Academy Awards ceremony was that presenters Faye Dunaway and Warren Betty accidentally named La La Land the Best Picture winner when it was actually Barry Jenkins' Moonlight. It was a truly wild to end the night and was one of the most memorable moments to come out of the star-studded event in modern memory. That is, until the infamous Will Smith slap incident.

Jeff Varner Outs Zeke, Survivor 

Survivor is one of the best reality shows of all time and has remained wildly popular in the decades since it first premiered. The show is endlessly captivating because every season is different, and is influenced by the unique cast of characters. Unfortunately, the social experiment got ugly in Season 34, when Jeff Varner outed Zeke Smith as transgender in an attempt to prove that he was untrustworthy. 

Kathie Lee Forgets Martin Short's Wife Had Died

Kathie Lee Gifford has a long career on TV, and had her own hour of The Today Show for years on NBC. While she and Hota Kotb had plenty of fans, there were some noticeable missteps along the way. Chief among them was an interview with Martin Short, where Kathie Lee referred to his late wife and seemingly forgot she had actually passed away two years earlier. It's wildly awkward, although the Only Murders in the Building star handled it with grace.

Dany Burns King's Landing, Game Of Thrones

Throughout Game of Thrones' run on TV, Emilia Clarke's Daenerys Targaryen was one of the show's primary heroes. Fans were thrilled when she finally appeared in Westeros to take the Iron Throne, and were shocked and disappointed when she suddenly decided to burn King's Landing down, killing thousands of innocent people. And fans have been complaining about this plot choice, and how quickly she went mad, for years. 

Asking the Models To Change Races, America's Next Top Model

America's Next Top Model ran for many years, and had a number of controversial challenges that haven't aged very well. Chief among them was back in Cycle 4, where models were asked to portray another race for a photo shoot. Before the term "cultural appropriation" was known, this was a wild challenge that seriously gives the ick... and happens to be one of the most iconic reality TV moments. 

The Faithful Trusting Cirie, The Traitors

The first season of The Traitors US was a big experiment, with the show's second season helping to make it a wildly successful Emmy-winning hit. Season 1 featured a mix of celebrities and normal folks, including Survivor legend Cirie Fields. Unfortunately, her allies seemingly didn't know her reputation, and completely trusted her and allowed her to easily win and take the money in the end. And the reunion was super awkward. 

Miss Teen South Carolina's Map Question

Every so often a beauty pageant will go viral, usually for all the wrong reasons. There are few as iconic as Miss Teen South Carolina Caitlin Upton's interview answer from back in 2007. She's asked why young Americans can't locate the country on a map, and has a stream-of-consciousness answer that's iconic in its word salad-ness. 

Netflix Canceling Mindhunter

After the streaming wars began, it became clear that services were producing way too much original content. Netflix has canceled a number of beloved shows, but few have caused as much of a stir as Mindhunter. David Fincher's drama was a gripping story, but Netflix won't let Fincher continue with Season 3. 

Anne Hathway And James Franco Hosting The Oscars

Finding the right host for ceremonies like the Academy Awards is easier said than done, and there have been some stinkers over the years. Back in 2011 James Franco and Anne Hathaway hosted together, and it was an extremely awkward viewing experience. While the Les Miserables actress was seemingly trying to make it as perfect as can be, that stood in juxtaposition to Franco's laid-back stance.

Separating Lorelai And Rory, Gilmore Girls

Gilmore Girls ran for seven seasons and continues to have staying power thanks to new audiences streaming the show (and its reboot) on Netflix. However, Season 6 remains controversial for fans because Lorelai and Rory aren't on speaking terms throughout much of it. And that served as an example of a time when Lorelai was the worst.

Season 2, Heroes

The first season of Heroes was a huge success for NBC, offering a unique take on a superhero story. Unfortunately, the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike happened during Season 2, resulting in a disappointing and shorter installment. While the show would continue it never reached its former glory, and many characters and plot lines from Season 2 were abandoned altogether.

Fonzie Jumps The Shark, Happy Days

This moment changed the TV world forever and inspired a new pop culture for the masses. While "jumping the shark" is a phrase used to describe a TV show that goes off the wall, it's something that actually happened during Happy Days' run. Talk about a mistake. 

Killing Off McDreamy, Grey's Anatomy

Grey's Anatomy is one of the longest-running shows of all time and many of the OG fans (as well as the original cast) have dropped off as a result. While it was tough to continue the show without Sandra Oh's Cristina Yang, eventually the show had to write off Patrick Dempsey's Derek Shepherd... by tragically killing him. And for many the show hasn't been the same since. 

The Grape Stomping Lady

Journalist Melissa Sander became instantly recognizable thanks to a news blunder she was involved in which became one of YouTube's earliest viral videos. In it, she's stomping on grapes, and suddenly falls and gets the wind knocked out of her. The noises she makes and the instant karma of the video have helped it remain iconic through the years. 

Ralph Bohner, WandaVision

WandaVision was wildly popular upon its release on Disney+, especially as we were in the midst of isolating due to the pandemic. Fans were shocked when X-Men star Evan Peters showed up as "Pietro", since Quicksilver was played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson in the MCU. In the end, this was all a gag, with his character Ralph Bohner being perhaps the show's only misstep. 

Lisa Barlow's Hot Mic, The Real Housewives Of Salt Lake City

Throughout the many years of The Real Housewives franchise, there have been a few notable hot mic moments. But the most iconic came from RHOSLC's Lisa Barlow, where she went off on a wild rant about Meredith Marks behind closed doors. Unfortunately, her mic was very much still on.

Ashlee Simpson's Performance, SNL

Ashlee Simpson was a popular reality TV star and recording artist in the early aughts, and eventually, she was offered a chance to perform on Saturday Night Live. But Simpson got caught lip-syncing, and that viral moment has continued to haunt her in the years since this infamous performance.  

Robert Durst's Bathroom Confession, The Jinx

True crime documentaries are super popular, and The Jinx is one of the best true crime shows on streaming. In the Season 1 finale, after denying having killed anyone, subject Robert Durst went to the bathroom with a hot mic on, where he seemingly confessed to "killing them all." 

Flash Sideways, Lost

Lost was super popular during its run on the air, although there's been some debate about how its quality dipped in later years. While the show often used flashbacks to offer context on the characters, the final season featured the controversial flash sideways, imagining a world where Oceanic 815 never crashed. The controversial Lost finale explained this, but not before fans got frustrated.

Killing Tara Offscreen, True Blood

Most shows struggle to stick the landing during their final season, and HBO's True Blood is in a long line of shows with controversial finales. But perhaps the biggest mistake the show made was killing Rutina Wesley's character Tara (who had been there from the very beginning) offscreen. Fans hoped she survived for some of the season before it was clear she was never coming back.

Jennifer Hudson's Early Elimination, American Idol 

While Jennifer Hudson is known as one of the biggest success stories to come out of American Idol, she didn't go as far as folks might assume. She actually got seventh place in Season 3 of Idol, before eventually becoming a celebrated recording artist and actress. Talk about a mistake.

Turok-Han Power Levels, Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Season 7 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer introduced a new type of blood-drinking villain: the Turok-Han aka Uber Vamps. In their first appearances they're shown to be way more powerful than regular vampires, with even Buffy struggling to take one on. But by Buffy's series finale, even regular humans like Giles and Wood are able to fight them off, as well as the newly activated Potentials.

Will Smith's Oscars Slap

The most memorable thing to come out of the Oscars for years has to be when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on stage, in a moment that continues to follow his career. The Academy and the network have both caught flak for how they handled this, and how Smith was able to accept the Best Actor Oscar so shortly after the onscreen assault. 

Valentina Asks To Keep Her Mask On, RuPaul's Drag Race

Season 9 of Drag Race was a memorable one, and contestant Valentina quickly became a fan favorite. But her most memorable moment was definitely a flub, where she asked to keep her mask on during a lip sync against Nina Bo'nina Brown. Ru insists that she take it off, and it soon becomes clear Valentina simply doesn't know the lyrics to her song. 

The Infamous Starbucks Cup, Game Of Thrones

HBO's Game of Thrones was a sensation when it was on the air, even if the final season left something to be desired. But it also went viral for unique reasons, such as the GOT error where a Starbucks cup was visible in Westeros. Oops. 

Various Stand-Ins, Friends

Friends ran for a whopping ten seasons, which saw a ton of acclaim come to its star-studded cast. Scheduling was likely a bit of a puzzle at the height of its popularity, which is why fans have spotted several scenes where actors' stand-ins are visible. Hey, it was before we were filming in HD. 

The Demogorgon, Stranger Things

Stranger Things is arguably the most popular original show to come out of Netflix since its inception. But that doesn't mean it's perfect, especially related to the use of Dungeons & Dragons lore. Because in Season 1 while the cast references the Demogorgon and even has a figure for the creature, it actually wouldn't be available in the year 1983. Given how passionate D&D fans are, the folks at Netflix probably should have seen this coming. 

Maggie's Picture, The Simpsons

Even animated shows could have some goofs, and The Simpsons isn't excluded from this. During the Sixth Season episode "And Maggie Makes Three" we see Marge and Homer talk about her being pregnant with the titular baby. But despite her not being born yet, we can see a photo of Maggie on the wall. 

Bin Ladin Reference, Breaking Bad

Breaking Bad is considered one of the best TV dramas ever, and continues to be a re-watchable show. But it's not without error, especially when it referenced Osama Bin Laden's 2011 death, despite it only being around 2007 in the show. 

Erica Hahn's Story, Grey's Anatomy

Throughout its long run on the air, we've seen plenty of characters come and go on Grey's Anatomy. But few characters got the shaft as bad as Brooke Smith's Erica Hahn aka one of the most iconic LGBTQ+ Grey's characters. Shortly after dating Callie and giving a gorgeous monologue about realizing she was gay, she was promptly written off the show in favor of Arizona Robbins. 

Rose's Education Level, The Golden Girls

The Golden Girls is one of the best sitcoms of all time, and has truly aged like fine wine. However, there were some discrepancies throughout its run, particularly when it comes to the education level of Betty White's Rose. In some episodes, she claims to be the valedictorian of her high school, while in others it's said she dropped out and instead got a GED. 

Josh's Age, Boy Meets World

Boy Meets World is an iconic piece of '90s culture, one that many millennial fans grew up on. But there were a few head-scratchers/mistakes in the comedy, especially related to the age of Cory's younger brother Josh. One season he's a baby, and then he mysteriously ages to about 5 years old without anyone acknowledging how.

It may seem that your favorite character from your favorite TV show was always part of the main cast, but that might not be the case. In fact, some of the most iconic TV characters were never meant to last more than one or two episodes until a behind-the-scenes decision changed their fate. The following are some famous examples that might have you looking at your favorite show's next guest star differently.

Jesse Pinkman (Breaking Bad)

It was not just three-time Emmy winner Aaron Paul's brilliant, empathetic performance as Jesse Pinkman that kept him in the Breaking Bad cast until the end. Creator Vince Gilligan had a pitch for the early demise of Walter White's (Bryan Cranston) student-turned-partner that shocked studio executives so deeply, that he scrapped the idea and, thankfully, kept the fan-favorite character alive.

Andy Dwyer (Parks And Recreation)

The lovably absent-minded Andy Dwyer was originally meant to appear in just six episodes from the first season of Parks and Recreation when he was still dating Ann Perkins (Rashida Jones). Michael Schur found future blockbuster leading man Chris Pratt just too funny not to keep around, leading to his series regular promotion and Andy's eventual romance with April Ludgate (Aubrey Plaza).

Arthur "The Fonz" Fonzarelli (Happy Days)

The role that made Henry Winkler a star would eventually be the star of Happy Days. However, "Fonzy" was originally introduced as a small-sized character before the audience's rousing enthusiasm convinced producers to make his presence more frequent.

Frasier Crane (Cheers)

Kelsey Grammer's stint in the Cheers cast as Seattle-based psychiatrist Frasier Crane was originally meant to last only a few episodes. Yet, he became one of the NBC sitcom's most popular characters and went on to lead his own self-titled spin-off that was arguably as good as the original series.

Spike (Buffy The Vampire Slayer)

Spike started out as just another vampire for Sarah Michelle Gellar's titular hero to fight when he was first introduced in the second season of Joss Whedon's hit series. However, his subsequent popularity would ensure that James Masters got a regular role in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer cast and even became a love interest for Buffy.

Chandler Bing And Phoebe Buffay (Friends)

Before Matthew Perry and Lisa Kudrow were added to the Friends cast as Chandler and Phoebe, the sitcom was going to mainly focus on just four young New Yorkers. That was until the actors' natural charisma convinced creators David Crane and Marta Kauffman that they deserved starring roles instead of occasional appearances like they initially envisioned.

Carol Hathaway (ER)

If the pilot of ER were filmed exactly as it was originally written, it would been the first and last episode featuring Carol Hathaway (Julianna Margulies), who was initially going to take her own life. When test audiences made note of the nurse manager's chemistry with George Clooney as Doug Ross, the head writers kept her alive and on the show until Margulies left in Season 6.

Luke Danes (Gilmore Girls)

Diner owner Luke Danes was originally written as a woman, but creator Amy Sherman-Palladino did a gender swap when the network asked for more male characters. It was not until they noticed the chemistry between Gilmore Girls cast members Scott Patterson and Lauren Graham that their will-they-won't-they dynamic was incorporated into the dramedy.

Lafayette Reynolds (True Blood)

In only the second novel from Charlaine Harris' book series, The Southern Vampire Mysteries, Lafayette Reynolds is murdered. However, the psychic cook's onscreen counterpart (played by Nelsan Ellis) lived on in the HBO series adaptation (and one of the best horror TV shows on Max), True Blood, after developer Alan Ball realized how well the character fit in the world.

Castiel (Supernatural)

Played by Misha Collins (when possessing the body of Jimmy Novak), Castiel first appeared on Supernatural in Season 4 for what was intended to be just a three-season arc. Soon after, however, Collins was promoted to a series regular and the angel would remain a trusted ally to Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) Winchester.

Steve Urkel (Family Matters)

At first, ABC's spin-off of Perfect Strangers followed the lives of the Winslows, until the family sitcom's star family took a backseat to their nerdy neighbor, Steve Urkel. After Jaleel White's Season 1 guest spot rescued the show from cancellation, he made more appearances and was promoted to a series regular in the Family Matters cast in Season 2.

Andy Bernard (The Office)

Ed Helms' role as The Office character Andy Bernard was introduced in Season 3, which was initially conceived as his sole year on the mockumentary sitcom. However, creator Greg Daniels really liked the character and brought him back from anger management to be a permanent fixture of the Dunder Mifflin family.

Sgt. Fin Tutuola (Law & Order: SVU)

While most famous for a song about killing cops, rapper Ice-T's most famous acting role is, ironically, a police officer on Law & Order: SVU. Also ironic is the fact that Fin Tutuloa was originally conceived as a five-episode guest role in 2000, but would remain a regular part of the cast.

Jack Shephard (Lost)

Before Matthew Fox joined the Lost cast as Jack Shephard, the character was supposed to die in the pilot to establish that no character was safe in the survival drama. In fact, Michael Keaton signed on to play the role under this condition but dropped out when they decided to make him the lead because he did not want to commit to a series at the time.

Felicity Smoak (Arrow)

Based on the DC Comics character of the same name, Felicity Smoak was initially introduced in the first season of Arrow in a recurring role. Emily Bett Rickards would be promoted to series regular, however, when the role was promoted to Oliver Queen's primary love interest.

Steve Harrington (Stranger Things)

A prime example of a character who underwent a major personality change is Steve Harrington (Joe Kerry), who was initially introduced in Stranger Things' first season as some archetypal '80s high school bully with an expiration date. However, fans' unexpectedly positive response, thankfully, led to the character's revamping and ensured Keery would be a valuable member of the Hawkins crew.

Boyd Crowder (Justified)

Watching U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) and career criminal Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins) flip back and forth is one of the most addictive elements of Justified. Thus, we are thankful Boyd survived the pilot episode instead of being killed, like in Elmore Leonard's original short story, "Fire in the Hole," and that Goggins was promoted to series regular.

NoHo Hank (Barry)

Anthony Carrigan is easily one of the standouts of HBO's Barry cast for his performance as Chechen criminal NoHo Hank. It is no wonder his role expanded beyond Season 1 despite initial plans to kill him off.

The Armorer (The Mandalorian)

The Armorer (Emily Swallow) is one of the most fascinating and multi-layered characters from Disney+'s Star Wars Universe TV show, The Mandalorian. Her arc nearly ended with the first season in a scrapped scene that depicted her sacrificing her life.

Logan Roy (Succession)

No one could have succeeded in the role that Logan Roy played in HBO's Succession cast, but there could have been a major void left in his place had things gone as originally planned. Brian Cox's role was meant to die after Season 1, but instead survived and became one of the hit dramedy's most beloved characters.

Topanga Lawrence (Boy Meets World)

In creators Michael Jacobs and April Kelly's TGIF favorite, Topanga Lawrence was first introduced as that one weird girl in Cory Matthews' (Ben Savage) class. Soon enough, however, Danielle Fishel would be promoted to a series regular in the Boy Meets World cast after it was decided that the character would be Cory's love interest.

Gunther (Friends)

James Michael Tyler was merely hired on Friends as a background actor for scenes taking place at the Central Perk at first. In Season 2, however, the coffee shop manager was given the name Gunther, and the actor was promoted to a recurring supporting role that went on to appear in 185 episodes total.

Janitor (Scrubs)

The unnamed Janitor was originally conceived as a recurring role because it was going to be revealed at the end of Season 1 that he only existed in J.D.'s (Zach Braff) imagination. Creator Bill Lawrence decided to scrap that idea and make Neil Flynn a main part of the Scrubs cast after noticing the actor's improvisational skills, which ended beautifully for the character.

President Josiah Bartlet (The West Wing)

When Aaron Sorkin first conceived the idea for his Emmy-winning political drama, it was meant to focus primarily on the White House staff, with the President of the United States only showing up every so often or even not at all. Luckily, that changed and Martin Sheen's performance in NBC's The West Wing cast as Josiah Bartlet became one of the most beloved and inspiring highlights of the series.

Elijah Krantz (Girls)

Broadway theatre sensation Andrew Rannells first joined the cast of HBO's Girls as Hannah's formerly closeted college boyfriend Elijah Krantz in a very minor role before coming back occasionally during the first three years. By the dramedy's fourth season, creators Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner decided to add Rannells as a series regular and Elijah went on to become one of the series' most memorably funny characters.

April Ludgate (Parks And Recreation)

April Ludgate from Parks and Recreation is more than just a character who was not originally planned for a big role. There were no plans for her to be a part of the show at all until creator Michael Schur met Aubrey Plaza during the casting process and was so impressed with her talent that he invented a role just for her.

Aram Mojtabai (The Blacklist)

In the first season of NBC's The Blacklist, Aram Mojtabai was brought in by the FBI as a cyber crime consultant for what was only meant to be one episode. However, the writers responded well to actor Amir Arison's ad-libbing, started calling him back for more episodes, and made him a series regular in Season 2. 

Summer Roberts (The O.C.)

Rachel Bilson had very little screen time in the first episode of The O.C. and her character, Summer Robert, was practically written as an unnamed friend to Marrissa (Mischa Barton). Creator Josh Schwartz found the actor's grasp on the character to be very compelling and her chemistry with Seth actor Adam Brody led him to write her a much bigger part for the coming-of-age drama.

Joshua Rosza (The Originals)

Steven Krueger was first brought in for a minor recurring stint on The Originals as Joshua Rosza. However, by season 5, the vampire character became a regular role in the hit supernatural drama.

Killian Jones/Captain Hook (Once Upon A Time)

When ABC's fantasy series Once Upon a Time brought in Killian Jones (who is really Peter Pan's nemesis, Captain Hook), it was initially meant to be for a five-episode run in Season 2. While he quickly became a fan favorite due to his chemistry with Jennifer Morrison, his promotion to a regular role really came about when the cast and crew became deeply impressed with Colin O'Donoghue's performance.

Brittany S. Pierce (Glee)

Heather Morris was initially brought on to the Glee set to help teach the cast members how to do the dance from Beyonce's "Single Ladies" video before she ended up landing a guest role as Brittany Pierce. However, after he discovered her comedic talents, co-creator Ryan Murphy began giving the once-frequently silent cheerleader more things to say before making Morris a series regular.

Kima Greggs (The Wire)

While filming the first season of The Wire, Sonja Sohn discovered by accident that her arc as Shakima "Kima" Greggs was originally intended to end in the 10th episode of the crime drama. Luckily, HBO executive Carolyn Strauss expressed interest in the character, convincing showrunner David Simon to have her survive her planned shooting and come back for the remainder of the series.

Age-rap relationships aren't a rarity on television: in fact, they pop up in seemingly every genre, whether a big fantasy blockbuster like Game of Thrones, a beloved network sitcom like Modern Family, or an acclaimed drama like Succession. And in many cases, the TV wife is much younger than her onscreen spouse — here are 32 TV couples where the bride is married to a much older groom. 

Daenerys Targaryen (Game of Thrones)

There was a 15-year age difference between royal teen Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) and her much older husband, Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa), on HBO's Game of Thrones. Even more surprising, Khaleesi was even younger in the George R. R. Martin novels upon which the fantasy show was based: though she's aged 17 in season one, she's only 13 in the book. 

Gloria Delgado-Pritchett (Modern Family)

Gloria Delgado-Pritchett (Sofia Vergara) is not only 25 years younger than her 60-something Modern Family hubby Jay (Ed O'Neill), but she's also only 14 months younger than her stepdaughter Claire (Julie Bowen). And while that hefty age disparity definitely lends itself to plenty of comedy throughout 11 seasons of the ABC sitcom, their relationship is actually one of the show's staples. 

Ethel Mertz (I Love Lucy)

Though Vivian Vance was only two years older than her onscreen BFF Lucille Ball when the classic comedy I Love Lucy began in 1951, the actress was a whopping 22 years younger than her TV spouse William Frawley, who played the Fred to her Ethel. Rumor has it that Vance wasn't too pleased to be paired with the older actor and their offscreen relationship was less pleasant than their famous chemistry suggests. 

Skyler White (Breaking Bad)

Skyler White (Anna Gunn) got a lot of hate during Breaking Bad's six-season run, but her husband Walt (Bryan Cranston) was running an entire meth empire behind her back so yes, she very much had reason to be upset with him. Walt was actually 12 years older than his wife, so he was definitely grown enough to know better than to get involved with the world of drug cartels. 

Julie Cooper (The O.C.) 

Marissa Cooper's mom Julie (Melinda Clarke) participated in her fair share of May-December romances as part of The O.C. cast, even having an affair with her daughter's ex-boyfriend Luke Ward (Chris Carmack). But it was her age-gap marriage to Caleb Nichol (Alan Dale) — the two-decades-older father of her friend Kristen — that earns her a spot on this list. 

Megan Draper (Mad Men)

The second wife of Don Draper (Jon Hamm) was the already younger Betty (January Jones), who was six or seven years his junior. But his third bride, Megan (Jessica Paré), was even younger than that: per The Daily Beast, Megan was somewhere between 25 and 26 years old this season, about 15 years younger than her husband and little more than a decade older than his daughter Sally (Kiernan Shipka).

Fran Fine (The Nanny)

Mr. Sheffield (Charles Shaughnessy) was a fortysomething widower and father of three when Fran Fine (Fran Drescher) ended up on his doorstep selling makeup and later became not only the nanny but the stepmother of his children. And though Fran lying about her age is a running joke throughout the CBS sitcom — in one late episode, even the FBI can't verify her real birthdate — it's clear that she's at least a decade younger than her husband. 

April Ludgate (Parks and Recreation)

There was an eight-year age difference between coworkers-turned-spouses April Ludgate (Aubrey Plaza) and Andy Dwyer (Chris Pratt) in Parks and Recreation. It was revealed during the first season of the beloved NBC sitcom that April was 19 years old while Andy was 28, an age gap which, though totally legal, didn't actually adhere to Andy's "half my age, plus seven" dating rule. 

Cheryl Mabel (According To Jim)

Though we actually don't learn the age of suburban mom Cheryl (played by Courtney Thorne-Smith) during eight seasons of the ABC sitcom According to Jim, it's safe to assume that the TV wife is more youthful than her onscreen hubby Jim (Jim Belushi), given that the actress playing her is 12 years younger than her co-star. 

Laura Petrie (The Dick Van Dyke Show)

Mary Tyler Moore was 24 when she began playing Laura Petrie, the stylish, capris-panted wife of TV writer Rob Petrie (Dick Van Dyke), on The Dick Van Dyke Show in 1961. Moore was eleven years younger than the show's eponymous star, an age difference that Van Dyke revealed to Entertainment Tonight initially gave him pause. However, show creator Carl Reiner assured the actor: "I said, 'Nobody's going to know...Nobody ever even mentioned it. The first time they kissed on the pilot, that was it. They were together."

Princess Diana (The Crown)

Some TV couple age gaps are rooted in reality. Case in point, the age difference between the then-Prince of Wales, Charles III, and his 12-years-younger bride, Princess Diana, portrayed in Netflix's historical drama The Crown by Josh O'Connor and Emma Corrin in seasons 3 and 4, and Dominic West and Elizabeth Debicki in seasons 5 and 6. 

Alicent Hightower (House Of The Dragon)

The fact that King Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine) married his daughter's best friend, Queen Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), isn't the only awkward part about their relationship — there's also that considerable age difference. In George R. R. Martin's Fire & Blood, 30-year-old Viserys is 11 years older than his young bride; however, the onscreen age gap is much larger, with Viserys played by 50-year-old Considine and frequently in poor health in the fantasy series. 

Joanna Loudon (Newhart)

Mary Frann, best known for her role as Joanna Loudon, the wife of Bob Newhart's character on the CBS sitcom Newhart, was 13 years older than her iconic co-star. Per that infamous series finale, the storylines from the small-town sitcom all ended up being a dream inside the mind of Bob Hartley from The Bob Newhart Show, so it seems like a much younger TV wife was simply wishful thinking. 

Wanda Maximoff (WandaVision)

Given that WandaVision picked up just a few weeks after that big old Blip in Avengers: Endgame, we know that Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) was still 28 years old in the Disney+ miniseries. As for her android husband, Vision (Paul Bettany) was technically only six at the time of the show, since he was "created" in 2015's Age of Ultron. But things get even more complicated when you consider that Bettany is nearly two decades older than his onscreen wife. 

Rhonda Volmer (Big Love)

HBO's polygamy drama Big Love saw many big age-gap marriages in its five seasons, which ran on the network from 2006 to 2011, but the couple with the largest disparity was octogenarian Juniper Creek prophet Roman Grant (Harry Dean Stanton) and his teen bride-to-be Rhonda Volmer (Daveigh Chase).

Peg Bundy (Married... with Children)

Katey Sagal started her role as Peggy Bundy on Married... with Children when she was 33 years old, eight years junior to her male counterpart Ed O'Neill, who played Al Bundy. However, Sagal mentioned in several interviews over the years that she always imagined Peg to be even younger than Al; in a season 11 episode, her character jokes that she was 9 years old and Al 18 when they wed. 

Sansa Stark (Game of Thrones)

As is the case with many Game of Thrones characters, both Tyrion Lannister (played by Peter Dinklage) and his younger missus Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) were aged up a few years from the A Song of Ice and Fire books for the HBO series. In the fantasy novels, Sansa is said to be 13 years old and Tyrion 26 at the time of their marriage; in the TV show, however, the Stark daughter was 15 and the Lannister lad around 34. 

Fiona Gallagher (Shameless)

With an absentee mother and an alcoholic father, Fiona Gallagher (Emma Rossum) was forced to grow up early as the matriarch of the Gallagher clan in Showtime's Shameless. So it wasn't too much of a surprise when the 23-year-old was set to wed Sean Pierce (Dermot Mulroney), the fortysomething owner of her employer Patsy's Pies. However, their marital plans fell through when his troubled past came back to haunt them. 

Meredith Grey (Grey's Anatomy)

In the season 1 script for the long-running medical drama, then-surgical intern Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) was described as 32 years old, making her older than the rest of the mid-twenties interns but about seven years younger than her McDreamy one-night stand and eventual husband, Dr. Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey). 

Anna Smith (Downton Abbey)

Anne Smith (Joanne Froggatt) met her future husband, John Bates (Brendan Coyle) in the very first episode of Downton Abbey, when the man is hired as the new valet to Robert Crawley, the Earl of Grantham (Hugh Bonneville). By the end of season 2, they would marry, despite a solid 15-year age difference between them. 

Connie McDowell (NYPD Blue)

Even the producers of the ABC procedural NYPD Blue were concerned about pairing up Dennis Franz's Andy Sipowicz and Charlotte Ross's much younger Connie McDowell for the detective's third marriage. Executive producer Bill Clark likened turning the characters into a romantic couple to "walking onto a minefield," telling The Los Angeles Times: “I can say I don’t think in all of the years on the show any decision has had as much effort put into it like this one.”

Penny Hofstadter (The Big Bang Theory)

Onscreen, the age difference between Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki) and his neighbor-turned-wife Penny (Kaley Cuoco) is about five years, but behind-the-scenes, the IRL discrepancy is even larger: born in 1975, Galecki is a whole decade older than his co-star. 

Natasha Naginsky (Sex and the City)

The youthfulness of Natasha Naginsky (Bridget Moynahan), the 26-year-old second wife of fortysomething Mr. Big (Chris Noth), is a major point of contention for Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) and the rest of the Sex and the City girls. However, despite being younger than the rest, Natasha proves to be the only one with real maturity, handling Carrie and Big's messy affair with strength and dignity. 

Abishola Wheeler (Bob Hearts Abishola)

Looks like Bob hearts younger women. In the CBS sitcom Bob Hearts Abishola, Bob Wheeler (Billy Gardell) falls for Nigerian nurse Abishola Adebambo (Folake Olowofoyeku) while being treated at the hospital for a mild heart attack. Along with their cultural differences, there is also a generation gap between the couple: Bob is in his fifties and while Abishola's age is never stated in the show, it's safe to assume she's in her thirties like actress Olowofoyeku. 

Margot Sauerbruch (Charité at War)

In the German drama Charité at War, Doctor Margot Sauerbruch (Luise Wolfram) is nearly three decades younger than her husband Ferdinand Sauerbruch (Ulrich Noethen), who is the head of surgery at Berlin's Charité hospital. In fact, Margot is much closer in age to her stepson Peter (Maximilian Klas) than his father.

Esther Keyes (The Handmaid's Tale)

In the dystopian drama The Handmaid's Tale, women and girls are taken as wives as long as they are fertile to boost birthrates. For example, Esther Keyes (Mckenna Grace), is only 14 years old when she is placed into an arranged marriage to the elderly Commander Keyes (Bill MacDonald). However, Esther rebels against the oppression and ends up slowly poisoning her older husband. 

Barbra Jean Hart (Reba)

It's become a cliché for a man to move on from his first marriage by marrying a much younger bride for his second, but that's exactly what happened in The WB comedy Reba. Reba Hart's (Reba McEntire) life was upended when her husband of 20 years, Brock (Christopher Rich), decided to divorce her after getting his dental hygienist, Barbra Jean (Melissa Peterman) — who was half his age — pregnant. 

Marcia Roy (Succession)

Even at two decades younger than her husband, the in-her-60s Marcia Roy (Hiam Abbass) was a significantly more age-appropriate partner for powerful media-mogul Logan Roy (Brian Cox) than his even younger secretary-slash mistress Kerry Castellabate (Zoë Winters), who was only in her thirties. 

Sara Sidle (CSI)

CSI fans were in for a surprise in the season 6 finale of the CBS police procedural, when Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox) and Gil Grissom (William Petersen) ended up in bed with each other. The coupling was even more unexpected, given the age gap between the two characters, who later married in season 10: Grissom was not only Sara's boss but also 15 years older than her. 

Shelly Tambo (Northern Exposure)

Shelly Tambo (Cynthia Geary) was first introduced on the Alaska-set CBS dramedy Northern Exposure as the young girlfriend of sexagenarian Holling Vincoeur (John Cullum). She initially has a difficult time getting Holling down the altar, as the storied lifespans of the Vincoeur males has him worries that, despite being more than 40 years older than Shelly, he could outlive her for decades with a broken heart. 

Rachel Gatina (One Tree Hill)

The name "Rachel Gatina" is pretty notorious among One Tree Hill fans and for good reason: Danneel Harris's character had a long history of manipulation and promiscuity in the teen drama. And that drama didn't stop when she married Dan Scott, the father of her former Tree Hill schoolmates Lucas (Chad Michael Murray) and Nathan (James Lafferty).

Elena Gilbert (The Vampire Diaries)

Though Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev) looked around the same age as her primary love interests Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley) and Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder) — the latter of whom she married in the season 8 finale episode — both men were significantly older than her as they were, of course, vampires. (Damon was 169 years old and Stefan was seven years younger in The Vampire Diaries pilot.) 

Nicole Wright (True Blood)

In the sixth season of HBO's fantasy drama True Blood, Merlotte's Bar and Grill owner Sam Merlotte (Sam Trammell) meets the much younger supernatural rights activist Nicole Wright (Jurnee Smollett-Bell). Despite the large age gap (there are 17 years between the performers) and the fact that they're different species (he a shapeshifter, she a mere human), the twosome goes on to leave Bon Temps together, marry and have children, as revealed in the show's epilogue. 

Joe Manganiello is known for roles on both the big and small screen, thanks to projects as varied as True Blood and Magic Mike. It’s the former that really made him a household name when he played Alcide Herveaux for five seasons as part of the True Blood cast (after originally being intended as a guest star). Years later, he’s still well-liked by the fanbase, so much so that sometimes he gets the darndest gifts from his adult fans. And when I say “darndest,” I mean totally NSFW. 

In fact, during a recent conversation with longtime interviewer Andy Cohen the two got to talking about gifts Manganiello has gotten from True Blood fans. Some of them seem to be really, really into werewolves, just maybe not in the way you’d expect. OK, or maybe exactly in the way you’d expect. The actor said on Watch What Happens Live that he once got a comic book from a fan that he maybe should have read immediately, particularly given how aware he was regarding how explicit the Max series could be. He told the funny story to the popular host, noting of the extravagant gift:

Hindsight is 20/20, and it was after the second conversation with the fan that Joe Manganiello’s story took a strange turn (via People) when Manganiello actually took a real, hard look at what he’d been given. He recalled exactly what was written in the book, noting “ It was him as an anthropomorphic rabbit meeting an anthropomorphic wolf man.” Before he could continue Cohen interjected to flatly state, “they fucked.” As Letterkenny’s Wayne would say if he were in this situation: "can confirm.” Manganiello didn’t stop there with the story, either, giving us even more detail.

Yup, saying the fan created a graphic novel would be an understatement. Having said this, Manganiello is very open to the idea of living out the werewolf fantasy some more. In a separate conversation with Cohen, he also said he feels he has “unfinished business” with that sort of character, given how Alcide was written off of True Blood toward the end.

(If you fell off during the final seasons, spoiler, Alcide was shot in the chest and face before the finale, effectively ending his run before True Blood wrapped with Season 7.) 

Granted, I don’t think he’s looking for a storyline involving a rabbit.

Meanwhile, Joe Manganiello isn't the only actor with a wild fan story. The Walking Dead's Norman Reedus was famously bitten by a fan once during a Walker Stalker Con meet and greet. And a Game of Thrones fan once asked Hannah Waddingham if he could "ring" her bell. Thankfully, a lot of fans are perfectly run-of-the-mill and polite, but there are plenty of stories like this one out there. 

I'm a massive fan of television. It started when I was young and watched hours of Disney Channel shows, but of course, it has now expanded into the world of adult television through several different genres – drama, comedy, horror, you name it, and I've probably watched it. I had to do something while at home when the pandemic had us confined to our homes. 

But in my time watching show after show, various options started out fantastic. They had excellent plots, brilliant storytelling, and great acting, then slowly dwindled. From terrible, horrible TV show endings or shows that dipped in quality over time, here are 30+ great shows that lost their way by the end. 

The Walking Dead

Do you want to hear a fun fact about myself? I watched The Walking Dead until the bitter end, and the emotional Walking Dead finale made me cry a ton. But man, it definitely could have been better. 

The Walking Dead started hot when it first aired and had a pretty steady and brilliantly told storyline until about Season 6, and then when Andrew Lincoln ended up leaving, it all started to tumble down the weeds. 

While we have a good amount of fan favorites coming back for The Walking Dead universe shows, it never quite picked itself up after that when the show was one the series to be watching. 

Lost 

Lost is known now for its awful finale, but truthfully, the entirety of the series had a downfall slump. The main reason is that it was literally consumed by all the mysteries that needed to be solved by the end of the series, and somehow, the show 'lost' itself that way. And, of course, we don't even need to talk about the horrible ending. I hadn't even watched the show then; it was all I heard about for weeks. 

Riverdale 

I remember writing long ago that I had plenty of issues with Riverdale, but I never expected it to turn into the off-brand MCU because that's exactly what happened somehow and they all had powers. And then, in the last season, the main group went back in time somehow. What the heck? What happened? 

This hit CW show started so good with the murder mystery, and then it just tumbled completely.

Game Of Thrones

So I'll be honest here and say that I have rewatched Game of Thrones, and plenty of it still holds up, but you can tell it starts to dip in quality at the very beginning of Season 7 – maybe even Season 6, though I did love "Battle of the Bastards."

Even so, the Game of Thrones ending is pretty much considered one of the worst of the 2010s, and as a hardcore Daenerys supporter, I fully stand by that. They did my girl – and almost all of these characters – dirty. 

The Office

The Office is another clear-cut example of when a main character leaves, the show starts to fall apart. The hit sitcom did try to pick itself up after Steve Carell left in Season 7, but it never reached the heights of where it once was. I was glad we saw him for the finale, but it never felt the same.

Heroes

The first season of any show is crucial, and Heroes had one of the best, featuring the story of ordinary people who discover they have superhuman abilities. This was the superhero show before all the MCU shows started to take over. 

But then Season 2 came along, and this show went downhill fast. It was just horrendously bad, and I, for one, struggled to get through the rest of the seasons after that. 

Westworld

Westworld had everything going for it: a fantastic idea, an excellent Westworld cast, and, the best yet, the funding of HBO to truly take this world into the new age. 

But then both Season 2 and Season 3 happened, and the plot got so convoluted I could barely keep up with it, and all the characters I once loved, I  ended up hating. And then the fourth season came and it’s just so different from what we were given. Unsurprisingly, it was canceled after the fourth season when backlash started to grow more and reviews went down.

That '70s Show 

I don't know what it is about Season 7 and some sitcoms, but that was the case for That '70s Show, when Topher Grace, who played Eric Foreman, left the show. And, of course, it never recovered. I don't care if he did appear in That '90s Show; it just doesn't feel the same. 

How I Met Your Mother

I don't need to get into this. How I Met Your Mother was great, from the fantastic cast to the comedy to Barney and his jokes, but the intensely divisive ending ruined everything. It just did. I can't return to the series and only recommend finishing it to some.

Weeds 

Weeds is a black comedy that ran for several seasons on Showtime and tells the story of a widowed mother who starts selling marijuana to support her family. And while the first few seasons were great, the rest were very different. It felt like another show in its later seasons, and by the end (102 episodes), the plot didn't feel remotely similar to how it was in the first season. 

Glee

There is so much to like about Glee. The Glee cast is incredibly talented, and the best Glee covers still top my playlists, but the story took a nosedive after Season 3. Both Season 1 and Season 2 were great, and Season 3 was alright but still enjoyable, but Season 4-6 was just an utter catastrophe of a story that was only saved by some of the brilliant voices on that show. Other than that, it can stay locked away at McKinley High. 

Supernatural

Supernatural was an excellent fantasy series about two brothers hunting down demons, ghosts, and monsters. And I did enjoy this series until the end, but it certainly was not the same show from the beginning. Many plot points needed to be clarified, and there was plenty of fan service, so as much as I like my spooky boys, it didn't need to be like this. 

The Big Bang Theory 

So I'll fully say that The Big Bang Theory is a great show, but this is another case where it feels that the last few seasons were there just for the money. There was no impressive story to be told, and the characters experienced little growth. It was just a dive into obscurity.

Pretty Little Liars

Pretty Little Liars was just an unnecessary drag. Again, a murder mystery is always good, but when the puzzle doesn't make sense towards the end, it makes the show that much harder to follow. And not only that, but the main characters weren't still in high school by the end. They were in college and out in the working world – this should have been just a high school story. 

Gossip Girl

Gossip Girl should have just ended after a few seasons, but it went on because it was the biggest show ever at the time. The series was fun until the later seasons, where the reveal of who Gossip Girl is was utterly disappointing and nonsensical. Not only that, but the finale – and final season overall – felt rushed. 

Two And A Half Men

Fun fact – I just binge-watched all of Two and a Half Men not long ago and I enjoyed it – until about Season 10. 

Charlie Sheen did bring a certain vibe to the show that Ashton Kutcher couldn't, but he did keep the show going for about two seasons before it started to fall apart more than it already had. 

Euphoria 

Okay, so Euphoria technically is still ongoing. However, I'm still determining if we'll even get Season 3 ever since the tragic passing of Angus Cloud. I'd be fine if it ends with two seasons. 

The first season of Euphoria was great television, but the second was so out there and had so many plot points that didn't make sense. The acting was the only thing that saved it because that's always great. But other than that? There's little to love about Season 2. Some things were improved, but others weren't. 

Gilmore Girls

We all like to turn on Gilmore Girls when the fall comes around, but have we forgotten that the ending is terrible? And that Rory's character is utterly destroyed by the end of it? Yeah, I thought so – and the revival didn't do an excellent job of making it any better. 

Killing Eve

The first two seasons of Killing Eve were brilliant, and I loved watching this cat-and-mouse game. But then the next two seasons' plots fell apart entirely, and it led to characters that really shouldn't have been featured getting the spotlight, followed by an ending that fans are not super happy with. 

13 Reasons Why

I liked 13 Reasons Why during its first season because it told a bold message about the effects of bullying and words. But this show should have remained just a miniseries because the seasons that followed were unnecessary and ultimately dissolve the point of the first season when they somehow try to redeem Bryce (the assaulter). 

Scrubs 

Scrubs ran for nine seasons and took the world by storm with its medical comedy mixed with drama. Plus, viewers got to know Dave Franco for the first time. But the later seasons feel like messy attempts to try and make funny jokes that do not land and a story that is not there at all. 

Suits 

I know Suits was wildly popular on Netflix in August 2023, but the series is just ok to me compared to many other great legal dramas. Don't get me wrong, the first few seasons are great television, but as the show goes on and the cases become stranger and more unique, it's different from the show it originally was. 

Bones

Twelve seasons happened for Bones, and the show was alright, but everything was dragged out so long that by the time there was a payoff, there were barely any more fans to care as much. And not only that, but the story would become more convoluted as time passed. I won't spoil anything, but it's a hard watch for later seasons. 

Community 

Okay, hear me out; I love this show and the Community cast, but let's be honest: Seasons 4, 5 and 6 were not the best. Both Season 4 and 5 were bad, and while Season 6 was getting a little better, it was nowhere near as good as the first three seasons of this show. I'm hoping that the Community movie will bring that level of comedy back.

Money Heist 

The thing about Money Heist is that it was so much fun at first. Was it over the top? Yes, totally, but that's what made it fun to watch. But then, as the series went on, it just got ridiculous with its story, and nothing made sense.

Once Upon A Time

Admittedly, I was a big Once Upon a Time fan because I loved Disney movies, but by the time this show ended, it felt like a Disney cash grab using the most famous names from their list of princesses and characters to make a buck. Elsa somehow even made it into this show. The story didn't mean anything anymore.  

True Blood

I put this on here because I know how badly my mother and father hated the ending of True Blood, and I decided to watch it. Not only did the series' narrative completely fall apart by the finale, but the characters were making choices and decisions that didn't align with what the story had set up for years before. Nothing made sense. 

Dexter

I enjoyed watching Dexter for the first time, and I actually say Dexter is worth re-watching, but I can see why most people don't watch it after Season 5 nowadays. The story certainly takes a dip in quality, and the ending is only for some and is controversial for a reason. I do think Dexter: New Blood made up for it a bit. 

Shameless

Shameless was my favorite TV show, but after Emmy Rossum left, it was always different. The Gallagher family dynamic fell apart, and nothing ever flowed as well. Rossum wasn't even there for the finale, making it feel even more incomplete. 

The Vampire Diaries

Do I even need to get into this? The Vampire Diaries died when Nina Dobrev left, and the story fell apart. I don't care what spinoffs there are; you can't make me watch them. 

Modern Family

Don't even get me started on Haley in this show or any of the choices these characters make at the end of Modern Family that make me want to rip my hair out. I will go on for hours. This show was so good until it wasn't, and it drove me mad. 

House Of Cards

House of Cards was a brilliant drama on Netflix, but of course, the central star, Kevin Spacey, faced several allegations of sexual misconduct, so it had to shift course – and from there, it just fell apart. It should have been canceled once Kevin Spacey. 

All of these shows are worthy of a single watch, but maybe not a rewatch. There is plenty of great drama here, but I can also live without it. Either way, I'll go check out Breaking Bad for the umpteenth time – that'll never let me down. 

Having a long-running TV show is a tricky thing. Namely because quality can ebb and flow depending on the season, for even the most acclaimed projects. Most shows have at least one clunker of a year, whether it be in the beginning of the series, the final season, or somewhere in between. And I've picked the worst season from 32 major television shows. Let's break it all down.

To be clear: this isn't to say that these seasons are unwatchable or made me dislike the show at a whole. Well... mostly. But these are the installments of major shows that simply didn't stand up to the rest of its run. Here are those shows, including major titles like Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad and more. 

Lost - Season 6

Damon Lindelof and J.J. Abrams' Lost was quintessential water cooler programming at the height of its run on ABC. But there were a few seasons that failed to really resonate with fans, including Season 6. The final season's big mystery was surrounding its flash sideways, which was finally revealed in Lost's controversial series finale. And it's for the way that it attempted to stick the landing that makes Season 6 the worst.

Dexter Season 8

There are a number of final seasons on this list, as it's fairly common for long-running shows to decline in quality as the years go on. Dexter was definitely in that category, with Season 8 offering a less than satisfying antagonist for Michael C. Hall's title character to face off against. Dexter's finale is also widely panned, so much so that a new season New Blood was produced to give the killer protagonist a better sendoff. And yes I'm still mad about Deb's fate.

Gilmore Girls - Season 6

Gilmore Girls has a wildly popular fandom, who re-watched the original series annually. But there are some parts of the show that remain controversial, perhaps the biggest of which is Season 6. In it there's a huge block of episodes where Rory and Lorelai are not speaking. And it's really not the same show without the titular Gilmore Girls snacking and dropping pop culture references. While Season 7 feels off because it was done without Amy Sherman-Palladino, the feud between protagonists puts Season 6 at the bottom of the list for me. As someone who watched the show live, those months of weekly episodes was especially painful. 

Grey's Anatomy Season 17

For a show to run as long as Grey's Anatomy has, there's going to be some ups and down in terms of quality. There are a number of season that don't work for the fandom, but for me the worst has got to be Season 17 aka the Covid season. Grey's incorporated the pandemic in real time into its main narrative for the season, with actors wearing masks and face shields in scenes to make the set a safe space. The results were awkward, and Meredith spent most of the season in a Covid related coma. While Grey's brought back McDreamy, George, Lexi, and Sloan during Meredith's beach scenes, I still would have preferred to see her involved in the show's main plot. 

Weeds Season 6

Showtime's dramedy Weeds began with an intriguing premise: a widower in the suburbs starts selling marijuana in her affluent neighborhood to provide for the family. But as the show went on the stakes kept getting higher and higher for Mary-Louise Parker's protagonist Nancy. Season 6 saw the Botwin family on the run, hiding from the Esteban. While it was fun to see the Weeds cast in new situations, it ultimately ends up being a season without too much substance. And the gag of their road trip from hell got old after a while. 

The Office - Season 1

While there are plenty of shows with disappointing final seasons, there are also some that struggled to find their footing with early episodes. The US version of The Office is in that category, and it was unclear if Season 2 was even going to happen. Following the first season's performance, The Office made Steve Carell's Michael Scott more likable, with his issues coming from a deep need for approval. And once we understood how Michael ticked, his bonkers managerial choices became endearing rather than enraging. And now its one of the most popular network comedies of all time. 

Game of Thrones - Season 8

Anyone who watched HBO's megahit fantasy series Game of Thrones probably could have guessed which season I was going to include on this list. The eighth and final season stood out among the rest for its strange pacing, and for delivering long-awaited moments like the CleganeBowl. Unfortunately, the final few episodes took some bold jumps that fans didn't appreciate include Dany breaking bad. The series finale of Game of Thrones is still controversial to this day, although fans have returned to Westeros via the new prequel House of the Dragon. 

Roseanne - Season 9

Roseanne was a super successful comedy series in the '90s, running for a whopping nine seasons originally. Part of its appeal was because the Conners family was working class, and was therefore more relatable to typical TV audiences than other picture perfect sitcoms. Then Season 9 happened, with Roseanne and Dan winning the literal lottery. The whole season felt out of place as a result, including the wild Roseanne finale which basically undid everything we saw throughout its tenure on the small screen. Luckily that finale would end up being retconned when the show returned to the small screen and was given a spinoff with The Conners. 

The Walking Dead - Season 9

AMC's The Walking Dead was wildly popular throughout its first few seasons, but some fans ended up eventually losing interest and falling off. What's more, some quit the show after Negan brutally killed off Glenn. But for me the worst chapter in its run on AMC was Season 9. We all knew it was going to be Andrew Lincoln's last few episodes on the show, which seemed to really slow down its momentum. Eventually The Walking Dead would get better by becoming more of an ensemble project without Rick, but this transitional period was a low point for me. 

American Horror Story: Apocalypse

Ryan Murphy's anthology series American Horror Story is usually quite popular every October, but some of the seasons are stronger than others. There was a lot of hype surrounding Apocalypse ahead of its premiere, as it would serve as a crossover and feature the return of beloved characters from both Coven and Murder House. Unfortunately, the final result failed to live up to that premise, and instead felt like a bit of a jumbled mess. Considering how long fans like me waited to see the witches return to the screen, it was a letdown that final result left so much to be desired. 

Friends - Season 9

Friends is another insanely popular network comedy, one that was a complete sensation during its whopping ten seasons on the air. But some seasons were better than others, especially regarding its main plot line. Season 9 suffered because the show was originally going to end there, before negotiations were made to do the tenth and final season. And as such, the main storyline felt muddled and somewhat anticlimactic as a whole. Luckily the Friends finale would end up providing a great ending when it finally aired. 

Breaking Bad - Season 1

Breaking Bad is one of the most acclaimed TV shows to be on the air in years. It consistently performed well at the Emmys, and fans have applauded the final season as a whole, especially the Breaking Bad finale. But the show was also a bit of a slow burn at first. I personally had to try multiple times to get through the first season of Breaking Bad, before things started really heating up with the introduction of Giancarlo Esposito's Gus Fring. So Season 1 is at the bottom of my ranking for the story of Heisenberg. 

The Simpsons - Season 1

The Simpsons is a groundbreaking animated television show that has the honor of being the longest running American show on television. There's been plenty of discussion over the years about the quality of the series, which has gone through ups and downs during its decades on the air. And for me Season 1 was another example of a show that struggled to find its footing. Obviously the beloved series ended up hitting its stride, but I feel the OG episodes don't necessarily stand the test of time. 

Riverdale - Season 3

The CW had a hit on its hand with Riverdale, which served as a gritty adaptation of Archie Comics. The show's unique visual language made it fun to watch, and I'd typically binge watch a full season once it dropped on Netflix. But Season 3 saw the show take a wild turn. Rather than simply being a murder mystery, Riverdale began dealing with the supernatural for the first time. And there were some serious growing pains. Although we never could have known that Riverdale's finale would include a wild quad twist. 

Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Season 1

This one might be a controversial pick for fans of the show. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is my favorite TV show of all time, and it's one that I often come back to throughout any given year. And while some fans don't like Season 6's dark tone, the show's first season is the weakest for me. During Season 1 Buffy functions much more like a procedural, rather than moving forward and overarching narrative. I personally think the show is best when Buffy's ensemble cast is all assembled, which doesn't happen until later seasons. Plus Season 1 just looks super dated.

Heroes - Season 2

Heroes was a huge hit when it debuted on NBC, with the show offering an original live-action superhero story. Unfortunately, the momentum of that show came to a screeching halt with the Writer's Strike of 2007-2008. Season 2 ends up rushed as a result, and failed to meet the expectations of the series. What's more, Heroes' sophomore season introduces a number of character we'd never see again. One can only imagine which shows will be similarly affected by the recent WGA strike.

Seinfeld - Season 8

Seinfeld is another comedy on this list that is pretty universally acclaimed. But that doesn't mean the iconic '90s sitcom didn't have a few low points throughout its run on TV. Season 8 was the first chapter Seinfeld without creator Larry David, and the difference was pretty obvious. Case in point: the show no longer opened up on Jerry performing a stand up set. 

True Blood - Season 7

True Blood arrived at the height of the early aughts vampire craze, and provided a R-rated take on the blood suckers. The show was violent and campy, and soon became a sensation. But like so many other popular shows, the Anna Paquin-led series failed to stick the landing with its final season on the air. True Blood's finale was generally panned, and the final season felt a bit messy as a whole. I mean, they killed Tara at the beginning of Season 7... offscreen. The disrespect!

Happy Days - Season 5

Happy Days had an impressively long run on the air, and made household names out of talents like Henry Winkler and Ron Howard. The show had a long impact on pop culture as a whole, especially its somewhat infamous fifth season. Season 5 featured Fonzie famously "jumping the shark", which has now become a term for when shows go too far and lose the audience.

New Girl - Season 5

New Girl had a long run on Fox, and has continued to have a life via streaming. But Season 5 failed to bring it the same way the rest of the show did. Namely because Zooey Deschanel was on maternity break, and the show was without its titular character. While Megan Fox's replacement character Regan was a great foil for Nick, the show just wasn't the same without Jess. 

House Of Cards - Season 6

When the streaming wars began, Netflix had some major wins with Orange is the New Black and House of Cards. The latter became a prestige drama, with a killer cast that helped people subscribe to Netflix for the first time. But the allegations against Kevin Spacey saw him removed from the show, and it never really recovered. House of Cards Season 6 killed Francis Underwood off camera, while Claire became the sole protagonist. While Robin Wright killed it, the final season just felt off, and the series finale failed to satisfy fans who stuck it out. 

Glee - Season 4

Glee became a sensation after its first season on Fox, and had a few years of being wildly popular. But its quality started to wane after its first few seasons on the air, and some folks fell off entirely. Season 4 was when things started to change for me, as it took a number of the biggest characters out of William McKinley High School. Kurt and Rachel became roommates in New York City, and it no longer felt like the same musical series that captured the attention of so many. 

Parks And Recreation - Season 1

Just like The Office before it, Parks and Recreation struggled a bit in its first season on the air. The mockumentary comedy was charming, but the cast of Parks & Rec weren't all taking center stage just yet. And Amy Poehler's Leslie Knope was originally criticized for being too close to Steve Carell's Michael Scott. But the show eventually found its footing, and remains popular and utterly meme-able. 

Shameless - Season 11

Like Grey's Anatomy, Shameless produced a season that was set at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. While incorporating mask use helped Season 11 be produced on time, it was a pretty distracting plot point. Overall, the final season failed to live up to what the Gallaghers were capable of. And the series finale felt more like a regular episode, leaving a number of unfinished plot points for the audience to ponder. 

Angel - Season 4

The popularity of Buffy the Vampire Slayer was so high that after three a seasons a spinoff was produced starring David Boreanaz's Angel. These two shows embraced serialized storytelling long before the MCU would make it commonplace. But Season 4 of Angel is my least favorite, despite some exciting Buffy crossovers. Cordelia Chase ends up possessed for a good chunk of episodes, which was a story that got old. And the writing around Angel's son Connor was downright abysmal, as he remains one of the most hated TV characters of all time. 

Community - Season 4

Community is the little show that could, with longtime fans watching as Six Seasons and a Movie came together against the odds. But that doesn't mean that all of its seasons were created equal. Case in point: Community Season 4 aka the Gas Leak Season. It was the first season without creator Dan Harmon, and had a number of gimmicks that failed to really resonate. 

The Handmaid's Tale - Season 5

The Handmaid's Tale is available with a Hulu subscription, and is a gripping and grueling adaptation of Margaret Atwood's novel of the same name. But the most reason installment to air, Season 5, didn't hit quite as hard as its predecessors. I think this is mostly because so many of the stories weren't actually set in Gilead, but in Canada. Add in the loss of Alexis Bledel's Emily, and the fifth season was my least favorite so far. 

That '70s Show - Season 8

That '70s Show made household names out of its cast of actors. But this level of adoration is why Season 8 ends up being the weakest link during its tenure on the air. The final season continued on without Topher Grace's Eric, and the absence of the show's protagonist was very noticeable. Especially when a new character was brought into the group in an attempt to replace him. Ashton Kutcher also left the show, which is why Season 8 is definitely at the bottom of the list.

Arrow - Season 6

The CW's DC superhero show Arrow is one that famously had ups and downs in relation to quality. Still, many fans consider Season 6 to be the worst entry of the bunch. In it we saw Team Arrow frustratingly get split up, and fans took umbrage with the show's plot and pacing. Luckily there were two more season of Arrow to help and satiate disappointed audiences. 

Felicity - Season 4

Felicity has a unique place in the grand history of network TV. After all, we'd never seen a haircut absolutely shake the entertainment industry as when Keri Russell cut off her signature locks back in Season 2. While the show started off as a teen drama, Season 4 ventured into new territory by introducing witchcraft and time travel into the equation. And while J.J. Abrams would prove his sci-fi skills in Star Trek and Star Wars, perhaps Season 4 of Felicity wasn't the right time.

How I Met Your Mother - Season 9

How I Met Your Mother had a seriously impressive run on CBS, with a whopping 9 seasons. The premise of the show meant that all the years of stories from the show's narrator would eventually reveal... how he met the kids' mother. That eventually happened with the entrance of Cristin Milioti. But fans took umbrage with the final season's handling of that plot line, as well as Robin and Barney's divorce. 

The West Wing - Season 5

The West Wing is TV history, and helped make Aaron Sorkin into a household name. But the show's fifth season on the air was a bit of a disappointment, namely because it was the first one without Sorkin at the helm. Overall the story felt a bit of a jumbled mess when compared to the previous installments, which were rather universally acclaimed.

As beloved as these series are, even the greatest of TV shows can have a weak season. 

Everyone has a favorite pop culture villain whom they love to hate. However, I have even more appreciation for the villains who, for one reason or another, opted to change their ways and tried to earn our love by doing the right thing. With that in mind, we figured we would give these vicious bad guys and just plain jerks from some of our favorite movies and TV shows their due by highlighting their moments of redemption.

Anton Ego (Ratatouille)

The only thing threatening the reputation of the world-famous Parisian restaurant, Gusteau’s, is the notoriously picky food critic, Anton Ego (Peter O’Toole), in the underrated Pixar classic, Ratatouille. However, just one bite of the titular dish gives this iconic Pixar “villain” the satisfaction he had been chasing and, upon learning it was a rat named Remy (Patton Oswalt) who prepared his meal, convinces him that, perhaps, anyone really can cook.

Apollo Creed (Rocky III)

Aspiring boxer Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) not only had to contend with the fists of Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), but also his cocky, trash-talking attitude, until he finally defeated the champion in the second chapter of the Rocky movies. That appeared to bring the athlete down a peg, and it taught him to respect his opponent, whom he would befriend and help achieve his own redemption moment in the third installment.

Brad Bellick (Prison Break)

Brad Bellick (Wade Williams), a guard who indulged in harassing and abusing inmates at every chance he got, was a primary antagonist for the first two seasons of Prison Break. After receiving a taste of life on the inside, he became an ally to Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller) and Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell), and he even sacrificed his life for them in the middle of Season 4.

Catwoman (The Dark Knight Rises)

Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway in one of the best Catwoman portrayals of all time) is robbing Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) when we first meet her in 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises. However, the thief comes to fall for the vigilante, and she helps him save Gotham City from a cataclysmic end, making her one of the live-action Batman movies’ most dynamic portrayals of the DC anti-hero yet.

Darth Vader (Star Wars: Episode VI - Return Of The Jedi)

One of the most iconic enemy team-ups in pop culture history is that of Anakin (Sebastian Shaw) and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), at the end of the Star Wars movies’ original trilogy. The climax of Return of the Jedi sees the Sith Lord otherwise known as Darth Vader (a Star Wars character shared by multiple actors) choose to renounce the Dark Side and save his son from Darth Sidious (Ian McDiarmid), allowing him to help defeat the Empire.

Deckard Shaw (The Fate Of The Furious)

It was easy for fans to write off Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) as one of the Fast and Furious movies’ most loathsome antagonists after he, seemingly, killed Han (Sung Kang) in the sixth installment. However, after forming an alliance with Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) in The Fate of the Furious and later with Han himself in Fast X, I think the rogue MI6 agent has since earned our forgiveness.

Dr. Evil (Austin Powers In Goldmember)

We learned that two of Mike Myers’ most iconic characters — hip secret agent Austin Powers and his nemesis, Dr. Evil — are really twins at the climax of the parody movies’ third installment, Goldmember. This revelation convinces the international criminal to help his brother save the world from the titular villain (also played by Myers).

Dwight Schrute (The Office)

Dwight Schrute (Rainn Willson) is a pompous, over-serious, know-it-all who practically goes out of his way to make most of the Office cast feel alienated by him for much of the beloved series. However, by the final season, he makes amends with his enemy prankster, Jim Halpert (John Krasinski), and he gains the respect of his "subordinates" as their new manager.

Eric Northman (True Blood)

When we first met HBO’s True Blood cast, Eric Northman (Alexander Skarsgård) was the kind of vampire who was committed to getting whatever he wanted by whatever means necessary — even murder. Yet, his affection for Sookie (Anna Paquin) inspired him to soften up a bit and, in Season 5, he went full hero after the normally tame Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) was possessed by the evil Lilith.

George Mason (24)

One of Jack Bauer’s (Kiefer Sutherland) worst foils on 24 was actually the Counter Terrorism Unit’s District Director, George Mason (Xander Berkeley) — a poster child for bureaucratic corruption. But after he is exposed to lethal levels of plutonium in Season 2, he redeemed himself by selflessly giving his life for his country by flying a plane carrying a nuclear bomb into the Mojave Desert and succumbing to the ensuing explosion.

The Grinch (How The Grinch Stole Christmas)

Perhaps the most heartwarming redemption tale for the holidays (not counting A Christmas Carol) is one of the best Dr. Seuss movies, 2000’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas. In the movie, the mean, green, titular curmudgeon (Jim Carrey) tried to ruin the celebration for all of Whoville. Much to his surprise, his heart grew three sizes that day, helping him realize the reason for the season and sharing it with his new friends.

Gru (Despicable Me)

The first (and, arguably, best) of Ilumination’s Despicable Me movies is the story of Gru (Steve Carell) and his transition from ruthless supervillain to heartfelt hero. All it took was becoming the adoptive father of three adorable orphaned girls (Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier and Elsie Fisher).

Harley Quinn (Birds Of Prey)

A key aspect of Harley Quinn’s story is that it was Joker who manipulated the former psychologist into going bad, which is why her DCEU version (Margot Robbie) undergoes a slight change after breaking up with the Clown Prince of Crime. While still pretty bad and quite clownish in Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn, the 2020 film sees the Task Force X member do some good by choice, teaming up with a group of vigilantes to save a young girl from the ruthless Black Mask (Ewan McGregor).

Jaime Lannister (Game Of Thrones)

One of the most complex characters in the Game of Thrones cast is Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), who was initially depicted as a smug, merciless psychopath upon introduction. Things seemed to change when he adopted a somewhat nobler attitude after losing his hand. While he redeemed himself at one point, he continued to commit heinous sins that made it difficult to say he was truly redeemed by the end of his life.

Kylo Ren (Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker)

When Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) killed his father, Han Solo (Harrison Ford) in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, he seemed too deep into the Dark Side to be redeemed. However, a visit by his father’s ghost helped convince him to fully embrace the light and help Rey (Daisy Ridley) defeat Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) at the end of The Rise of Skywalker.

Lex Luthor (Justice League Dark: Apokolips War)

The Joker to Superman’s Batman is easily Lex Luthor, who is one of the most fearsome and powerful villains in DC history in general. However, in one of the last films of the DC Animated Universe timeline, Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, the criminal realized he had no choice but to join forces with his super-powered foes in order to save their world from the tyrannical New God, Darkseid.

Loki (Thor: Ragnarok)

Being the God of Mischief, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) was always destined to be one of the Marvel movies’ greatest villains. Yet, he became a worthy ally to his adoptive brother, Thor (Chris Hemsworth), in 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok, and he sacrificed his life to stop Thanos (Josh Brolin) in Avengers: Infinity War soon after.

Meg (Supernatural)

This nameless demon — referred to as “Meg” after the first woman it was seen possessing on Supernatural (played by the late Nicki Aycox) — was one of Lucifer’s most loyal and merciless followers, despite being unafraid to question his authority. This rebellious nature may have been key to her eventual alliance with Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles) against enemies they shared and even her romantic attraction with Castiel (Misha Collins).

Megamind (Megamind)

What makes Megamind one of the most unique and best superhero movies not based on a comic is how its main focus is not the hero, but the titular, extra-terrestrial villain (voiced by Will Ferrell). That is, until he defeats his nemesis (Brad Pitt) and creates a new one of his own (Jonah Hill) to reclaim his purpose, only to realize his creation is worse than he is, which leads to him becoming the hero his city needs.

Merle Dixon (The Walking Dead)

Easily the most unlikable character from the original Walking Dead cast was Merle Dixon (Michael Rooker), who never quite progressed past his arrogant behavior and racist tendencies. Yet, the way he selflessly took on The Governor’s army to protect his brother, Daryl (Norman Reedus) and his crew gave us a reason to remember him with some admiration.

Nebula (Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2)

While she is not the main antagonist of 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy, Nebula (Karen Gillan) might be the most memorable and the most sympathetic, especially after you learn her traumatic backstory. She really began to earn our sympathies when she and her adoptive sister, Gamora (Zoe Saldaña), learned to set aside their differences in Vol. 2, and her transition into a hero (and a member of the Guardians’ family) reached full mast by Vol. 3.

Negan Smith (The Walking Dead)

No character had defined The Walking Dead’s “fight the dead, fear the living” theme better than the mercilessly sadistic Negan Smith, played with unsettling, scenery-chewing glee by Jeffrey Dean Morgan. But, in a surprising turn of events, after a seven-and-a-half-year prison sentence in Alexandria, Negan developed genuine remorse for his former ways, and he worked hard toward redemption, earning the respect of his The Walking Dead: Dead City co-lead, Maggie (Lauren Cohan), in the process.

Nux (Mad Max: Fury Road)

There was not a single War Boy more eager to serve the tyrannical Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne) than Nux (Nicholas Hoult) in 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road. That is until the death of Angharad (Rosie Huntington-Whiteley) led him to question where his loyalty lied. He ultimately chose to ally himself with Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy), Furiosa (Charlize Theron), and the Five Wives. He even sacrificed himself to ensure their safe return to the citadel in one of the instant action movie classic’s most touching arcs.

Otto Octavius (Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man: No Way Home)

Prof. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina) managed to overcome the manipulative A.I. in his mechanical arms and risk his life to prevent a city-wide catastrophe at the end of Spider-Man 2 in 2004. Seventeen years later, Spider-Man: No Way Home would reset that redemption arc in favor of its own, making him the first returning Spidey villain in the film to become good with help from Peter Parker’s (Tom Holland) technical mastery.

Steve Harrington (Stranger Things)

Joe Keery’s initial portrayal of Steve Harrington on the Stranger Things cast is not so bad when compared to the Duffer Brothers’ original plans for the character. Still, the bullish, self-absorbed jock that he was then is a far, far cry from the lovable, selfless hero he evolved into in Seasons 2 through 4.

Steve Stifler (American Wedding)

When I think of cinema's most despicable, fictional douchebags, one of the first faces to come to mind is Seann William Scott in the American Pie cast as Steve Stifler, who seems to turn over a new leaf in the third installment, American Wedding. Of course, even though he went out of his way to make up for ruining Jim (Jason Biggs) and Michelle’s (Alyson Hannigan) impending nuptials, and he developed feelings for Michelle’s sister, Cadence (January Jones), he appeared to revert to his same perverse, foul-mouthed self in 2012’s American Reunion.

Tyrannosaurus Rex (Jurassic World)

Out of all the prehistoric creatures running amok in director Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park, the one Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and co. were most wary about was the top of the food chain: the T-Rex. However, in 2015’s Jurassic World, the fearsome beast turned out to be the theme park guest’s savior against a highly intelligent, blood-thirsty, man-made dinosaur called the Indominous Rex.

Wikus Van De Merwe (District 9)

The main plot of Neill Blomkamp’s 2009 debut, District 9, begins when Wikus Van De Merwe (Sharlto Copley) eagerly accepted a leading position in an operation to evict an alien race from the junkyard they were designated to in South Africa for decades. It was not until he became exposed to a chemical and began transforming into a “Prawn” that he began to see things from their perspective and fight for them in this thought-provoking sci-fi flick.

Yondu (Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2)

Writer and director James Gunn tricked us into thinking there was nothing more to Yondu (Michael Rooker) than a greedy, ruthless ravager in Guardians of the Galaxy before sweeping the rug right out from under us in Vol. 2. Yondu proved to Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) that he actually cared about him as if he was his real “daddy” before giving his life for him at the sequel’s heartbreaking climax.

Zuko (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

For years, Zuko (Dante Basco) was devoted to capturing Aang (Zach Tyler Eisen) in order to take back the crown as Prince of the Fire Nation, until he came to detest his people’s oppressive ways. In one of the most pivotal twists on the classic animated series, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Zuko joined forces with Aang — even becoming his fire bending mentor — to defeat the Fire Lord and lead the Fire Nation into a new era of peace.

Everyone deserves a second chance, and we are happy that these characters received their opportunity to go from zero to hero.

TV vets Alexander Skarsgård and Jack McBrayer could have been considered the least likely duo in the past. After all, an undead big wig like True Blood’s Eric Northman doesn’t feel like a natural fit to be palling around with Kenneth the NBC Page from 30 Rock. It's now officially time to have your world shattered by these two men, as they were caught randomly talking about dining on a human kidney. And an HBO Max subscription isn't required to enjoy the chat that feels like it's straight out of the popular drama series

When both Skarsgård and McBrayer appeared at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, an exchange played out, and it's quite reminiscent of something from that fang-banging HBO horror show. The video, which was posted to Instagram, starts out in a relatively normal way, with Skarsgård being asked a question related to his role in the upcoming film Infinity Pool. And in time, there's the quick, but hilarious, drop into the world of the macabre, as you can see below: 

Before we dig too deep, let’s truly admire what’s going on here. Alexander Skarsgård is wearing a dog collar with a leash in this Infinity Pool press line, so that’s already spicing things up. But then to drag Jack McBrayer in out of nowhere, playing to the darker side of his “aw shucks” persona? And with a joke involving trying to eat one of Skarsgård’s kidneys on vacation? It’s so creepy that it’s hysterical! 

If there’s anyone from the writers room of that surprise True Blood reboot looking for a story idea, then look no further. Considering the comedic chemistry between the two actors in this press line, this is a concept that can’t merely be ignored by the masses. A full story where a crazed human tries to eat one of Eric Northman’s vampiric kidneys is the lost adventure that this next chapter needs to really get cooking. 

Admittedly, this fun gag involving Jack McBrayer also doesn’t feel all that different from something you’d see in one of the best 30 Rock episodes. Though even if there was some sort of kidney feasting on that show, Kenneth would be the least likely suspect. And even then, he’d probably have a better excuse than transitioning from a vegan diet. Perhaps that’s something that the previously rumored 30 Rock revival could tackle, forming an unlikely crossover that would, without question, rank in the pantheon of Alexander Skarsgård’s best movies and TV shows.

Moving back to the world of the serious, it’s not really known how or why the two were paired up for this delightful moment of morbid comedy. To be completely honest, the answer to that question wouldn’t be as interesting as the fact that it happened. 

Perhaps it’s time for some young aspiring writers, both in film and TV, to start pitching a Skarsgård/McBrayer team-up that banks on this energy. It’d certainly sell for more than the price of a kidney, and the prospect would be even sweeter to behold. For now, if you’d like to revisit the currently existing world of True Blood, which is sadly an affair that includes no Jack McBrayer, that’s easy enough to tear into. 

HBO Max subscribers only need to log into their device of choice, and sink their teeth into seven seasons worth of reruns. For all others looking to see what’s coming up in the world of streaming and broadcast excitement, the 2023 TV premiere schedule can quench that thirst right quick! 

The Skarsgårds have been around for quite a while and are an acting legacy, beginning with the powerhouse that is Dune’s Stellan Skarsgård. Alexander Skarsgård is the eldest of Stellan’s four actor sons, and he has a resume of pretty epic roles himself. While he feels he's sometimes fallen into being type-cast as the “Dude who takes his shirt off” in the past (and certainly looks great in shirtless roles), the eldest Skarsgård brother has also proven his worth in Hollywood as a man with range and superb acting chops. We’ve compiled a list of some of the best Alexander Skarsgård movies and TV shows, and how you can watch them streaming at home or add them to your own permanent Skarsgård collection. 

True Blood (2008 - 2014)

If you’re anything like me, you first fell in love with Alexander Skarsgård in HBO’s racy vampire drama, True Blood. Skarsgård plays the moody, bad boy Viking vampire who owns a popular vampire club in the series. His performance and character is top notch, and is one of the many favorites in the series. 

Alexander Skarsgård is a pivotal character throughout True Blood, and the series pretty much a must-see for any fans of the actor. Not only is Skarsgård’s Eric Northman blood thirsty and completely alluring, but the series’ setting of Louisiana brings an entirely immersive experience to the series and really plays on that modern vampire aesthetic. 10/10 vampire series; would binge again.

Stream True Blood on HBO Max.
Buy/Rent True Blood digitally on Amazon.
Buy True Blood on DVD/Blu-Ray on Amazon.

Kill Your Darlings (2006)

Not to be confused with Daniel Radcliffe’s later film of the same name, Kill Your Darlings centers around five very different individuals and their joint journey from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. Alexander Skarsgård plays a trans woman who, after attempting to light herself on fire, meets up with two other travelers heading to Sin City to see the very same celebrity psychiatrist. 

If you were looking for a hidden gem of a performance from Alexander Skarsgård to even out the number of his impressive and well-known roles, Kill Your Darlings should fit the bill perfectly. Although set in America and spoken a fair amount in English, the film features a number of Swedish actors and was made by a Swedish director. It’s a niche movie and you’ll be hard pressed to find it streaming, but you can buy it pretty cheap on DVD - and it’s worth it. 

Buy Kill Your Darlings on DVD/Blu-Ray on Amazon.

The Legend of Tarzan (2016)

While it was kind of hard to get Disney’s animated version of Tarzan and Brendan Fraser’s George of the Jungle out of my head when thinking about shirtless, loincloth-clad men swinging through trees in a jungle, seeing Alexander Skarsgård completely dominate the role of Tarzan in The Legend of Tarzan certainly did the trick. This was made for a little bit of an older audience, and Skarsgård’s take on Edgar Rice Burroughs’ character totally stands up, and he’s backed by an all-star cast that includes the lovely Margot Robbie and Christoph Waltz. 

Buy/Rent The Legend of Tarzan digitally on Amazon.
Buy The Legend of Tarzan on DVD/Blu-Ray on Amazon.

The Northman (2022)

Alexander Skarsgård is close to his Scandinavian roots in The Northman, in which he plays a Viking prince set on avenging his murdered father. The Northman was brutal for the cast, especially Skarsgård, to film and that brutality certainly shows in the finished product. 

The Northman is Alexander Skarsgård’s most recently released film and is currently available to watch in a theater near you. While it isn’t streaming just yet, according to The Wrap there is a good chance you’ll be able to catch it at home with a Peacock subscription once its theatrical window is over, as it is a Universal picture. 

Big Little Lies (2017 - 2019)

Based on the best selling novel of the same name, Big Little Lies was a big deal. It had an enormous budget and cost pretty much the same as Game of Thrones to make, per episode. While Alexander Skarsgård is not one of the main characters, he is surrounded by some of Hollywood’s most renowned leading ladies, like Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman.

Big Little Lies is a dark, comedic series that centers on a murder in a high class, beach front neighborhood. It’s funny and dramatic, and with Season 1 having over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, a pretty solid watch.

Stream Big Little Lies on HBO Max.
Buy Big Little Lies digitally on Amazon.
Buy Big Little Lies on DVD/Blu-Ray on Amazon.

The Stand (2020 - 2021)

Who doesn’t love a good Stephen King film/TV adaptation? There have been a ton, and new ones are being made pretty much all the time. Paramount’s limited The Stand series is one of the handful of adaptations that have been made of King’s most lengthy stand alone work, and it’s definitely a must see for fans of both the horror writer and of Alexander Skarsgård.

Alexander Skarsgård plays the antagonist of The Stand, and his performance of Randall Flagg is pretty spot-on. Even with an all-star cast, Skarsgård stands out in the newest version of Stephen King’s The Stand. His character tends to pop up in other King novels as well, so the possibility for Skarsgård’s version of the character to live on in future projects is, to me, reason enough to hone in on Skarsgård’s Randall Flagg and check out the Paramount limited series.

Stream The Stand on Paramount+.
Buy The Stand digitally on Amazon.
Buy The Stand on DVD/Blu-Ray on Amazon.

What Maisie Knew (2012)

While Alexander Skarsgård plays the brooding, morally gray character pretty often, his role in What Maisie Knew is refreshingly nice and very endearing. The film centers on the titular child of two freshly divorced parents who have new partners. Skarsgård is Maisie’s new caretaker and her mother’s new husband. The film is about Maisie and her new circumstances, and the relationship she forms with Skarsgård’s character. 

Stream What Maisie Knew on Peacock.
Stream What Maisie Knew digitally on Amazon.
Buy What Maisie Knew on DVD/Blu-Ray on Amazon.

Melancholia (2011)

Melancholia is a visually stunning film. While the movie is far from a feel-good watch, it’s moving nonetheless. Melancholia explores the depths of depression with the story of two sisters as the world hurdles to an end as a planet is set to crash into Earth. Alexander Skarsgård plays the groom of one sister, played by Kirsten Dunst, who are getting married amid the impending disaster. The interesting plot line mixed with how artistically the film is approached is reason enough to watch this movie, and the performances from the stars are on point, as well. 

Stream Melancholia on Roku.
Buy/Rent Melancholia digitally on Amazon.
Buy Melancholia on DVD/Blu-Ray on Amazon.

On Becoming A God In Central Florida (2019)

Alexander Skarsgård and Kirsten Dunst team ups are killer, as On Becoming a God in Central Florida is the second which to make the list. I can only describe this series as a wild ride from start to finish. Set in the early ‘90s, this dark comedy handles the toxicity of pyramid schemes and the unexpected happens at pretty much every turn.

Alexander Skarsgård is pretty much unrecognizable in the TV series, but he gives a spectacular performance. He is only really in the first episode, but he is very much memorable. It’s a must see, and you’ll probably stick around even after Skarsgård makes his exit; it’s that good.

Stream On Becoming a God in Central Florida on Showtime.
Buy On Becoming a God in Central Florida digitally on Amazon.
Buy On Becoming a God in Central Florida on DVD on Amazon.

Disconnect (2012)

While Disconnect came out 10 years ago, it’s still very much relevant today. The film centers around three stories as a group of people navigate solving very real problems that result from living in a world where the internet runs everything. It’s a reflective film and speaks to the dangers of having your whole life being online. Alexander Skarsgård is acting opposite Jason Bateman and a whole cast of fantastic performers.

Buy/Rent Disconnect digitally on Amazon.
Buy Disconnect on DVD/Blu-Ray on Amazon.

While a lot of the Alexander Skarsgård performances in this “Best of” list showcase some serious talent in serious roles and prove he’s way more than just a man who takes his shirt off, the actor also has some wild range and does a great job in comedic roles as well. This can be seen in his smaller, yet awesome roles in Zoolander, Eastbound & Down, and Drunk History. They are totally worth checking out too, but just didn’t quite make the list. 

With The Northman having recently hit theaters and gaining some massively positive attention for Alexander Skarsgård, I can’t help but think there may be some great things on the horizon for the actor. While he’s been in the business and in Hollywood for a good two decades, I can’t wait to see what the next ten years look like for the talent, as he, arguably, still has lots of places where he can go in what is sure to be a very long career.

The horror genre has been experiencing a renaissance for a number of years now, to the delight of fans. Many of the beloved modern classics have come from Blumhouse, including Get Out, 2018’s Halloween, and The Purge. The studio is currently developing an LGBTQIA+ empowerment movie, and the project just has added a True Blood icon: actress Carrie Preston.

The project in question was previously titled Whistler Camp, and will be the directorial debut of Oscar nominated writer-filmmaker John Logan. The movie will be set at a gay conversion camp, which will presumably see the young queer people rise up and fight back. The cast is currently coming together, and True Blood fans will be delighted to hear that Arlene herself Carrie Preston has signed on for a role.

This latest update comes to us from Deadline, and shows how the upcoming horror project is really coming together at Blumhouse. Carrie Preston isn’t the first actor to sign on to the mysterious movie, as she was preceded by The Politician’s Theo Germaine and the legendary Kevin Bacon. Bacon is also an executive producer, so he’s clearly invested in the developing horror flick.

Carrie Preston is perhaps best known for playing Arlene Fowler throughout the entire run of HBO’s True Blood, appearing in a whopping 81 episodes. Since then she’s moved on to notable roles in The Good Wife, Claws, and Person of Interest. But she’ll be back on the big screen for the developing horror movie.

With Blumhouse continuing to innovate in the genre with unique projects like The Invisible Man, is should be interesting to see how John Logan’s queer horror movie comes together. Recently we’ve seen filmmakers are merging the genre with real-life issues. Jordan Peele’s Get Out was about race and false allyship, while the recent Hulu movie False Positive explored women’s perspective during pregnancy and birth. Given the real-life horrors of conversion camps, Logan’s movie is definitely an intriguing concept.

It should be interesting to see what other talent joins John Logan’s upcoming movie at Blumhouse. Obviously Carrie Preston is experienced with horror, as does the incomparable Kevin Bacon. He famously appeared in the original Friday the 13th, and also appears in other iconic additions to the genre like Stir of Echoes and most recently You Should Have Left. And with Bacon also serving as a producer for the upcoming movie, one has to wonder if this will be the start of a continued collaboration with Blumhouse. We can only hope.

It’s currently unclear when Blumhouse’s LGBTQIA+ horror movie will actually begin production, but the studio continues to stay busy with projects like Halloween Kills on October 15th. In the meantime, check out the 2021 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.

CinemaBlend participates in affiliate programs with various companies. We may earn a commission when you click on or make purchases via links.

Entourage, Sex and the City, Deadwood, and now The Sopranos with The Many Saints of Newark, are all HBO shows that would eventually become movies. Though three of those aforementioned films were all continuations of the series they were based off of, The Many Saints of Newark is actually a prequel, which got me to thinking: what other former HBO shows would I love to see get the movie treatment? Especially if it took a creative approach like The Many Saints of Newark did. My mind immediately jumped to The Wire.

For a time, pre-Game of Thrones, HBO really seemed like it could do no wrong. OK, that’s not true at all, since there are several shows that missed the mark by a wide margin. (Arli$$ and Hung, anyone?) But, the good shows were really good, and I’d love to see some sort of continuation for them, whether it was forward, backward, or somewhere in-between. So, here are five HBO shows that I wish would get the movie treatment, similar to The Sopranos, and what those movies could potentially look like.

Oh, and some major spoilers up ahead!

The Wire

Premiering in 2002 and ending in 2008, it is often debated by many modern-day viewers what the greatest TV show of all time is—The Wire, or Breaking Bad? And while I’ve already analyzed that question, I think it’s safe to say that The Wire has a legacy like few others. Some might even say that the show, which gets into the seedy underbelly of Baltimore’s drug scene, police force, politics, and even its education system, which are all connected, ended perfectly and doesn’t need a continuation. Why mess with perfection?

You know what? I agree. At least with the idea that it doesn’t need a continuation AFTER the show. Since Baltimore is essentially the main character of The Wire, I’d actually love to see a movie that showed Baltimore in the past, kind of like what The Deuce did with the ‘70s. I actually wouldn’t even care if younger versions of characters from the show didn’t turn up. The Wire was such a smart show, that I think it could create brand new characters and still be compelling throughout. Basically, I just want more of The Wire!

True Blood

“Sookie!” (Said in Bill Compton’s—as played by Stephen Moyer—voice). Debuting in 2008 and ending in 2014, True Blood was the story of a barmaid/faerie (Anna Paquin) who falls in love with vampires (though, she doesn’t end up with any in the finale). But, Sookie wasn’t the only “Fangbanger” in town, as there were a whole bunch of vampires in Bon Temps, Louisiana hooking up with, well, pretty much everybody. It was a very sexy show.

So, yes, I know, there might be a True Blood reboot coming, but it seems like even the book series’ author, Charlaine Harris, doesn’t know what’s going on with that. Honestly, I want a movie. Since Sookie was in a pretty good place by the end of the show, I would like to see what happened with Sam Merlotte (True Blood cast member Sam Trammel). Or Eric. Unlike Bill, who died of Hep V, Eric (Alexander Skarsgård) lived and even created a cure for Hep V called New Blood with Pam. I’d love to see the results of that, which I can only imagine wouldn’t go well.

Six Feet Under

Like Breaking Bad and The Wire, Six Feet Under is a show that ended perfectly. Debuting in 2001 and ending in 2005, the show concerned the Fisher family, who owned a funeral home with their friends and significant others. What made the show special, though, was its unconventional nature. Every episode would start with a death, and the characters would reflect on their own lives and sometimes even talk with the dead (I mean, not literally, of course. It was in their heads).

Since Six Feet Under ended perfectly, and we got to see how all of the characters die, I think we would have to do the same thing with The Wire and go into the past. The show starts with Nate Fisher’s father’s death, but I would love to see more of Nathaniel Sr.’s life. We do get to see some of it through dream sequences on the show, but I want to see more of his life as a young man in a whole movie. Like The Wire, I just want more of Six Feet Under!

Eastbound & Down

The only comedy on this list, Eastbound & Down, which debuted in 2009 and ended in 2013, was about a former pitcher named Kenny Powers (Danny McBride) who returns to his hometown as a substitute gym teacher, and just keeps messing up over, and over...and over again. To hilarious results.

The ending of Eastbound & Down is weird. Like, even by Eastbound & Down standards. It ends with Kenny’s voiceover, which includes his wife getting gunned down in an alley, Kenny becoming addicted to heroin, going to Africa on a weird hovercycle, getting remarried, and then getting burned on a funeral pyre, but it’s all just a screenplay. It’s pretty wonderful.

Because Eastbound & Down reveled in ridiculousness, I honestly think that the movie could go absolutely anywhere. I couldn’t even think where, but the show was so inventive, that Kenny Powers could be in any scenario. Even as a part of the Fast series of films. In fact, forget the Fast Franchise and Jurassic Park. I want the Fast series and Kenny Powers! Or Jurassic Park and Kenny Powers. Seriously, either works.

Oz

Debuting in 1997 and ending in 2003, Oz is the oldest show on this list and HBO’s first major hour-long drama series. It’s also the first show I ever saw on HBO, and I was probably way too young. The story concerns the inmates in the Oswald State Correctional Facility (or, just Oz, for short), and it chronicles the lives of a number of different prisoners inside the big house, and how they all coexist, often to violent results. The thing that really struck me, though, was its methods of storytelling, most notably having inmate Augustus Hill (Lost’s Harold Perrineau) talk directly to the audience and impart both plot and wisdom.

At the end of Oz, the inmates are evacuated after a poisonous powder gets into the prison and kills off the Aryans. Unit manager, Tim McManus (Terry Kinney) implies that the prisoners will be back someday, but afterwards, it looks like that never comes to be. Well, I’d like to see what happens to the prisoners who did survive Oz, like Ryan O'Reilly (Dean Winters). The show was all about rehabilitation, and I’d love to see what happened to the inmates of Emerald City. The show ended off fine, but I always felt like there should be a bit more to it.

Are there any other HBO shows that you would love to be seen made into a movie? If you’re still in an HBO mindset and want to hear what we think are The Wire’s best episodes or just want to know about 2021 movies, then make sure to come back here often.

This poll is no longer available.

CinemaBlend participates in affiliate programs with various companies. We may earn a commission when you click on or make purchases via links.

Walking wrestling encyclopedia and passionate Dungeons and Dragons fan Joe Manganiello has carved out a remarkable career for himself over the years, appearing in dozens of movies and TV shows. During that time, Manganiello has played everything from an iconic comic book assassin in Zack Snyder’s Justice League to a hunky werewolf on True Blood, with anything and everything in between.

If you are looking for a good Joe Manganiello movie or TV show to help pass the time without boring yourself, you won’t have any trouble finding entertaining titles in the muscle-bound actor’s the catalog of great roles. But, deciding on one, two, or even 12 is no easy task, and that can seriously cut into your movie-watching experience. So, to help everyone out, we’ve put together a list of great movies and TV shows featuring the versatile actor which you can stream right now.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021) - HBO Max

The four-hour DC superhero epic Zack Snyder’s Justice League, one of the most notable comic book movies of the past few years, brought the acclaimed director’s original vision for 2017’s dismal Justice League to HBO Max subscribers in early 2021. With a more fleshed out story, much more heart and emotion, and plenty of extra scenes, this crossover event centering on DC’s league of heroes trying to save humanity from the evil Darkseid was well worth the wait. Plus, it also features an extra appearance by Joe Manganiello’s Slade Wilson, a.k.a. Deathstroke, in the much talked about “Knightmare” epilogue.

Stream Zack Snyder’s Justice League on HBO Max.

True Blood (2008 - 2014) - HBO Max

The HBO vampire drama series True Blood ran on the premium cable network for seven seasons starting in August 2008, creating superstars out of its talented ensemble cast. Detailing the intertwined relationships (both amicable and not so much) between humans, vampires, and werewolves, the show had the perfect mix of the romance, action, drama, and exaggerated Louisiana accents from the residents of the fictional town of Bon Temps. Joining the True Blood cast in Season 3, Joe Manganiello played werewolf packmaster Alcide Herveaux, a character who would become a fixture for the remainder of the series’ run.

Stream True Blood on HBO Max.

Spider-Man (2002) - Starz

Sam Raimi’s 2002 superhero origin story, Spider-Man, follows Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) as he is transformed from an intelligent yet socially inept high school newspaper photographer into the iconic webslinger, after being bitten by a radioactive spider. The second half of the summer blockbuster (which brought in $825 million worldwide) largely focuses on Spider-Man’s battles with the crazed Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) and Daily Bugle editor J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons), but Parker’s bitter enemy in the early goings of the story is none other than Flash Thompson (Joe Manganiello). This also just so happens to be Manganiello’s first acting credit.

Stream Spider-Man on Starz.

Magic Mike (2012) - HBO Max

Steven Soderbergh’s 2012 dramedy Magic Mike follows Michael Lane (Channing Tatum), a star male stripper at the Xquisite night club as he attempts to make ends meet while also taking Adam, a.k.a. “The Kid” (Alex Pettyfer), under his wing as a protege. The movie largely focuses on the day-to-day lives of the male strippers at the club owned by former dancer Dallas (Matthew McConaughey), but it also spends a considerable amount of time showing off the physiques and moves of the ensemble cast, which includes 2021 WWE Hall of Fame inductee Kevin Nash as Tarzan, and Joe Manganiello as Big Dick Richie. If you like Manganiello walking around shirtless on True Blood, wait until you see him on stage in Magic Mike.

Stream Magic Mike on HBO Max.

How I Met Your Mother (2005 - 2014) - Hulu

The hit CBS comedy series How I Met Your Mother spent nine seasons walking its audience through the ups and downs of Ted Mosby’s (Josh Radnor) life before he settled down and had kids. With narration provided by Bob Saget, an older Ted walks his children through a series of flashbacks which involve everything from failed relationships and lifelong friendships with his close-knit friend group. In addition to the show’s core cast, How I Met Your Mother also featured a massive group of recurring characters, including Joe Manganiello’s Brad Morris. Appearing sporadically throughout the series starting with Season 2, Brad is introduced as Marshall Eriksen’s (Jason Segel) law school buddy before the two recently dumped friends go on a series of adventures which become awkward for everyone else.

Stream How I Met Your Mother on Hulu.

Archenemy (2020) - Hoopla

The 2020 mystery-thriller Archenemy tells the story of Max Fist (Joe Manganiello), a supposed superhero from another dimension who, upon arriving on Earth, has lost all of his superpowers. While everyone he comes in contact with thinks he’s a lunatic with one hell of a tall tale, a teenager named Hamster (Skylan Brooks) gives Max a chance and actually buys his story. Together, Max and Hamster set out to wipe the streets clean of a local drug syndicate led by a vicious and notorious crime boss. Not your conventional superhero action film, Archenemy, thanks in part to Manganiello, really pushes the genre to its boundaries.

Stream Archenemy on Hoopla.

Pee-Wee’s Big Holiday (2016) - Netflix

When Joe Manganiello (playing himself) strolls into Pee-wee Herman’s (Paul Reubens) Fairville diner one fine day, he quickly takes a liking to the lovable character asks him to leave his home to travel to New York City for the actor’s birthday party. What follows is the 2016 Netflix original movie Pee-wee’s Big Holiday, which sees the iconic comedy character and his signature suit travel across the country to get to the Big Apple in time for his actor friend’s party. This movie, thanks in part to Manganiello’s over-the-top performance, is absolutely bananas (in all the right ways) and shows off the oddball comedic side of the muscle-bound superstar.

Stream Pee-Wee’s Big Holiday on Netflix.

Knight Of Cups (2016) - Tubi

Terrence Malick’s 2016 experimental drama Knight of Cups follows a depressed screenwriter named Rick (Christian Bale) who struggles to make sense of the life around him in sunny Hollywood, California. Surrounded by the hustle and bustle of show business (and major stars who all make cameos throughout), Rick bounces from one episode to the next, contemplating his life, his decisions, and the meaning of success in such a superficial environment. And, while not everything works in Knight of Cups (as is the case for a lot of the later Malick films), the visuals and distinct style of the director’s eye make it worth checking out. Also, where else will you see Joe Manganiello and Antonio Banderes have an awkward interaction at a party?

Stream Knight of Cups on Tubi.

Bottom Of The 9th (2019) - Amazon

The 2019 sports drama Bottom of the 9th follows Bobby Stano (Joe Manganiello), a once-promising baseball standout whose career ended before it ever really began, after he was sent to prison for accidentally killing a gang member in an altercation gone wrong. Largely set after Stano’s release from prison, this heartfelt redemption story sees the athlete-turned-convict attempt to work his way back to the majors while also rekindling torn relationships along the way.

Stream Bottom of the 9th on Amazon.

Rampage (2018)

Based on the classic arcade game of the same name, 2018’s Rampage follows jacked-up primatologist David Okoye (Dwayne Johnson) as he tries to save the world from a global catastrophe caused by an experiment on a group of animals which goes horribly wrong. Following the experimentation, but before its effects become widespread, a team of mercenaries led by a character played by Joe Manganiello is sent in to capture Ralph, the genetically mutated wolf from the games. And, while he’s only in the movie for a hot minute, Manganiello makes the most of his appearance and looks like he’s having the time of his life despite the eventual outcome.

Stream Rampage on HBO Max.

Jay And Silent Bob Reboot (2019) - Amazon

Kevin Smith’s 2019 comedy Jay and Silent Bob Reboot is exactly what you would expect from the director at this point, but beneath the surface there’s actually a ton of heart in what is one of the best movies on Amazon. Similar to 2001’s Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, the follow-up follows the titular characters — once again played by Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith — as they embark upon a cross-country trip to stop Saban Films from making another Bluntman and Chronic movie. Most of the usual players show up again here, but with one addition: Joe Manganiello as the bailiff in the courtroom scene. This looks like a random actor to throw in, but it sounds like Smith initially had bigger plans for the True Blood star.

Stream Jay and Silent Bob Reboot on Amazon.

The Sleepover (2020) - Netflix

One of the best movies on Netflix for fans of family-friendly action-adventure mysteries, the 2020 original film The Sleepover centers on a group of kids whose parents have been kidnapped by some of the world’s most notorious thieves, and their plan to stop to the criminals in their tracks. Over-the-top in his portrayal of Leo, a character who seems helpful at first but has quite a dark past, Joe Manganiello is absolutely perfect in every way, even if he’s nothing more than a dirty rotten scoundrel.

Stream The Sleepover on Netflix.

These are just a few of Joe Manganiello’s great movies and TV shows, as the actor also has a ton of appearances in random episodes of The Big Bang Theory, Scrubs, Mom, and even WWE Raw. With the Manganiello leading the upcoming Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas animated series on Netflix, hopefully we’ll see his name pop up on the Summer 2021 TV schedule.

It was only yesterday that news broke that another True Blood series was possibly coming down the pipeline and the word “reboot” was even used. As in, not a spinoff of the Sookie Stackhouse sexual awakening story. Now, original True Blood lead Anna Paquin has caught wind of the news, sharing her reaction on social media.

After the trades first caught wind that HBO is already envisioning rebooting Alan Ball’s True Blood, Anna Paquin took to Twitter where she mentioned she has not been in the loop about the possibility at all, noting:

Some of her fans took that to be a passive aggressive response at the critically regarded subscription cabler (and streamer). However, Anna Paquin also clarified to one of those fans on social media that she’s not actually mad. Instead it seems as if she was just as surprised about the news as the rest of us.

In fact, Anna Paquin does not seem to be the only person who is surprised, as author Charlaine Harris herself also expressed a similar sentiment on social media.

To be fair here, the timing on this is really pretty odd. Sure, it’s been a handful of years since True Blood ended its run on HBO in 2014. However, it hasn’t been that many years since we said goodbye to the characters. In short, a good chunk of the people who would be interested in a True Blood reboot would likely only do so if it wasn’t really a reboot, but a spinoff or a revival.

I’d love to see more of Alexander Skarsgard character’s future specifically. I also think it might be cool to even see some prequel sorts of storylines or spinoffs set in the past featuring characters like Pam. I know the Sookie Stackhouse/Bill storyline really doesn’t need to be rehashed any further, but basically, this universe is rich. There are a lot of directions it could go without being a full reboot of the franchise with new actors and actresses but the same characters.

However, I wonder if the thought process is to potentially stick a little closer to Charlaine Harris’ works this time around? A lot of the storylines in the Southern Vampire Mysteries were really never touched on in the original HBO show, so I suppose that could be one positive of a reboot. Plus, I know rebooting has worked with varying degrees of success for some projects like Charmed, though the gap is even smaller with True Blood.

Anyway, if you didn’t catch the initial news, at least one original series person is on board for a reboot, as Alan Ball is allegedly attached as a producer this time around. Riverdale's' Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa is on board to write the pilot and also produce and HBO is currently staying mum about the possibility of another series.

We will be sure to keep you updated if HBO moves forward with this plan, but I’d love to gauge how everyone is feeling. Is this a good idea? A terrible one?

This poll is no longer available.

While we have a long wait for the next Halloween, any time is a good time to watch some of the best horror TV shows on Max, such as The Last of Us or Lovecraft Country. Of course, there is plenty more where those came from that should satisfy fans who crave more than the feature-length frights that the best horror movies on Max can deliver.

In fact, there are some great TV shows on Max that might even be scarier than the great horror movies currently available, which is just one reason why it is one of the best streaming services to subscribe to today. Without further ado, let’s not wait any longer for the episodic chills and thrills and present the best horror TV shows that a Max subscription allows.

Uzumaki (2024)

Starring: Uki Satake, Shin'ichirô Miki, Abby Trott, Robbie Daymond

What it’s about: The citizens of a small town become dangerously obsessed with spiral shapes.

Why it is one of the best horror TV shows on Max: Based on Junji Ito’s acclaimed manga that also inspired a live-action Japanese horror movie from 2000, Uzumaki is a visually astonishing, four-part supernatural anime series.

• Stream Uzumaki on Max

Falling Skies (2011-2015)

Starring: Noah Wyle, Drew Roy

What it’s about: Months after malicious extraterrestrials destroy all of Earth’s major cities, a modest group of survivors from Massachusetts struggle to maintain stability and aspire to regain control of the planet.

Why it is one of the best horror TV shows on Max: From executive producer Steven Spielberg and starring Noah Wyle, Falling Skies came out at a time when post-apocalyptic TV shows were all the rage, but managed to stand out as a strong entry to the alien invasion genre.

• Stream Falling Skies on Max

El Hipnotizador (2015-2017)

Starring: Leonardo Sbaraglia

What it’s about: A talented hypnotist who can coerce people into revealing their deepest secrets struggles with a dark secret of his own.

Why it is one of the best horror TV shows on Max: Based on the graphic novel by writer Pablo de Santis and illustrator Juan Sáenz Valiente, El Hipnotizador is a bizarre and, indeed, hypnotic Portuguese supernatural drama.

• Stream El Hipnotizador on Max

The Winchesters (2022-2023)

Starring: Drake Rodger, Meg Donnelly

What it’s about: A Vietnam War veteran and a young woman with unique talents fall in love while working together to defend humanity from the paranormal in the early 1970s.

Why it is one of the best horror TV shows on Max: From developer Robbie Thompson and executive producer Jensen Ackles, The Winchesters serves as a prequel to Supernatural, following the adventures of Dean and Sam’s parents, Mary and John.

• Stream The Winchesters on Max

Los Espookys (2018-2022)

Starring: Cassandra Ciangherotti, Ana Fabrega, Julio Torres

What it’s about: A group of horror lovers start a business constructing elaborate scenarios of a bizarre and terrifying degree for their clients.

Why it is one of the best horror TV shows on Max: Fred Armisen, Ana Fabrega, and Julio Torres both created and star in Los Espookys – a unique, Spanish-language series that blends horror with comedy in remarkably unique ways.

• Stream Los Espookys on Max

The Vampire Diaries (2009-2017)

Starring: Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, Ian Somerhalder

What it’s about: A teenage girl falls for a young man who happens to be a vampire and becomes embroiled in the strange world of his kind.

Why it is one of the best horror TV shows on Max: Based on a series of novels by L.J. Smith and developed by Scream writer Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, The Vampire Diaries is an addicting, romantic, gothic drama.

• Stream The Vampire Diaries on Max

Folklore (2018-2021)

Starring: Various

What it’s about: Terrifying tales include a single mother who goes to extreme lengths to please her son, a migrant worker whose life changes after he stumbles onto a corpse, and a ghost’s struggles to scare a new victim.

Why it is one of the best horror TV shows on Max: Folklore is a horror anthology TV show that explores mythologies originating from different Asian countries, including Indonesia, Thailand, China, and more.

• Stream Folklore on Max

A Haunting (2005-Present)

Starring: Various

What it’s about: Learn the allegedly true tales of ordinary people making extraordinary – and extraordinarily dangerous – encounters with the dead.

Why it is one of the best horror TV shows on Max: The fifth, tenth, and eleventh seasons of A Haunting – a long-running docuseries exploring first-hand accounts of unsettling paranormal activity – are available to stream on Max.

• Stream A Haunting on Max

Wellington Paranormal (2018-2022)

Starring: Mike Minogue, Karen O’Leary

What it’s about: The strange adventures of New Zealand cops who specialize in investigating the supernatural.

Why it is one of the best horror TV shows on Max: Mike Minogue and Karen O’Leary reprise their roles from the hilarious horror-comedy movie What We Do in the Shadows in Wellington Paranormal – a funny, mockumentary-style spin-off series from creator Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi.

• Stream Wellington Paranormal on Max

The Last Of Us (2023-Present)

Starring: Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey

What it’s about: Decades after a virus turning humans into deadly mutants brings forth the end of civilization, a hardened survivor becomes the reluctant guardian of a teen who may hold the key to a cure.

Why it is one of the best horror TV shows on Max: Craig Mazin and Neil Druckman’s intense HBO horror series based on the hit zombie survival video game, The Last of Us – which has a second season in the works – is said to have broken the supposed “video game adaptation curse” with its stunning cast and spine-tingling suspense.

• Stream The Last of Us on Max

30 Coins (2020-Present)

Starring: Eduard Fernández, Paul Giamatti

What it’s about: An ex-convict-turned-priest must contend with the demons of his past and actual demons while serving in a remote Spanish village.

Why it is one of the best horror TV shows on Max: The title of director and co-creator Alex de la Iglesia’s inventive, viscerally terrifying Spanish-language drama, 30 Coins, refers to Judas’ reward from the Romans for betraying Jesus.

• Stream 30 Coins on Max

Urban Legend (2022)

Starring: Various

What it’s about: A woman suffering strange side effects from a spider bite, a teen suspecting her prom dress is haunted, and two sisters experiencing spooky events in a house they inherit from their mother are some of the stories explored in this series.

Why it is one of the best horror TV shows on Max: Not to be confused with a 1998 slasher movie, Urban Legend is a horror anthology series from producer Eli Roth that takes inspiration from tales based on alleged facts and exaggerates them to horrifying levels.

• Stream Urban Legend on Max

Lovecraft Country (2020)

Starring: Jonathan Majors, Jurnee Smollett

What it’s about: After returning home from the Korean War, a young, Black Chicago native learns that his favorite fantasy stories are more than a product of the imagination while searching for his missing father in Jim Crow Era America.

Why it is one of the best horror TV shows on Max: Based on Matt Ruff’s 2014 novel, Lovecraft Country boasts many classic horror references but the most terrifying thing about this HBO series from developer Misha Green and executive producers Jordan Peele and J.J. Abrams is its brutally honest depiction of racial injustice.

• Stream Lovecraft Country on Max

Carnivàle (2003-2005)

Starring: Nick Stahl, Clancy Brown

What it’s about: During the Great Depression, a fugitive working for a traveling sideshow and a California Methodist preacher both possess unusual gifts that lead them to a shared destiny as crucial pawns in a world-shattering conflict.

Why it is one of the best horror TV shows on Max: Created by Daniel Knauf, the Emmy-winning Carnivàle only lasted two seasons but has since been remembered as an addictively suspenseful, visually stunning period drama with engrossing themes of good vs. evil.

• Stream Carnivàle on Max

True Blood (2008-2014)

Starring: Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Alexander Skarsgård

What it’s about: In a world in which vampires and humans can co-exist thanks to an effective blood substitute, a telepathic Louisiana server falls in love with a handsome, fanged stranger.

Why it is one of the best horror TV shows on Max: From Six Feet Under creator Alan Ball and based on Charlaine Harris’ novel series, The Southern Vampire Mysteries, True Blood is a funny, sexy, and deliciously macabre modern-day take on horror folklore.

• Stream True Blood on Max

Todd McFarlane’s Spawn (1997-1999)

Starring: Keith David, Richard Dysart

What it’s about: Slain by his double-crossing best friend, skilled mercenary Al Simmons struggles to outrun the armies of Heaven and Hell while using his powers as a force against earthly corruption.

Why it is one of the best horror TV shows on Max: Fans of Todd McFarlane’s Image comic book series Spawn would likely recommend you watch this Emmy-winning show – heralded today as one of the best non-Marvel-or DC superhero TV shows – over the 1997 live-action film, which Blumhouse is currently rebooting.

• Stream Todd McFarlane’s Spawn on Max

The Outsider (2020)

Starring: Ben Mendelsohn, Jason Bateman

What it’s about: A Georgia police detective is baffled by proof that a teacher brutally murdered an 11-year-old boy and conflicting evidence that proves his involvement is impossible.

Why it is one of the best horror TV shows on Max: At first, the acclaimed HBO horror series The Outsider seems like another typical crime thriller but, given this is also an adaptation of a best-selling novel by Stephen King, audiences can rightfully assume something far out of the ordinary is afoot.

• Stream The Outsider on Max

Off The Air (2011-Present)

Starring: Various

What it’s about: Topics ranging from mundane to broad and mystifying or just plain grim inspire diverse live-action clips and animated sequences in each 11-minute installment of this anthology series.

Why it is one of the best horror TV shows on Max: There is not one definite way to describe Adult Swim’s Off the Air but these comically surreal segments are linked by a sense of unease and existential dread that firmly plants it in the horror genre.

• Stream Off the Air on Max

Room 104 (2017-2020)

Starring: Various

What it’s about: A seemingly normal American hotel room serves as the connective tissue for a series of self-contained stories that only become stranger throughout its four seasons.

Why it is one of the best horror TV shows on Max: From co-creators Mark and Jay Duplass, Room 104 is yet another anthology TV show that is impossible to describe in one particular way but when it delves into the territory of horror, it really goes for it.

• Stream Room 104 on Max

Would you agree that these TV shows deliver maximum thrills? Keep an eye on any upcoming horror TV shows that might join this list one day.

In 2008, HBO introduced the world to more sexy vampires, but this time they weren’t bound by the same rules as most vampires. This series was True Blood. For seven seasons, the show focused on Sookie Stackhouse, a girl who could hear people’s thoughts. She resided in Bon Temps, a sort-of magical proposed Utopia where vampires, other creatures, and humans attempted to live together in harmony. Of course that didn’t happen.The series shot many of the True Blood cast to stardom, including Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, and Alexander Skarsgard.

True Blood developed a strong cult following, and received many accolades and praise from TV critics and fans. It’s been 12 years since the series aired, and six since it ended in 2014. The cast have been using the momentum and success of the series to propel their careers even further.

Let’s check in with some of the main and supporting True Blood cast to see what they’ve been up to since the series ended. Warning: This may contain minor spoilers about the True Blood plot. Don't read further if you don't regularly visit Fangtasia.

Anna Paquin (Sookie Stackhouse)

Anna Paquin played Sookie Stackhouse, the faerie torn between two vampires, a shapeshifter, a vampire-faerie, and a wolf. At least, that's how True Blood was advertised, but most of the series really revolved around Bill (Stephen Moyer) and Sookie. It was a constant romance cycle until the very end.

After True Blood, Anna Paquin stayed very busy. In 2017, she appeared in a Canadian police mystery called Bellevue. That same year, Paquin played Nancy Montgomery in the miniseries Alias Grace. In 2019, she took on a major role in The Affair as Joanie Lockhart, the adult daughter of Cole (Joshua Jackson) and Alison (Ruth Wilson). Anna Paquin plays the lead in PopTV’s series Flack. Her character Robyn is an American publicist who represents scandalous celebrities in London. Paquin also had roles in The Irishman, Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur, and reprised her role as Rogue in X-Men: Days of Future Past.

Stephen Moyer (Bill Compton)

Stephen Moyer played Sookie’s main love interest, vampire Bill on True Blood. Like many vampires, he struggled with his vampire instincts, ambition, lust, and many other dark addictions. He rose and lost power many times throughout the show.

In 2015, Moyer appeared in the series The Bastard Executioner, a historical fiction about a man who tries to leave his violent past behind, but that is harder than expected. The former True Blood actor also had a role in Concussion, the bio, sports drama that starred Will Smith. His next major role was in 2017 with Safe House, a British crime drama. He starred in Season 2. Also in 2017, Moyer took on a lead role in Fox's Marvel X-Men TV series The Gifted. Moyer appeared in that series until 2019. In 2020, he has a lead role in the Canadian espionage drama Fortunate Son.

Alexander Skarsgard (Eric Northman)

Eric Northman, Sookie’s other vampire love interest and the vampire sheriff of Bon Temps. He also owns Fangtasia with his trusted side-kick Pam (Kristin Bauer van Straten).

Alexander Skarsgard appeared in a few movies after True Blood, including The Giver, The Diary of a Teenage Girl, Zoolander 2, The Legend of Tarzan, and Long Shot. His most known TV role following True Blood is as Perry in Big Little Lies. He won an Emmy award in 2017 for his portrayal as Perry. He’s also set to play Randall in the latest adaptation of Stephen King’s The Stand.

Ryan Kwanten (Jason Stackhouse)

Ryan Kwanten played Sookie’s sex driven, screw-up older brother, Jason on True Blood. Eventually Jason grows up a lot and becomes a police officer.

The Australian actor appeared in many films from 2014 to 2020, including Kidnapping Freddy Heineken, Who Gets the Dog?, Supercon, and up-coming Australian sci-fi film Loveland. In 2018, he began working alongside Sean Bean and Katrina Law in the Crackle series The Oath. In 2020, Kwanten plays Peter Wolfe in Season 2 of the Facebook Watch series Sacred Lies.

Rutina Wesley (Tara Thornton)

Rutina Wesley played Sookie’s best friend Tara, who got dealt one of the worst hands on the show. They put Tara through a lot on True Blood, but she finally got some semblance of peace during the final season.

Rutina Wesley only appeared in a couple movies since True Blood ended: the horror movie 13 Sins, Last Weekend, and The Perfect Guy. She also appeared in episodes of Hannibal, Arrow, and The Walking Dead. In 2016, Wesley took on a starring role in the Ava DuVernay and Oprah Winfrey series Queen Sugar. The fifth season of the series is scheduled to premiere in 2020.

Sam Trammel (Sam Merlotte)

Sam Merlotte was a shapeshifter who also had a really hard time on the show. It all started so simple for Sam. He was just another magical being in love with Sookie, and she just didn’t reciprocate his feelings (at least in the show). Then things got really dark for Sam, but he found his happy ending by True Blood’s series finale.

Sam Trammel’s biggest roles since True Blood have been appearing in This is Us, The Order, Reckoning, the movie The Fault in Our Stars, and on the final season of Homeland.

Deborah Ann Woll (Jessica Hamby)

Jessica entered the scene as Bill’s sort-of vampire daughter. She grew into her own over the course of the series, being one of the main driving forces to save the vampires in the final two seasons. She eventually found love and happiness with Hoyt (Jim Parrack).

Deborah Ann Woll appeared in the horror film Escape Room. From 2015 to 2019 she played Karen Page in various Netflix Marvel shows: Daredevil, The Defenders, and The Punisher.

Kristin Bauer van Straten (Pam)

Pam was the sassy, no nonsense second in command to Eric. Pam often said what the viewers were thinking, so she easily became one of my favorite True Blood characters.

Kristin Bauer van Straten appeared in Nocturnal Animalsin 2016. The film was a psychological thriller starring Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. In 2018, she voiced Killer Frost in the DC film Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay. She also appeared in the Netflix movie Happy Anniversary. In 2020, she reunited with former True Blood co-star Ryan Kwanten in Sacred Lies, a Facebook Watch drama.

Carrie Preston (Arlene Fowler)

Arlene was a minor character throughout True Blood, but she remained a consistent presence on the series from start to finish. She often acted as the comic relief, especially when dealing with her children.

Carrie Preston received an Emmy nomination in 2016 for her guest role on The Good Wife, a show she previously won an Emmy for in 2013. Carrie Preston has had a busy career after True Blood. She appeared in a series called Happyish in 2015. From 2010 to 2016, she had a recurring role on The Good Wife. She also had a recurring role on Person of Interest from 2012 to 2016. In 2017 to 2018, she reprised her role as Elsbeth Tascioni in The Good Wife spin-off The Good Fight. In 2017, she landed a lead role in Claws. A fourth and final season of Claws is expected to drop on TNT in 2020.

Joe Manganiello (Alcide Herveaux)

Alcide, the hot werewolf that almost made Sookie forget about dating those risky vampires.

Joe Manganiello blew up during his time on True Blood. In 2015, he reprised his role as Big Dick Richie in Magic Mike XXL. In 2017, he appeared as Deathstroke in Justice League. The next year he appeared in Dwayne Johnson’s Rampage. He also had a role in Jay and Silent Bob Reboot. Sometime in the near future, he’s supposed to appear in the Netflix comedy The Sleepover, which co-stars Ken Marino, Alyssa Milano, and Malin Akerman. Joe Manganiello has also appeared in episodes of One Day at a Time, The Big Bang Theory, and Mom.

Chris Bauer (Andy Bellefleur)

Andy Bellefleur was the lovable sheriff, who was stubborn and pessimistic, and often hostile towards Jason. As the series goes on, Andy receives more depth and confidence in his abilities.

Chris Bauer played Detective Tom Lange during the first season of American Crime Story. From 2014 to 2017, he played a recurring character on the Starz series’ Survivor’s Remorse. Chris Bauer has also had roles on Law and Order True Crimes, The Deuce, and For All Mankind, and appeared in episodes of Homeland, FBI, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

Anna Camp (Sarah Newlin)

Sarah Newlin along with husband Steve Newlin ( Michael McMillian) were televangelists who used religion as a weapon. She has a brief affair with Jason, and Steve becomes a vampire. Sarah becomes one of the main antagonists during the sixth and seventh season.

Anna Camp has a lead role in the Pitch Perfect film series. She also appeared in the shows The Good Wife, Good Girl Revolt, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and Perfect Harmony. Camp appeared in the films Café Society, The Most Hated Woman in America, and the upcoming Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani movie The Lovebirds. Anna Camp co-stars with Steven Strait in a movie about terminal illness, Here Awhile, which is set for a June 9, 2020 video on demand release.

Nelsan Ellis (Lafayette Reynolds)

Lafayette was Tara’s outspoken, scene-stealing cousin Lafayette. He was the most meme-able and memorable character on True Blood.

Nelsan Ellis had roles in the movies Little Boxes, Roxanne Roxanne, The Stanford Prison Experiment, and Get On Up. From 2016 to 2017, he played Shinwell Johnson on Elementary. Sadly and tragically Nelsan Ellis died in 2017 from congestive heart failure.

True Blood is one of the series that HBO is currently offering free to everyone right now. This means that you can revisit Bon Temps to see some of your favorite characters again, or visit it to meet them for the first time. Stream True Blood here.

Staying entertained is of paramount importance right now. Obviously, there are many things one can do while spending every day and night at home. Plant a garden, repaint the walls, draw, learn an instrument, nap, cook, eat, nap some more...but we all know that most of us are using a lot of whatever newfound free time we have to do one thing: watch TV and movies. Now, HBO has made it a lot easier to find a new favorite or revisit something you already love, as the cabler just released The Wire, The Sopranos and lots of other content for free.

Here's how this will work. Beginning this Friday, April 3, you'll be able to get access to nine of HBO's full series and 10 of the network's docuseries or documentaries without having to pay for an HBO subscription. All you have to do is download either the HBO Now or the HBO Go apps, or get yourself over to the website for either streaming platform on your computer. You'll then get to watch the full series of each show that's been made available, which means you'll have hundreds of hours worth of additional viewing options at your fingertips. Here's the list of what you can watch:

Let's face it, with television, especially, it can be hard to keep up with all the prestige / buzzed-about shows that arrive on a regular basis. So, it's not impossible that there are a lot of people who managed to miss out on the wonders that these series had to offer, even if the shows had been completed many years ago.

Just among the scripted shows, there are some marvels to behold. The Wire is my favorite of the dramas listed, and, honestly, I still consider it to be one of the best shows of all time. If you've never seen the series, which chronicles the lives and work of a group of Baltimore cops and the (mostly) gangsters they hunt in every episode, then you've missed out on some of the best writing ever seen on television, along with one awesome catchphrase. You've also missed out on wonderful performances from Idris Elba, Aidan Gillen, Michael Kenneth Williams, a very young Michael B. Jordan and many more.

Thanks to HBO, you can now spend your free time more wisely and binge The Wire, Veep, Succession and other new and old hits and keep that cash in your pocket. We don't know exactly how long all the content will be offered, but HBO did make it clear that this is for a limited time, so be sure to get in on this tomorrow after you finish working in your pajamas or teaching your kid about the War of 1812, or whatever else it is you've been doing all day.

If you still need more ideas for things to watch (Don't worry. It's OK to admit you need more entertainment guidance than usual right now.), check out our Netflix schedule and see what's new on Hulu in April!

Game of Thrones is a show with dragons, intriguing plot lines, high stakes, immense drama, and action. It's also about incest. Okay, it's not like it's a major theme or anything, but there is certainly a fair bit of it and the show's entire plot more or less hinges on it. Also, need we point out that of all the popular candidates to take the throne at the series' end, three out of four have banged a relative?

Game of Thrones has a history of incest, but it's not the only television show to emphasize keeping love in the family. With that said, here's a handful of times television has gotten incestuous long before Jon and Dany decided to lock lips, do the nasty, and make the world feel uncomfortable about this relationship finally happening.

Game of Thrones - Jaime and Cersei

As mentioned earlier, without this Lannister sibling duo getting freaky, it's fair to say Game of Thrones would be much different. The couple copulating in the seemingly abandoned tower in Winterfell set off a chain of events that, for better or worse, ultimately set in motion the events that led to Season 8. Imagine if they'd just kept it in their pants a little longer, would Ned Stark still be alive?

He may have died anyway, and the Lannisters would've still tried to get rid of Robert to take control of Westeros. Obviously it's impossible to predict how things would've played out had Ned never left Winterfell, but the characters are in decent position to stop the White Walker threat that's been mounting since Game of Thrones' beginning. That may not have happened had Jaime and Cersei not been bumpin' uglies, so think about that during the Season 8 premiere.

Riverdale - Polly And Jason

Jason Blossom's murder was the mystery that kicked off Riverdale, and boy, did it get complicated. While it appeared Jason might've had a incestuous relationship with his twin sister Cheryl, fans got a classic Riverdale twist when it was revealed the town's Coopers and Blossoms were once part of the same family. This was shocking to the whole family, especially Betty who realized her sister Polly was pregnant with their first cousin's twins.

Now, Polly didn't know she was related to Jason, nor Jason Polly. Given the strained relationship of the Coopers and Blossoms their ignorance can be forgiven, although it doesn't really make the whole incest thing any less gross. It was one of Riverdale's first big shocks, but certainly not the last in a show that has jumped the shark so many times it's beginning to feel as though the show is using one as a jump rope.

Arrested Development - George Michael And Maeby

George Michael tried to win the affections of his "cousin" for the longest time, be it through muscle suits or steamy foreign films about kissing cousins. He was eventually successful, and the two have some quasi-romantic trysts of sorts that aren't as graphic as other entries on this list, though are still uncomfortable. Maeby also dated Steve Holt, who is later revealed to be her cousin.

Of course, this entry is incestuous in the most complicated of spirits, as Maeby's mother Lindsay is later revealed to be an adopted daughter of the Bluth family and isn't blood-related. But wait! In Season 5, it was then revealed that Lindsay was the biological daughter of Lucille's mother, Mimi. Which seemingly meant that George Michael and Maeby were indeed related by blood, though not as closely as it was originally depicted. So I guess it was fine that they ended the season making out in full view of everyone? (Narrator: It wasn't.)

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia - The McPoyles

Incest is taboo and something many would consider gross in a real-life scenario, but for some reason it can be hilarious in most comedies. Case in point: the McPoyle family in It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, who surface from time to time and gross the rest of the characters out with their odd looks, sibling love, and generally weird behavior. Seriously, how can anyone like milk that much?

The McPoyle family may be television's most extreme version of incest, especially since it is a generational thing. Inbreeding has given the family its distinctive look, and there's a good chance the McPoyles will only get weirder the longer their bloodline travels down this path. Hey, at least we should be glad they're fictional and aren't actually running around and making the world miserable with their bizarre behavior and shenanigans, right?

Six Feet Under - Billy and Brenda

Of all the tragic characters that populated Six Feet Under, Rachel Griffiths' Brenda Chenowith arguably had the most mental baggage weighing her down. Not all of it can be laid at the equally unbalanced feet of her brother Billy, played with a creepy hunger by Jeremy Sisto, but good money is on him being connected to the lion's share of her sexual issues and emotional hangups. That childhood, though...yeesh.

Any time Billy showed up, viewers were in for some off-kilter sibling affection, made more uncomfortable by the unbridled love that he feels for Brenda. But just when you think that he might have "things" under control, he takes advantage of his pregnant and mourning sister, and soon utters this line: "That's what your penis would look like if you were a boy." Here's hoping the many years that came before Brenda's finale death were 100% free from Billy's horniness.

Dynasty - Fallon And Adam, Jeff, And Miles

One of television's greatest classic dramas, surprisingly, had a decent amount of incest. Most of it happened through Fallon, who married and later divorced two of her second cousins Jeff and Miles. Things obviously got a little intimate during those marriages, which officially rings the bell on the whole "kissing cousins" taboo. Blood is blood, even if it's your parent's cousin's kid.

That whole business was arguably less disgusting, however, than the time that Fallon shared a kiss with Adam. The two weren't aware they were brother and sister when it happened, but yeesh, who would've though the 80s would've shown something like that on such a hit show? Perhaps incest is the untold secret of uber-successful television shows, and it's a Hollywood secret that it does well with test audiences. Here's hoping the answer to that is a big old no.

True Blood - Bill And Portia

Vampires may be unholy, sacrilegious, and sometimes funny demons of the night, but even they have standards. At least, Bill Compton does when he learns that Portia Bellefleur is his 3rd great-granddaughter. Bill is disgusted that he slept with her and demands they keep their relationship professional from that point on, but Portia isn't so ready to let go. She's not about to let a good time go just because Bill is her great ancestor.

This leads to a speech in which Portia runs down a litany of reasons as to why incest isn't a huge deal. Beyond the fact that Bill can't get her pregnant (which she says is the main taboo of incest), she also notes that incest is becoming more socially acceptable. Bill tries to keep things professional, but ultimately has to glamour her so that she screams and runs away any time she sees him, thus ending the relationship.

Of course, these are just a handful of the incidents in which television decided to work incest into storylines, so readers can feel free to add other instances down in the comments below. Or they can quietly shake their head, and try to block out the weirdness of Jon and Dany's love affair when tuning into Game of Thrones' premiere of the final season Sunday, April 13 at 9:00 p.m. ET.

Homeland Season 8 is furthering its progress. The Showtime drama has cast a fan favorite from True Blood to take on a pivotal role. They will be playing the freshly-minted vice president. Who is "they?" Sam Trammell is heading to Homeland.

Yes! Sam Trammell will star in the upcoming and final season of Homeland. The actor has signed on to play Vice President Benjamin Hayes, per a THR exclusive. It is not a short-term role either. Trammell will recur on the series for a season-long arc. Based on what is said about his character, that makes sense.

Sam Trammell will play the vice president to Beau Bridges' president. Bridges' character gets more than he bargained for with his pick for VP. In the pithy description, Trammell’s Benjamin is said to be a "political survivor." So he has seen his share of political dramas and come through them on the other side.

Based on his position, it would be fair to say he not only survived that tumult, he thrived in the face of it. Benjamin possesses a keen skill for "optics." His vice presidency will require a leap from him, as he has had to cross the aisle to serve as vice president. Someone really wanted the job.

"Keep your friends close..." because Beau Bridges has underestimated his vice president. He believes he has made a safe choice with Sam Trammell’s character. He chose Hayes to help heal the rift between party lines. Well, Trammell’s Benjamin turns out to be for more of a threat than he thought.

Does this mean Benjamin Hayes will become more popular than Beau Bridges' president? Maybe. Will he scheme to become president? Again, maybe. Sam Trammell is perfect for this role, as it sounds like a complicated one. This kind of character requires charisma, and Trammell has that in spades. It will also be a fun genre departure for the actor.

He can currently be seen in the newly released Netflix series The Order. Like True Blood, it deals in the supernatural. Heading to Homeland will be a chance to handle something new. Unless Homeland has saved its biggest shocker for last and everyone is a supernatural entity.

It will be interesting to learn how Sam Trammell’s character intersects with the overall storyline for Season 8. Homeland’s final installment was said to take place outside of Washington D.C. Instead, the show is believed to have its setting in Afghanistan, per Deadline.

Homeland is filming in Morocco and the season’s release has been pushed from its earlier summer debut to sometime in late 2019. Thus, it will probably be a while before viewers get to find out how Sam Trammell’s character fits into the action.

Homeland’s eighth and final season will premiere at some point in 2019 on Showtime. In the meantime, there are a lot of new shows set to arrive on the cable network and others during the midseason.

Vinny Guadagnino isn't typically known to be one to get under people's skin on Jersey Shore Family Vacation, but the cast member certainly may be doing that off the program. What started out as Vinny asking his followers for suggestions for TV shows to binge soon turned into Vinny bashing some of television's greatest modern offerings. Vinny is taking shots at shows with big fanbases like Sons of Anarchy, and delivering hot takes that fans may not like to hear:

Jersey Shore Family Vacation fans who also liked Sons of Anarchy expressed their disappointment in Vinny's opinion. Of course, even the harshest of critics will have a few who agree with him, so Vinny had a few people who supported his opinion. By and large, a vast majority of fans ignored his mini-review of the biker drama and replied with other show suggestions, perhaps hoping to be the next reply he'd respond to.

Vinny Guadagnino's harsh criticism didn't stop with Sons of Anarchy, and he went on to trash several other series that many would consider classic or binge-worthy. Vinny said HBO's Sharp Objects was "boring," and that American Horror Story was a "terrible show" where most of its fans only liked one season. Vinny even took shots at The Walking Dead when it was suggested to him, and said he was a fan until Season 6, before "it decided to suck." Speaking of "suck" he also didn't have great things to say about True Blood's later seasons:

Some of Vinny's opinions on these major television shows aren't even that unpopular, as many may say the same thing about some of the shows he mentioned. That said, as a celebrity with over three million followers, Vinny may want to be careful blasting popular shows with rabid fans or actors who can clap back. After all, Jersey Shore Family Vacation may be popular, but a vast majority of people wouldn't list it as being in the same caliber of show as some of the ones he's trashing.

Even relatively new programs didn't escape the Jersey Shore Family Vacation cast member, as his fanbase tried to tempt him into watching Netflix's much-buzzed about horror series The Haunting At Hill House. Vinny informed his audience that he was watching the Netflix original as he tweeted, but it wasn't hooking him. One tweet dismissing the show wasn't enough, apparently, as Vinny dug in even deeper with a criticism that may wound a few fans:

So, what shows does Vinny Guadagnino like? It may seem like the Jersey Shore Family Vacation cast member hates just about everything, although he did mention a few series he does enjoy amidst his rotten reviews. Vinny noted that he was a fan of Comedy Central's Nathan For You, and prior to asking for suggestions revealed he watches many popular programs such as Game of Thrones, Stranger Things, and Better Call Saul. Hopefully, those series and the others he listed stick around for a while because it sounds like finding a show Vinny enjoys is pretty difficult!

Jersey Shore Family Vacation is still rolling on with Season 2 on MTV, Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. ET. For a look at what other shows are airing this fall, be sure to visit and bookmark our wonderful fall premiere guide.

When the local news is reporting on something important, sometimes outlets will try to do something zany to stand out for audiences. Of course, sometimes the zaniness can happen while the on-air talent is completely unaware anything is amiss. Such a thing occurred on the BBC during a nightly news broadcast, as the anchor's report was complemented by Anna Paquin's boobs on full display in a sex scene from True Blood. Wait, what was that report about, again?

Ah yes, News at Ten anchor Sophie Raworth was talking about a cricket match when her words were suddenly overtaken by Anna Paquin's on-screen talents. Granted, we're talking about a computer or TV screen shown in the far background while the report was ongoing, but if you think size mattered in this situation -- I'm not apologizing there -- then think again, as the BBC got hit up by lots of viewers online wondering why someone was watching porn while a news show was being aired. Thankfully, it wasn't actually pornography, but rather one of True Blood's tender and topless moments between a human-fairy and a vampire.

Anna Paquin herself shared the video in question on Twitter, pointing out that it was her breasts getting watched by millions of people across the pond

By going down, er, scrolling down to the replies on Anna Paquin's tweet, one can see a fun exchange between the actress, her husband and former co-star Stephen Moyer, and former co-star Robert Kazinsky. As it's pointed out by Paquin -- for those who didn't automatically recognize the scene in its blurry state on the video -- this scene actually came from the Season 6 episode "Don't You Feel Me," although she just refers to it as "fairy land graveyard sex with Warlow... duh!"

That scene was about as True Blood as True Blood got, with the antagonistic vampire Warlow having a graveyard romp with Sookie during a time where they were temporarily on the same page about him killing her parents and all that jazz. And they were on the same plot of Earth, too, when they were getting busy in the background of the BBC's nightly news. We should all be thankful that the HBO drama was all that was being watched, as things could have gotten much murkier.

While True Blood won't be around for another season at any point in the foreseeable future, Anna Paquin landed two big follow-up TV roles in the last year or so with the upcoming Netflix drama Alias Grace, as well as the Canadian thriller Bellevue, both of which look to be top-notch. (No word on how much graveyard sex either show will have, but we'll assume "none.") She also signed on for a part in the sci-fi anthology Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams, which is heading to Amazon.

To see everything that's intentionally hitting the small screen in the near future, head to our summer premiere schedule and our fall TV schedule.

While weekends used to be the time that True Blood fans couldn't wait for back in the day, this past weekend brought about the sad news that the show's former star Nelsan Ellis died at the age of 39. Considering the actor had no obvious illnesses or openly discussed health issues, the news came as a shock to Ellis' family, friends and former co-stars. Now, Ellis' family has agreed to go public with the news that his death was caused by heart failure, due to alcohol withdrawal complications. According to a statement provided by Ellis' agent:

That is definitely not the kind of story that anyone wants to hear about a beloved celeb whose warm smiles always made it seem like he was on top of the world. Nelsan Ellis got his big break with 2005's Fox drama The Inside, but he rocketed to the upper echelon of fan favorite TV stars in 2008 when True Blood first hit HBO. He was so good that the creative team changed up author Charlaine Harris' source material so that his Lafayette Reynolds could survive beyond his novelized death. And that was easily one of that show's best decisions.

Of course, the character of Lafayette suffered from his own addictions and abuse problems, and even though the show's drug "V" isn't real, Nelsan Ellis still had to adapt to the addictive mindset and behavior, which couldn't have been easy on him if he was dealing with those issues in his daily life. The best way to keep someone from swimming, after all, is to keep them out of the water.

Nelsan Ellis apparently did not want people to know about his addictions or his alcoholism, and the repeated stints in rehab possibly inspired the actor to go about conquering his demons on his own, away from anyone else's guidance and/or judgement. Unfortunately, the situation was such that going cold turkey only exacerbated his failing health problems, and he died while attempting to clean up his act.

By sharing his story, the family of Nelsan Ellis wants to shine a spotlight on the issue of addiction to show people that seeking out help is never something to be embarrassed about. Here's what else Ellis' agent had to say in the statement, according to THR.

In the entertainment world, substance abuse and addiction runs rampant, since fame allows for easy access to just about anything under the sun, and it must be extremely difficult to walk away from that life on one's own willpower and personal strength. Sadly, drugs and alcohol have been involved with the early deaths of many a great celebrity, since walking away is not something everyone is able to go through with.

We here at CinemaBlend continue to send our thoughts and condolences to the family and friends of Nelsan Ellis as they deal with these mournful circumstances. Hopefully the family's decision to be transparent about Ellis' death will provide enough of a cautionary warning for others out there who may not see any clear ways to free themselves of addiction.

Each year that passes sadly takes away some of pop culture's most beloved entertainers, and this weekend saw the death of True Blood star and fan favorite Nelsan Ellis, who played the fashion-friendly cook and medium Lafayette Reynolds. His passing was a huge shock for everyone, and social media was flooded with touching and heartfelt messages honoring Ellis' life and his career. Most notably, of course, were the posts from the actor's True Blood family, as so many of them shared their mournful thoughts. To start, show lead Anna Paquin.

Like others here, both Anna Paquin and Nelsan Ellis were part of the show from the premiere on, and they both starred in all of True Blood's seven seasons on HBO. Notably, however, Lafayette was nowhere near as successful a survivor in Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse novels that served as the show's source material. Lafayette was dead by the end of the first book, but the overwhelmingly positive feedback to Ellis' portrayal cemented the character's redeveloped future within the series.

Charlaine Harris, whose next book-to-TV series Midnight, Texas could have been a great project for the actor, had some kind words of her own to share concerning Nelsan Ellis' death.

Kevin Alejandro played the witch/brujo Jesus on True Blood, who was a character created specifically for the TV show to continue developing Lafayette's character, which brought about the two characters' temporary (but still lovely) romance. Naturally, Alejandro was as shocked as anyone by the tragic news.

As the owner of Merlotte's, the restaurant serving as a central True Blood location, Sam Trammell's Sam Merlotte was responsible for a lot of the on-set sweat that Nelsan Ellis poured out while rocking it in the kitchen with Todd Lowe's Terry Bellefleur, who was killed off the show in Season 6. To be expected, both actors shared their thoughts.

Now here's a rundown of some of the other big True Blood stars pouring their hearts out for Nelsan Ellis' untimely passing. Here's Stephen Moyer, who memorably starred as the morally torn vampire Bill Compton.

Here's current Daredevil star Deborah Ann Woll, who played the initially immature vamp Jessica.

Now the great Joe Manganiello, the mid-series addition who starred as the werewolf Alcide Herveaux.

The always excellent Kristen Bauer van Straten played the exquisitely moody Pam on True Blood, who was responsible for Lafayette selling V again.

Definitely not the last of Nelsan Ellis' True Blood co-stars to mourn his loss via social media, as there are many more, Michael Raymond-James was one of the show's big stars in Season 1 as the duplicitous Rene Lenier, who only reappeared once beyond his initial run.

While True Blood may not air new episodes anymore, fans can always hit up HBO Go to watch Nelsan Ellis' Lafayette going through all his former trials and tribulations anew, and he can also be seen as a regular in the most recent season of Elementary. For all the shows that are coming to primetime in the near future, head to our summer TV premiere schedule.

While 2016 was extremely difficult in regards to celebrity deaths, this year hasn't been so easy either. We've lost legends old and new, and now a beloved TV star has unfortunately passed away too soon. Actor Nelsan Ellis, who is best known for his starring role in HBO's True Blood, has died at the age of 39.

This shocking news comes to us from The Hollywood Reporter, who reported Nelsan Ellis' tragic death. While details regarding Ellis' health are few and far between, his manager told THR that the late actor died from complications related to heart failure. And considering the young age of the actor, this is sure to be a story that is followed as more details become public.

Nelsan Ellis is best known for portraying Lafayette Reynolds in all seven season of HBO's supernatural drama True Blood. Lafayette is one of the most popular characters from the series, and Ellis received universal praise and adoration for his fearless performance. Lafayette was one of the few queer human characters in the Bon Temps, Louisiana, where the show was primarily set.

While Lafayette originally functioned as a sassy comic relief and cook at Merlotte's, his character was eventually expanded. He had two major relationships in the series, and eventually realized that he was medium, and could make contact with the dead. This allowed him to get into more action in the series, and he even got to have a happy ending in the series finale.

Aside from his work on True Blood, Nelsan Ellis had a variety of film credits as well. He had a small role in The Help as Henry the Waiter. Additionally, he had a major role in the James Brown biopic Get On Up as singer Bobby Byrd. Ellis was also a recurring character on CBS' procedural Elementary, opposite Lucy Liu and Jonny Lee Miller. He appeared in 11 episodes of the series before his death.

Nelsan Ellis' work in True Blood has been praised for the character's unapologetic femininity, which combined with his physical toughness made for a fascinating character study. Lafayette didn't take any homophobic crap from the residents of Bon Temps, and usually combatted any negative experiences with a mixture of humor and badassery. His relationship with his cousin Tara was another positive aspect of his role, and the character was so popular that showrunners decided not to kill him at the end of Season 1- which was the character's fate in the novels.

As a reminder, check out one of Lafayette's most iconic scenes below.

I mean, how can you not love him after that?

Nelsan Ellis' shocking death will no doubt be felt by the many fans who were touched by his performances. Our thoughts are with his loved ones at this time.

While all actors are expected to be versatile, Denis O'Hare is one another level. His chameleon-like ability to disappear into roles has landed him parts in a variety of film projects, as well as starring roles in both HBO's True Blood and Ryan Murphy's American Horror Story. The latter gives O'Hare the chance to step into a new character every season, while his vampire villain Russell Edgington was True Blood's most beloved villain. So which show is easier to be on? Denis O'Hare recently revealed that while AHS is a dream job, it doesn't have the same familial feel that True Blood did. Plus, the material is darker.

This news comes to us from Denis O'Hare's recent appearance at Portland's Heroes and Villains Fest. CinemaBlend's own Adam Holmes was able to chat with the actor about his various TV projects, where O'Hare revealed the difference between each show. He said,

Well, this was refreshingly honest. It appears that American Horror Story is a harder job for a few reasons, although that doesn't make Denis O'Hare any less thrilled with his inclusion in the show. After all, he's appeared in every single season of the anthology series.

In True Blood, Denis O'Hare played the delightfully evil Russell Edgington. At the time of his inclusion, the series had already ran for two season and carved out an audience at HBO. The cast and crew was apparently like a family, which felt welcoming to O'Hare. And while True Blood had plenty of darkness and violence, it was always balanced with a sense of levity. Russell, in particular, once ripped a man's spine out and delivered a chilling monologue that ended one one of the show's best jokes.

But American Horror Story is apparently much more challenging in regards to material. Each season delivers new forms of darkness and horror, which is a delightful experience for the audience. But having to act out the atrocities is more difficult, which Denis O'Hare revealed in his conversation. Additionally, it appears that the anthology series also is a revolving door of sorts for crew members, so AHS overall has a much less familial tone. But with each season containing a new cast, crew, and theme, this does make sense.

American Horror Story will be back for its mysterious Season 7 this fall on FX. In the meantime, check our summer premiere list and plan your next binge watch.

Ryan Kwanten's TV career has taken a brief siesta following his time as Jason Stackhouse on True Blood, but now he's got something sweet coming down the pipeline. In his first big TV job since the finale of the HBO series, Kwanten is jumping into 50 Cent's Crackle drama The Oath. Here's what we know so far about Kwanten's new role, and what he'll be doing in the series.

In addition to joining The Oath as a producer, Ryan Kwanten steps into the series in the role of Steve Hammond. Steve is the son of Tom Hammond (Sean Bean) and leader of The Ravens, a tight-knit gang of cops who do whatever it takes to uphold the law, even if that means breaking it. Steve's loyalty lies within his gang and family, which will undoubtedly cause issues. His father's story revolves around seeking vengeance among those in the gang who have sold him out to the FBI and put him in prison. That must make for some awkward family gatherings. Jokes aside, one has to wonder whether Steve's role as leader of The Ravens will aid or complicate his father's lust for revenge.

If the concept of cops having private gangs and cut-throat politics sounds a little far-fetched, keep in mind The Oath is created by an L.A. Sheriffs deputy. Joe Halpin's story promises to use Ryan Kwanten and crew to tell an "unforgiving" story that looks into this subculture, and the lives of those who are sworn to do good, but skate the law for various reasons. It certainly sounds different than most shows involving cops, which might be what interested Crackle in the first place as it looks to even up the odds against competition.

As of now, The Oath is only a 10 episode commitment for Ryan Kwanten, who has a couple other smaller film projects on the docket in the coming months. Kwanten has stayed busy in the past couple years with small roles and voice acting, even providing the voice for Brewster in Jake And The Neverland Pirates. Jumping in with the likes of Sean Bean, who hopefully doesn't die in this role, will give Kwanten a chance to scratch that dramatic itch he hasn't worked with much since the finale of True Blood.

The Oath has a tentative release date of 2018 on Crackle, so True Blood fans will have to wait a handful of months before they see Ryan Kwanten back at it on the small screen. For those looking to kill some time with more television, CinemaBlend has a comprehensive list of all shows premiering and returning during the summer season that are can't miss. Visit our summer premiere guide to find those shows, and fans of Kwanten be sure to read what former co-star Alexander Skarsgard had to say about his kissing abilities.

Anna Paquin is heading back to television for the most exciting project she's been in since True Blood. For those of you who were hoping for more Sookie Stackhouse action, you're going to leave disappointed. Paquin is, however, stepping back into the world of the weird as she joins the anthology series Phillip K. Dick's Electric Dreams.

Based on the short stories of the acclaimed science fiction writer Phillip K. Dick, Phillip K. Dick's Electric Dreams will feature 10 standalone episodes featuring both American and British actors. Anna Paquin is slated to star alongside Empire star Terrence Howard in the episode "Real Life" which features a policewoman and video game developer teaming up to stop violent murderers. The series is slated for Amazon Video in the U.S. and Channel 4 in the UK. Paquin's episode was written by science fiction icon Ronald D. Moore. No official date has been revealed for the show, but it is reported to be released sometime within the year. This will be Amazon's second series based on the works of Phillip K. Dick, with the first being The Man In High Castle.

Anna Paquin and Terrence Howard join an increasingly impressive cast list for Phillip K. Dick's Electric Dreams, which was already stacked before their arrival. Variety reports that Paquin will join names like Greg Kinnear, Benedict Wong, Bryan Cranston and Steve Buscemi in a series that gives off some serious Black Mirror vibes. Considering Channel 4's involvement, that appears intentional as the network had great results when they shared Black Mirror with Netflix. Just going off the source material and acting cast announced, it looks like Phillip K. Dick's Electric Dreams is primed to be yet another international hit for the network.

For Anna Paquin, this will be the second major television series she'll be appearing on in 2017. Recently, Paquin was seen on the recently ended Canadian crime drama series Bellevue, where much like Phillip K. Dick's Electric Dreams, she plays a police officer. Paquin's character on Bellevue is tasked with finding a missing transgender teen, while also dealing with a return of a person from her past. Good to hear she has steady work, but I'd love to see Paquin back on a big series stateside again! With rumors swirling about a recasting for Rogue in X-Men, who knows when we'll see her next.

For now, we'll just have to take Anna Paquin's appearance on Phillip K. Dick's Electric Dreams when it lands on Amazon sometime in 2017. With no official date for when that show drops, be sure to busy yourself with a healthy dose of summer shows featured on our summer premiere guide. Also, as the Spring season draws to a close, be sure you're aware of when your favorite shows finales are happening by checking out our guide right here.

For seven seasons, it was hard to find a show that reveled in soapy, over-the-top violence and mayhem quite as gleefully as HBO's True Blood, which gave creator Alan Ball and his team every opportunity imaginable to push the limit in terms of blood and gore galore. But that novel series' author Charlaine Harris has another wild adaptation hitting the small screen soon with NBC's Midnight, Texas, and star Dylan Bruce spoke with CinemaBlend's Conner Schwerdtfeger about the amount of violence the network will allow in the late primetime hour.

Without promising anything like "people turning into giant blood explosions," Dylan Bruce still stokes the anticipation of fans that were hoping Charlaine Harris' popular supernatural trilogy wouldn't get neutered when Midnight, Texas got scooped up by NBC as opposed to another premium cable network. Not that it's a story that thrives on nothing but eye-gougings and dismemberments, but any world with witches, vampires and assassins in it is going to get a little on edge. Co-star Peter Mensah, who memorably played Kibwe on True Blood, brought up to CinemaBlend that his vampire character Lemuel Bridger saps both energy and blood rom his victims, so that's a really easy way to limit this community's sticky messes.

The town of Midnight, Texas in the title refers to a community of "different" souls, such as the aforementioned character types. (Along with psychics, werewolves, angels and more.) In the show, Dylan Bruce plays Bobo, the mysterious owner of Midnight's pawn shop; it doesn't take Stephen King's Needful Things to remind everyone that pawn shop owners in small towns usually have ulterior motives going on. And in Midnight, everyone tends to stick together to ward off threats from the outside world, like cops and criminals.

When talking to CinemaBlend about Midnight, Texas during a recent NBC press event, Dylan Bruce also talked up how big and awesome the stunt work and action-y scenes are within the drama. So even if things aren't quite as gruesome and extreme as True Blood, we're still going to get some good times. Here's how Bruce put it, while also referencing his stint on The CW's superhero drama Arrow.

I like the sound of that, too. Network shows usually have to get more inventive when it comes to action and violence, since the censors are a tad more stingy about visuals. (Although NBC let Hannibal get away with some extremely impressive effects on a weekly basis, if not all things.) So that's where the big stunts tend to pick up the slack, and we can't wait to see what the show has in store.

Developed for TV by former Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. producer/writer Monica Breen, Midnight, Texas also stars François Arnaud, Parisa Fitz-Henley, Arielle Kebbel, Jason Lewis, Sarah Ramos, Yul Vazquez and Sean Bridges. Sadly, it isn't set to hit NBC until Tuesday, July 25, at 10:00 p.m. ET. The new trailer on the next page will definitely raise your interests, assuming you're into this sort of thing, and to see everything else that's coming before and around that time, look no further than our midseason premiere guide and our summer TV schedule.

Superheroes are all the rage on the small screen nowadays, and just about every broadcast network has at least one comic-based series in the lineup. Fox has a project in the works that will give viewers a look into the world of the X-Men, and it could be a brilliant new take on the existing superhero genre on TV. Now, we finally know the actor who will star in the new series. Stephen Moyer of True Blood fame will tackle the lead role.

Stephen Moyer will play Reed, who is a father who discovers that his children possess powers that make them targets for a government that intends to stamp out mutants. When Reed and his wife learn of their children's abilities, they are forced to go on the run. Reed's life will be turned upside down as he must leave behind his life as an ambitious attorney working at the D.A.'s office and a dad trying to give his family a good life. Deadline reports that the plot will thicken even further when he and his family encounter an underground network of mutants also on the run from the government.

Reed is the third character to be cast for the new show, which has yet to receive an official title from Fox. Satisfaction's Blair Redford signed on to play a Native American mutant named Sam, who is the leader of the underground network and may or may not be an adaptation of the X-Men character known as Forge. Jamie Chung of Once Upon a Time and Gotham also landed a role on the Marvel series. She'll play Clarice "Blink" Fong, who has to start over when she develops the mutant ability to create portals.

The new Fox series clearly isn't going to be the same kind of X-Men project as fans have seen on the big screen in recent years, but creator Matt Nix has confirmed that the show takes place in the same universe as the films, and legendary X-Men movie director Bryan Singer is helming the pilot, so there will be some connections. We'll have to wait and see just how far they go. Unfortunately, Fox has not yet announced a timetable for the X-Men show, so we may be waiting a while.

Stephen Moyer is best known for his work as the vampire Bill Compton on all seven seasons of True Blood, which came to an end on HBO back in 2014. He returned to the small screen in 2015 for the short-lived The Bastard Executioner on FX, then moved to Fox to join the cast of the event series Shots Fired, which is set to debut in March. It should be interesting to see him flex his acting muscles in a new genre.

Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for the latest in TV news, and don't forget to check out our midseason TV premiere schedule to see what you can watch while you wait the new X-Men series to hit the airwaves.

The beauty of spin-offs is the fact that they afford a network newfound opportunities to explore characters who previously spent their time exclusively on the sidelines. We've seen this happen in the Arrow-verse, as well as AMC's Breaking Bad universe with the advent of Better Call Saul. Now it seems that the upcoming spin-off of The Good Wife (aptly titled The Good Fight) will explore one of the original series' most popular characters, as the legal drama will bring Carrie Preston's Elsbeth Tascioni back into the fray.

A new report from TVLine confirms that Carrie Preston is currently slated to return as Elsbeth Tascioni in the upcoming spin-off of The Good Wife. Although the details regarding the exact nature of her involvement remain somewhat vague at this point, the report indicates that the quirky lawyer will definitely return for a multi-episode arc during the upcoming offshoot of the popular series. The character was actually supposed to appear during the final season of The Good Wife, but her obligations to another series prevented that from panning out.

Carrie Preston's portrayal of the character has become absolutely iconic in the years since she debuted on The Good Wife. Fans flocked to the lovable Elsbeth, and the Emmys even recognized her in 2013 by awarding her with an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series.

Check out a clip from The Good Wife below for an awesome reminder of how much you love Elsbeth Tascioni:

If The Good Fight can deliver more scenes like that, then I think it's safe to say that we will definitely watch the upcoming spin-off.

Fans of The Good Wife will undoubtedly be pleased to learn that Ms. Tascioni is going to make a return to the small screen. As one of the more bizarre individuals on the CBS legal drama, the character made herself instantly endearing with her socially stunted personality and oddball quirks. During the course of The Good Wife's run, The Huffington Post even called her "the most brilliantly complex lawyer on television." With such high praise from the overall fan base, it will be an absolute treat to watch her arc play out on The Good Fight.

CinemaBlend will bring you more information related to the upcoming debut of The Good Fight as new details become available. The Good Wife spin-off will premiere on Sunday, February 19 at 8 p.m. EST on CBS and CBS All Access. For more information related to all of the most highly anticipated spring television debuts, make sure to check out our comprehensive midseason premiere guide and fill out your TV viewing schedules accordingly!

True Blood has been off the air for a couple of summers now, and fans of the campy supernatural series have really been missing their fix. NBC is hoping to quench our thirst for supernatural fare---and even vampires---with new series Midnight, Texas, which also comes from True Blood writer Charlaine Harris, who wrote the novels the TV series is based on. Now, we've finally gotten a good look at what Midnight, Texas will be about, and we have to say we're all in. If you enjoyed HBO's former supernatural drama, you may be, too. Give the first trailer a watch, below.

The trailer for Midnight, Texas introduces us to Manfred Bernardo, a man who seems to be running away from something. Thanks to some advice from his dead grandmother---who appears in ghost form---he ends up in Midnight, a small town in Texas. He soon realizes he fits right in the town, which is populated by supernatural creatures and misfits. No one is exactly what they seem at first glance---even Manfred himself. As we see toward the end of the trailer, a dead body will soon shake the town to its core.

Midnight, Texas was just announced to to series by NBC four months ago, and now the network is already giving us a good look at the upcoming supernatural drama. I'm going to go ahead and venture to say you should know whether or not this is up your alley right away. The small-town setting, the eeriness and campiness and, of course, the supernatural element all tie in to the same sort of world inhabited by the True Blood characters, even if Charlaine Harris is taking us to Texas this time, rather than Louisiana.

The show is expected to premiere on NBC in 2017, but the pilot has already come together and was even screened at New York Comic-Con this weekend, so things are moving forward rather quickly on this show's front. As for NBC, the network could really use another supernatural drama to fill the niche where Grimm will be leaving off. The long-running Friday night drama was expected to return for its final season this fall; however, now the network has pushed the series' final set of episodes to midseason. Grimm has done well for NBC, and Midnight, Texas could, too.

Similar to True Blood, NBC will be using Harris' novels to as some of the storylines on the show, but will be incorporating original material, as well. Word is still out on whether or not NBC will use Grimm's final season as a jumping off point to promote Midnight, Texas, but that Friday night timeslot really does seem like a good fit for that sort of show. We'll let you know as soon as the major networks start announcing midseason dates. In the meantime, you can check out which shows have yet to hit the schedule this fall. Oh and if you still taking the loss of True Blood pretty hard, the good news is that it's becoming a musical. More details here.

If you loved HBO's True Blood, you might be in for a treat soon. Alan Ball, that show's creator, has another project in the works and it sounds like it could be equally dark and twisted.

A report from Deadline says that True Blood and Six Feet Under creator Alan Ball is working on a new untitled series for HBO, which has already received a full series order from the network. Ball just signed a new two year deal with HBO, where he's been creating and producing shows for the past 15 years. The currently untitled series, which is being billed as "tragicomic," will focus on a middle class family, comprised of a lawyer, her philosophy professor husband, their three adopted children (one each from Vietnam, Colombia and Somalia) and their one biological child. While the family appears very modern and seems to have it all together, there are some deep problems in the household. On top of those familial tensions, one of the kids starts to see things that no one else can. The family then has to figure out what the hell is going on. Is the kid losing his or her mind, or is something supernatural going on?

OK, I'll admit, I'm already super intrigued. Alan Ball worked on a pretty straight ahead family drama with Six Feet Under, but anyone who checked out True Blood's vampire/shapeshifter/werewolf soaked madness during its seven seasons on the air will know that that show was batshit cray-cray. So, it really will be a toss up as to whether or not truly freaky shenanigans are going on in this multi-cultural family. While I really enjoyed Six Feet Under and found it completely addictive, I am absolutely hoping for something nutty and otherworldly to be going on with the "I'm seeing things" kid. Demonic possession, anyone? Spirits good and evil? Beings from the eighth dimension who've crossed over via a portal in the kid's bedroom? Aliens? Oh, my. Can it be all these things, please? It would make me so, so happy.

Alan Ball first gained mainstream attention for writing the 1999 film American Beauty. That movie became a solid critical and financial hit, and went on to win 103 awards, including 5 Oscars, one of which was for Ball's work on the screenplay. Six Feet Under ran for five seasons on HBO and was also a critical darling. That show was nominated for over 40 Primetime Emmys during the course of its run. The very supernatural True Blood also became a flagship show for the network, lasting from 2008 until 2014 and receiving 133 total award nominations.

Well, Alan Ball certainly knows what he's doing when it comes to drama and dark comedy. My hope for this new show is that it will be as fiercely entertaining as his others and that it will be popular enough for me to get thoroughly addicted to it. There's no word yet on when the show will air, but we'll keep you updated with information as it arises.

Reboots and revivals of popular TV shows and movies seem to be all the rage at the moment. Streaming services like Hulu and Netflix have had a habit of taking previously cancelled shows like The Mindy Project and Gilmore Girls and giving them new life. So it might be no surprise that HBO's vampire drama True Blood is making a return. But instead of a new bloody season coming to us, True Blood's new life is probably in the most unexpected way imaginable. True Blood is being developed into a musical.

This news comes to us from TV Line, which reports that a True Blood musical is in its very early stages of development. The new music is being composed by Nathan Barr, who had previously worked on the music for the original HBO series. Book and lyrics for the piece are reportedly being written by novelist Elizabeth Scott. TV Line is reporting that the show has only recently had a secret table read, so edits and changes to the story are still heavy. No news on the specific story and characters have been announced yet.

True Blood's musical adaptation seem like a pretty strange choice, as far as new shows are concerned. The plot of the HBO drama doesn't necessarily lend itself well to musical numbers and dance breaks. While not without its comedy, the series was decidedly dark during its seven season run. And seeing the likes of Eric Northman and Vampire Bill break out into song is probably going to make them far less terrifying to the human residents of Bon Temps, Louisiana. Additionally, the show ran for so long that it'll probably be difficult to decide which stories to make a musical into. Are they just going to focus on Season 1, with the closing number focusing on Miss Jeanette's body being found by Tara and Sookie? It's all a bit confusing

Speaking financially, a True Blood musical seems like it may be a poor decision, at least if it intends on having a Broadway run. Historically, vampire musicals have been financial and critical disasters on the great white way. We've seen Broadway's vampire musicals Dance of the Vampires and Lestat open on Broadway and promptly close, causing the investors and producers to lose millions of dollars. This season on Broadway saw an adaptation of American Psycho hit the stage which, while bloody and a visual treat with music by Duncan Sheik, also closed shortly after its opening. So basically musicals about blood, gore, and vampires have yet to make any money on Broadway.

True Blood revolves around the residents of Bon Temps, Louisiana. After vampires come "out of the coffin" and reveal their existence to the human population, various mystical and supernatural forces are revealed to be living amongst us. The series is also heavily romantic, with the relationship between Anna Paquin's Sookie Stackhouse and Stephen Moyer's Bill Compton making up much of the drama for the show's run. True Blood ran for an impressive seven seasons, from 2008-2014.

Would you see a True Blood musical? Sound off in the comments below.

As a former True Blood cast member, Alexander Skarsgard has kissed a lot of people on sets. Throw in more recent roles on television and the big screen, and you'll realize Skarsgard has kissed a slew of actors and actresses, including but not limited to Margot Robbie, Nicole Kidman, Anna Paquin, Ryan Kwanten, Kristin Bauer van Straten and many, many more. Recently, he revealed which of his co-stars is the best kisser, and it's probably not who you would guess:

During a recent episode of the Australian TV series The Project, the actor made an appearance in support of his new miniseries Big Little Lies. During the interview, he was asked to select the best of the Australian actors and actresses he has kissed during projects. Sadly, this means Paquin and van Straten are out. He thought about it for a brief second before admitting that it was Ryan Kwanten who was the best kisser, practically making the entire audience swoon.

Alexander Skarsgard's character Eric Northman had gotten up to a lot of random stuff during True Blood's run on HBO, but one of the most memorable moments was when he hooked up with Sookie's brother, Jason Stackhouse, on the series. The hook-up ended up being a dream sequence, but it has tickled fans in the time since nonetheless, probably because it was one of the steamier moments in the series, but also because it was so out of character for Ryan Kwanten's Jason Stackhouse.

What ended up happening was Eric fed Jason his blood in order to help heal him after his ordeal at the Vamp Camp. At the time, Eric Northman even made a comment to Jason about "dreaming" nice things about the character and shortly into the next season, Eric made his first appearance of the season in a dream Jason had that ended up being pretty steamy. And when we say steamy, we mean it.

Obviously, the gay sex dream sequence ended up being one of the most memorable segments in True Blood Season 7, and while Alexander Skarsgard was being a little cheeky when responding to the interviewer on The Project, it's clear that he's serious that Ryan Kwanten is a good kisser. If he had to remember anything about his time on True Blood, we're not too sad it was that.

In some ways, it feels like it’s been way longer than 21 months since True Blood went out with a finale that was both extremely disgusting and pretty disappointing for many fans. In other ways, though, it feels like it was just yesterday Bill Compton was whisper-growling on a weekly basis. True Blood author Charlaine Harris actually left Sookie Stackhouse behind three years ago, and the book series that she started writing after that, Midnight, Texas, was just picked up to series over at NBC. We probably shouldn’t expect any huge monster orgies at any point.

The series order for Midnight, Texas did not come with any specified number of episodes, sadly, so we’ll have to wait to see just how many we’ll get to feast on later this year. Given that there are currently three books in the series – the third was just published earlier this month – I’m guessing NBC will want to keep this thing going for as long as people are tuning in. And you will know right away whether or not you’re interested.

Midnight, Texas shares its name with the town at the center of the narrative. It’s the place where Manfred Bernardo (Blindspot’s François Arnaud) relocates, thinking he’s found a nice and quiet place to do his secret business. But things aren’t quite as they seem, and this is an area filled to the brim with all manner of monstrous creatures, from vampires to telepaths to murderers to witches. It’s a place where people (to use the word lightly) can come together to assist each other in fending off unwanted attention from the local police, biker gangs, and the demons in some residents’ pasts. Anyone who has seen True Blood knows what this kind of story is like, but hopefully Midnight, Texas doesn’t nosedive into awfulness at any point.

According to EW, this new supernatural drama will also star Orphan Black’s Dylan Bruce, Jessica Jones’ Parisa Fitz-Henley, Ballers’ Arielle Kebbel, Parenthood’s Sarah Ramos, Spartacus: Blood and Sand’s Peter Mensah, The Lottery’s Yul Vazquez, and Rectify’s Sean Bridgers. That is a very TV-friendly group right there.

Midnight, Texas first joined the TV development slate back in October of last year, when witches and vampires were right at home. It’s taken a while, but apparently NBC is happy enough with what they’ve seen to want a lot more of it on a regular basis. The adaptation is being written by a href= http://www.cinemablend.com/television/Major-Sacrifice-One-Agents-H-I-E-L-Character-Just-Made-137287.html>Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Fringe writer/producer Monica Breen, someone who obviously knows a thing or two about putting up popular genre fiction. The pilot was directed by Girl With the Dragon Tattoo director Niels Arden Oplev, who also shot the pilots for shows like Under the Dome, Mr. Robot and more.

Stay tuned for more info on Midnight, Texas, such as trailers and release dates. Until then, check out everything you’ll be able to find on TV before the fall with our handy TV premiere schedule.

Halloween approaches. It’s that time of year when we get to dress up as whatever we want, eat way too much candy, and scare the pants off of ourselves with some good old-fashioned terrifying TV. Now, television over the years has seen creepy crawlies ranging from zombies to werewolves to vampires, but there’s nothing like a witch to give us nightmares. There are plenty of ways for a witch to be terrifying, and not all of them involve cauldrons or broomsticks. Take a look at these ten devious ladies who manage to put a chill down our spines every time.

10. Samantha Stephens

What Show She Was On:Bewitched(1964 - 1972)

Who She Was: Samantha Stephens was a witch who fell in love and married a mortal named Darrin Stephens. Although she vowed to forsake her powers to live as a homemaker, she was frequently plagued by problems as minor as housework and as major as a witchy extended family that did not approve of her marriage to Darrin. Bewitched was a cute half-hour comedy with a cute nose-wiggling friendly witch as the star…or so it had seemed.

Why She Was So Scary: Samantha’s trademark nose wiggle may have been adorable, but there must have been some dark magic for her to manage it. Normal human noses are not meant for such things. We can only wonder what would have happened if Darrin really made her mad.

9. Sabrina Spellman

What Show She Was On: Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (1996 – 2003)

Who She Was: Sabrina Spellman was a typical teenager who discovered that she was a half-witch with magical powers. Living with her 600-year-old aunts and a quippy witch-turned-cat Salem who took a feline turn as punishment for trying to take over the world, Sabrina had to deal with the normal trials of a teenage girl as she learned to control her magic.

Why She Was So Scary: Sure, everything was fun and funny and culturally relevant to the late 1990s, but the implications are terrifying to consider. Knowing what Sabrina was capable of as a mere teenage witch makes us wonder just what she might have been capable of as a fully-developed witch. Besides, spending so much time with a cat with known motivations to take over the world could surely warp the mind of any teenager.

8. Katrina Crane

What Show She Was On:Sleepy Hollow (2013 - )

Who She Was: Wife of Ichabod Crane, Katrina was secretly a witch throughout their marriage in the 18th century. Her motives were somewhat murky in the first two seasons of Sleepy Hollow, but her fate at this point is quite clear: Katrina was stabbed and killed by Ichabod as she was attempting to murder heroine Abbie Mills.

Why She Was So Scary: Katrina was brought into far more prominence in Season 2 than in Season 1, and her increased presence saw a decrease in the delightful screentime between Ichabod and Abbie. The ratings were proof enough that viewers were not exactly over the moon with Katrina. In fact, Katrina disrupting the dynamic between Ichabod and Abbie for no good reason makes us wonder: is dark magic real?

7. Piper Halliwell

What Show She Was On:Charmed (1998 - 2006)

Who She Was: Piper Halliwell was the oldest of the Halliwell sisters following the death of Prue. She is thereafter considered the most powerful of the three remaining sisters. She specializes in molecular manipulation, allowing her to do everything from freeze to combust to even slow down time to a certain degree.

Why She Was So Scary: Piper was a lead character on a show about witches that lasted for eight seasons, centered on sisterly relationships, and amassed a fiercely loyal fanbase. That in and of itself is witchy, and Piper’s molecular manipulation has terrifying implications beyond what Charmed could bring to the screen on The WB. Just think: if Charmed had aired on HBO, what kind of havoc could Piper have wreaked to defend her family?

6. Davina Claire

What Show She Is On:The Originals (2013 - )

Who She Is: Despite starting the series living as regular a life as she could as a witch with a vampire as an adoptive father, Davina Claire is now a witch in the French Quarter with the standing of Regent of the New Orleans Witch Community. In her short lifetime, Davina has been abandoned, empowered, sacrificed, resurrected, and promoted in a meteoric rise to the top.

Why She Is So Scary: Davina receiving the powers of three or her fellow Harvest witches was a chilling look into what even witches without evil intentions can manage. Her ties to both witches and vampires potentially make her a valuable ally and terrible enemy, and Davina’s rise to coven prominence at such a young age marks her as somebody not to cross.

5. Bonnie Bennet

What Show She Is On: The Vampire Diaries (2009 - )

Who She Is: Bonnie Bennett is a powerful witch more than willing to sacrifice herself and her safety for the sake of her friends. Despite being one of the good guys of the series, however, Bonnie has been known to willfully use dark magic. Misuse of dark magic has taken a great toll on Bonnie, but it also made her one of the most powerful witches of The Vampire Diaries.

Why She Is So Scary: There’s always something terrifying about a good witch willing to use dark magic, and Bonnie had done more than dabble in darkness. What is even more terrifying, however, is that Bonnie has managed to displace Elena in the hearts of some shippers as the ideal love interest for Damon. Messing with the hearts of shippers takes some serious sorcery.

4. Willow Rosenberg

What Show She Was On: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997 – 2003)

Who She Was:Willow started out on Buffy as a shy and nerdy girl lacking confidence among her high school peers. Thanks to Buffy and a tight knit circle of friends, however, Willow became more confident and began to explore witchcraft. As she grew more powerful, she began to dabble in dark magic. The murder of her lover Tara made her go full dark on a path of revenge.

Why She Was So Scary: Willow was very firmly on the side of good through so much of the series and so loyal to her group of friends that her psychic break following Tara’s death was terrifying. It was such a departure from the Willow that viewers had come to know, and the Willow with black hair and eyes who had a showdown with Buffy was an unforgettable antagonist.

3. Fiona Goode

What Show She Was On: American Horror Story: Coven (2013 – 2014)

Who She Was: Fiona Goode was the Supreme Witch of the Salem Coven. Obsessed with youth and despising her own aging body, Fiona proved more than willing to use her powers to drain the lives of others. Not hesitating to kill whenever she deemed it necessary and showing no remorse, she only failed in selling her soul to a dark force in exchange for immortality because she had no soul to sell.

Why She Was So Scary: A sociopath obsessed with living forever, without remorse, that is dying of cancer is a frightening prospect even without taking into account the lack of a soul and powers of witchcraft. The discovery that she has no soul motivated her to want to kill other witches, and she remained manipulative and deceitful nearly to the end.

2. Marnie Stonebrook

What Show She Was On:True Blood (2008 - 2014)

Who She Was: Marnie Stonebrook was a witch in Bon Temps, Louisiana. Although seeming innocent and unassuming enough at first, her vast studies in things magical allowed her to bind the spirit of a powerful witch to her and use those powers to combat the vampires…and any who dared oppose her.

Why She Was So Scary: Marnie was unpredictable in the most terrifying way throughout her stint as a big bad on True Blood. The revelation that she was controlling the spirit of the powerful witch rather than the other way around proved her cunning to be her most dangerous natural weapon, and her control over the vampires was truly frightening.

1. Melisandre

What Show She Is On:Game Of Thrones (2011 - )

Who She Is: Melisandre is a priestess of the Lord of Light who worked as an adviser to Stannis Baratheon throughout his campaign for the Iron Throne. Called a witch by Arya Stark during a visit to the riverlands, Melisandre has certainly proved herself a worker of magic. Rather memorably, she gave birth to a shadowy figure that stole out of her womb to assassinate Renly Baratheon.

Why She Is So Scary: Melisandre is more than just a priestess and wielder off magic. Her skills at manipulation allowed her to ingratiate herself into the confidence of Stannis and Selyse Baratheon, ultimately to their ruin in the North. Using powers of seduction and manipulation as well as prophecy and magic, Melisandre is one of the most dangerous and mystical living characters of Game of Thrones.

Head to the next page and let us know which witch you think is the scariest.

This poll is no longer available.

Like a bad ending can completely ruin an otherwise good film or book, a TV show’s final episode can leave such a bad taste in one’s mouth that it can change one’s perspective on an entire series. And there have been a lot of truly terrible series finales over the years, both for shows that were already awful and for ones that were extremely popular during their runs.

One particularly admirable Imgur user put together an interesting graph that uses IMDb ratings to pinpoint just how people received the series finales for a slew of different shows, as compared to the show’s average rating, and we’ve rounded up the worst 10 of the bunch. There are some surprises and some definite anti-surprises, and something we don’t get to mention is that Baywatch’s finale got a decently higher score than most of the other episodes. The more you know, right? Let’s get to it with a choice that I hate having to put on here. (Spoiler warning for certain shows.)

10. Futurama

A series whose final seasons weren’t received nearly as well as its first ones, Futurama bid farewell to viewers and Comedy Central in 2013 with an episode featuring Fry and Leela’s wedding in a world where time has stopped. It didn’t get a horrible rating, but fell far enough below the series’ norm to make the number 10 slot. Still, that episode was rated much higher than the Fox finale, the Season 4 closer “Where No Fan Has Gone Before,” which featured a Star Trek-themed plot and appearances from Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner and others.

9. Misfits

On the whole, the later seasons of the British superpower-tinged drama Misfits weren’t loved as much as the first, as the cast changed up and the plots got more ridiculous. And Season 5’s ending, in which the central gang gets out of their allotted community service, was a decent wrap up in my eyes, but didn’t make some IMDb reviewers as happy as they hoped to be. That said, it’s still a fairly high rating.

8. Scrubs

For those of you wondering, we’re talking about Scrubs’ finale for Season 9, the one where the location changed and most of the original characters were mostly absent. So it makes a little more sense that “Our Thanks” wasn’t extremely beloved by fans, and it’s worth noting that the Season 8 finale was also included in the list, and it got a much higher rating.

7. Star Trek: Enterprise

Talk about a weird episode. “These are the Voyages…” largely failed to bring any sense of closure to the series by framing the events of the episode as a Holodeck recreation put forth by The Next Generation’s crew. So while it allowed for guest stars like Jonathan Frakes and Jeffrey Combs, not even the show’s cast was impressed with how things played out, and the death of Commander Tucker was also a big point of contention.

6. The Sopranos

This is one of the most famous series finales in TV history, and The Sopranos creator David Chase decided to end the saga of Tony Soprano and his clan by giving audiences…something that wasn’t really an ending at all. Rather than an ultra-violent death or a jail-based fate, The Sopranos ended quietly inside an ice cream shop, with a cut to black that spawned seemingly billions of fan theories on what it all meant. Still, endless conversations aren’t indicative of people’s fondness for that episode.

5. Two and a Half Men

After tons of rumors that Charlie Sheen would bury the hatchet with Two and a Half Men creator Chuck Lorre and return to the show for its series finale, viewers got their hopes dashed by a final scene in which a Sheen stunt double showed up at the house and was quickly crushed to death by a grand piano that fell from a helicopter. Other stuff happened, too, but nobody seemed to care.

4. How I Met Your Mother

After years of waiting to meet the titular mom, fans of How I Met Your Mother were delivered a weird shock when the series finale offered up the explanation that Ted’s story was being told years after the mother died, and that he was actually in love with Robin this whole time. Not the best way to pay respect to seasons of Robin’s development that had nothing to do with Ted.

3. True Blood

True Blood did some truly ridiculous shit over its seven seasons on HBO, and the series finale “Thank You” made a lot of people want to forget that it never aired. There was a marriage that didn’t really matter, a bunch of gory shit that didn’t really matter, and Bill and Sookie’s epic romance ended with him asking her to kill him, and then her killing him. Ah, true love. Those who’d stopped caring years earlier probably didn’t think it was so bad.

2. Dragon Ball Z

The oddest inclusion on this list, at least to me, is Dragon Ball Z’s finale “Goku’s Next Journey,” which features a fight between Goku and Uub that ends up with the former deciding to take the latter away to train him in flight and fighting. It doesn’t have the same level of hatred behind it that some of the other choices on this list do, but somehow still managed to earn a pitiful rating.

1. Dexter

Who’s surprised to see this here? If you are, then you were probably surprised by a lot of the predictable things that Dexter did in its later years after the writing went way off the rails. By not killing Dexter and instead pushing him out of Miami as a lumberjack, this ending allowed for Dexter’s story to potentially continue one day, but with the stigma of millions of viewers no longer giving a shit. Worst. Ending. Ever.

I could go on for days about all the ways in which Sons of Anarchy was an incredible slice of TV pie, but I’ll just mention how pitch-perfect 99% of the casting was throughout the show’s seven seasons. Sadly, the world missed out on two potentially amazing guest spots in Season 7, as True Blood stars Stephen Moyer and Anna Paquin had the chance to take a couple of roles, but it all fell apart. Just like everything else in Jax Teller’s life.

Apparently Moyer and Paquin – whose real-life marriage was complemented by their onscreen romance as Bill Compton and Sookie Stackhouse, respectively – are giant fans of Sons of Anarchy, and creator Kurt Sutter wanted to reward their fandom by casting them in roles that shouldn’t surprise anyone that loves the violent biker drama. Here’s how Moyer put it to EW

Not that Moyer hasn’t played a variety of roles outside his posh True Blood vamp, but it would have still been a shock to see him pop up in the same city as SAMCRO. And for Paquin to take on the role of one of Charming’s less reputable citizens, that would have been great as well.

While he wasn’t quite directly clear about what roles they’d have played, the only pimp and whore I can specifically think of in Season 7 came during Episode 7, ”Greensleeves,” in which the titular pimp gets rough with his girls, and his girls then get rough with Jax and Chibs. Jax also gets his bike smashed up, which means that Moyer wouldn’t have been long for this world at all. The whore in question, Winsome (Inbar Lavi), got together with Jax as well, and I’m not sure if my TV could have taken a sexed up scene between Anna Paquin and Charlie Hunnam.

Stephen Moyer wouldn’t have long to wait before getting to work with Kurt Sutter, though, as he’ll be starring in the upcoming FX drama The Bastard Executioner, which looks like a fine mix of blood, violence and anger, things that fans of Sons of Anarchy and True Blood are used to seeing.

The modern era of television can be summed up in many ways, with plenty of trends and tropes to choose as foundations. Like, say, it’s become one of the deadliest mediums out there, since shows these days often have fewer objections with sending characters both major and minor to sleep with the fishes. Luckily, for weirdos like me, these deaths can often be some of the grossest and most disturbing scenes on the small screen. It should go without saying that spoiler-sunglasses should be put on before reading this.

Since noting every single disgusting demise would likely take ages, with new examples hitting the airwaves on a weekly basis, we’ve rounded up 11 of the most gruesome deaths TV characters have faced over the years. This list could have easily just solely focused on Game of Thrones, but we’re not double dipping into anything. Speaking of the epic fantasy…

Oberyn (Game of Thrones)

Revenge is a dish best served quickly, with better armor, and without a lot of walking around and demanding confessions. That’s a lesson Oberyn “The Red Vi-i-i-iper” Martell learned when facing off against Gregor “The Mountain” Clegane in Season 4 of Game of Thrones. Rather than doing the deed, Oberyn get his tables turned, and the Mountain went full Jason Voorhees on him, gouging out his eyes and forcing his head to explode. Is it better that The Mountain essentially blinded Oberyn so that he didn’t have to look in the eyes of the enemy currently smashing his skull in? Too bad there aren’t any hoses out there.

No emergency room in the Seven Kingdoms could save him.

Warren Mears (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Warren never did get his wish of killing Buffy Summers, but those who despised him on Buffy the Vampire Slayer got to watch him die a truly horrifying death not just once, but twice (sort of). And in a manner that was more gruesome than UPN and The WB’s usual fare. Thanks to Dark Willow, Warren got his mouth sewn shut for a while before getting flayed alive in a split second, leaving behind an image that would be more at home on a doctor’s office wall. And then of course he’s set on fire. Warren is later resurrected in gross-out form, only to be killed again in the Season 8 comic book, where he turns to a mess of bloody bones. Check out the skin removal part below.

At least he didn’t have to shave anymore.

Rita (Dexter)

In all of the ways that Rita could have died on

[[ ahref http television why-dexter-ended-way-it-did-68772.html www.cinemablend.com ]] Dexter, the one audiences got wasn’t as visibly stressing and in-the-moment violent as it could have been. But it was as massive a mental blow to fans as anything else in the series, which heightened every single detail. It’s not an exact replication of Dexter’s childhood trauma, but having him see his son Harrison crying in Rita’s blood was close enough, and it seems like the Trinity Killer would have spent a good amount of time setting that scene up, just smearing wet blood all over the place. All that blood! Director Steve Shill won an Emmy for directing “The Getaway,” the episode in which this gnarly discovery takes place.

[[ ahref http television why-dexter-ended-way-it-did-68772.html www.cinemablend.com ]]

What if that house only had a stand-up shower?

Noah (The Walking Dead)

The Walking Dead is arguably as familiar with killing off its major players as any other series in existence, and while Noah wasn’t a huge fan favorite or expertly integrated into the plot, it still seemed like he’d have survived a lot longer than he did. But thanks to the cowardly Alexandrian Nicholas, Noah found himself at the non-mercy of a pack of walkers as he gets killed against the glass of a revolving door as Glenn watches on, horrified. It’s bad enough that they chow down on him, but it’s when he gets his cheek stripped away from his face that you knew the effects team was having fun. You can watch a lower-quality version of the scene below.

It’s a scene so disturbing, the series showcased it at Comic-Con.

Gus Fring (Breaking Bad)

A great villain always deserves an equally memorable goodbye, and Breaking Bad played its most ghastly Looney Tunes-ish card in the Season 4 finale, in which an explosion left the ever-so-suave criminal mastermind without half of his face. (In an episode blatantly called Face Off, no less.) Gus’ death was well-played from a narrative viewpoint, and it was exhilarating to see some genuine fear in his eyes when he realized that Tio Salamanca was about to do him wrong. If I ever get that Breaking Bad putt-putt course together that I have had dreams of building for a few minutes now, Gus’ head will be the 18th hole. Watch the gory glory below.

It would have been nice to see Walt do this in person, but it’s still good.

Chef (South Park)

Animation allows for random extremity to happen, and few people do random extremity as head-on as Trey Parker and Matt Stone. After longtime cast member Isaac Hayes decided to leave the show, possibly due to its treatment of Scientology, Chef was laid to a grisly/grizzly rest after being brainwashed into entering the Super Adventure Club of child molesters. Not the most comfortable-lead in, and then we’ve got fire, broken bones, a speared stomach, and wild animals tearing limbs and flesh off. A horrible way to see a beloved character bite it, but superb nonetheless. The requisite scatological spray after all that punctuated things was gross in a different way. Watch the scene below.

That’s not chocolate salty balls.

George O’Malley (Grey’s Anatomy)

Grey’s Anatomy delivered one major (and completely expected) death this past season due to a traffic accident, but the show set that bar in a huge way back in the Season 5 finale, in which George was killed off in a surprise twist. Now, certainly the bus accident that put him in the hospital would have been a more gruesome thing to see than watching him flatline, but his face was so fucked up and battered that nobody recognized him, which earns George’s spot on this list. T.R. Knight had made it clear he wanted out of the project, and this was where Rimes decided to go with it. She should have called up Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Check out the realization scene below.

No one on this show should ever be on the road.

Sedullus

In one Season 2 episode of Spartacus, the titular hero and his compadres rescue some German soldiers, one of whom is an unthankful rapist douche named Sedullus. We barely get to know this massive man before he tries derailing everything, eventually leading to a sword fight than ends in Sedullus getting his face sliced off in one smooth upswing of Spartacus’ sword. Things get somewhat cartoonish as everyone immediately went silent as Sedullus’ brains slide out of his half-head, but that just makes it all the more fun. The only thing that would have made it better is if his face skin would have landed on the plate of someone eating nearby. Check out the blood-spurting sweetness below.

When it brains, it pours.

Bill (True Blood)

After years of emotional turmoil between Sookie and Bill on True Blood, Sookie is given the worst task conceivable in Bill’s request for her to stake him. She does so, and he unexpectedly pops into pool of thick blood that she spends a little while sobbing in. You never want to see that kind of thing happen to a loved one, especially after she’s already sort of seen him do that in Season 5 when he drank Lilith’s blood and dissolved into a pool of viscous blood (before coming back to life). That just seems to be the way Bill liked to handle things, and it should have happened once a season.

Maybe that was Bill all over Rita’s bathroom.

Anatoly Ranskahov (Daredevil)

When it comes to showing violence, Marvel projects tend to go for CGI and explosions over anything resembling gritty or gruesome. That is, until Wilson Fisk came along and made things interesting. In Episide 4 of Daredevil, the Russian criminal Anatoly rudely interrupted a meal that Fisk was having with his new love interest Vanessa, and he learned just how big a mistake that was when Fisk murdered him by smashing his head with a car door until it popped off. It wasn’t the most visceral slice of torture porn – though there was blood – but the sheer amount of violent rage Vincent D’Onofrio showed made it felt like every second of the decapitation could be seen. Check it out below.

The quickest way to a man’s heart is down his neck stump.

Tara (Sons of Anarchy)

Sons of Anarchy never backed away from shockingly violent and disturbing moments during its seven seasons, but the head of the pack came during the Season 6 finale, in which Gemma gives Tara the total ass-whooping that she’d been holding back in previous years. Gemma, too drunk and out of the loop to realize her mistakes, switched her weapons from iron to soapy water to carving fork, the latter of which she plunges into Tara’s skull several times. Gemma’s unwavering dedication on slamming that fork into Tara’s head was almost as shocking as the death itself, something that Juice’s subsequent shooting of Sheriff Roosevelt couldn’t make a dent in. A signature savage act from a series that had plenty of them. Check out part of the murder scene below.

This scene has everything, and the kitchen sink.

There are numerous reasons that posters for television shows get banned and censored. Nudity and obscene phrases are often--but not always--the culprit, although TV posters don't usually push boundaries in quite the same ways as their movie counterparts. Still, TV posters can often be scandalous or cringe-inducing and these banned posters are definitely worth a look. From Heidi Klum to vampires we'd like to fuck, here are the 10 greatest banned TV posters of all time.

Project Runway, Lifetime

As a show about the making and modeling of clothing, it’s hard to imagine Project Runway could do anything that would earn the ire of the censors, except, say, have a bunch of nude individuals proffer themselves in front of Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn. The Lifetime drama put together a poster for Season 12 that was banned from going up anywhere in the City of Angels. The curmudgeons in this case? The Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety, who decided the imagery was too “obscene” for buses, billboards and bus shelters. I have no idea how most of the American Apparel posters in Los Angeles haven’t suffered the same fate.

Six Feet Under, HBO

While The Walking Dead releases more gruesome imagery every season, these Six Feet Under posters were banned in the U.K. for depicting dead people. Everything about the angle of the woman’s neck is wrong in this poster, and the bright little image of the “wound filler” in the top right corner just makes the Six Feet Under advertisement even more grotesque. The UK banned the posters for causing “undue stress” for the consumer. Although I’m not sure this woman looks any more dead than the average person getting on the subway early in the morning.

Family Guy, Fox

Seth MacFarlane’s always been a man to push boundaries. Back in 2012 during Emmy consideration season, his team took out an ad that seems like an innocuous picture of the non-PC character Peter Griffin, until you read the text. Newspapers refused to publish the poster, which states, “Come on, you bloated, overprivileged Brentwood Jews.” The Family Guy team may have been dissuaded by the newspapers, but they reportedly still sent out the ads to Emmy voters. That’s one way to handle controversy, I guess. Interestingly, this South Park poster made it through the censors.

The Strain, FX

You’d expect there to be plenty of nudity on this list, but nudity is certainly not the problem that FX’s The Strain Season 1 poster dealt with. The series follows a CDC crew looking into an outbreak that causes vampirism, and the big poster for the drama featured a long worm working its way through a human eyeball. There aren’t enough cringe-inducing adjectives on the planet that can capably describe the feelings this poster induces. The gory, stomach-churning poster grossed out plenty of people in Los Angeles and other areas, and the network was forced to take posters down in a number of locations. One thing’s for sure: That poster is certainly a conversation starter.

Skins, Channel 4

While the American version of Skins was cancelled quickly, the British version stayed on the air quite a bit longer, occasionally causing controversy as it moved forward. While promoting the second season of the drama, the creative team came up with a poster featuring two of the leads on the show engaging in an orgy with a bunch of other teenagers. The channel said the series planned to “explore the consequences” of “hedonistic” lifestyles, but the Advertising Standards Authority banned the kinky poster, nonetheless.

The Girlfriends' Guide To Divorce, Bravo

While Bravo’s Girlfriends' Guide To Divorce is a cheeky ad, it doesn’t actually contain nudity or obscenities, preferring to just wink at them. The show is about a woman who writes self-help books and has to declare them a lie after getting a divorce herself. In the poster for the show, Lisa Edelstein is seemingly giving the finger to the camera, although it’s her ring finger rather than her middle finger. And the poster’s tagline is “go find yourself,” which is apparently too close to “go fuck yourself” for comfort. New York City’s Metropolitan Transit Authority banned the poster, and other locations across the country, including Los Angeles’ The Grove shopping center, followed suit.

Spartacus, Starz

Sometimes dudes who appear in tight or scanty costumes end up with promo images that end up being a bit controversial. Arrow’s first promo notoriously had to be edited and an early Andy Whitfield poster for Spartacus: Blood and Sand suffered the same fate. The loincloth was banned and replaced with a much more demure belted costume.

True Blood, HBO

While True Blood was known for nudity and gore during its seven-season run on HBO, the poster that really got controversial was the simple one above, which has no imagery and simply says VILF. The acronym, of course, is for “Vampire I’d Like To Fuck.” The London Tube system really didn’t appreciate the True Blood posters and banned them so British eyeballs didn’t have to look at them. For the record, fangy, sexy posters asking fans to “do bad things” are totally cool, though.

Paisean Faisean, TG4

Ireland’s TG4 channel came under fire for this Paisean Faisean series poster, which looks as if it came straight out of a Britney Spears video. Paisean Faisean's a dating show featuring potential suitors buying clothes (mostly) for women, but the lingerie-oriented poster was objected to as degrading to women. I also don’t think the slogan relating to that particular outfit or the fact that the woman is supposed to be an educator of young minds really helped. After the poster came under fire, the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland got involved, banning the poster for being “against code.” That outfit is certainly against dress code.

Red Band Society, Fox

Fox’s Red Band Society didn’t last long on the network, but it lasted long enough to get its first poster banned. It looks pretty innocuous, right? Apparently, people objected to the words “scary bitch” that are over Octavia Spencer’s head. The Academy Award-winning actress played the taskmaster and mentor of a lot of the kids on the show, but Metro Los Angeles yanked the ads after getting complaints regarding the foul language used. For the record, Los Angeles, you can say “bitch” on network television.

This poll is no longer available.

When looking back at TV’s progression over the years, it might not seem like it’s that hard to create a great TV show. (A naïve thought, to be sure, but run with me here.) Far more complications arise when one attempts to retain a great show’s top-notch quality, as evidenced by damned near every show in existence. As sad as it is, we should probably be thanking our lucky stars when brilliant shows are canceled too soon, thus not allowing them to later wallow in their own dwindling value.

Here, we’re shining a spotlight on ten of the worst offenders, shows that started off fantastic and eventually got lost in the smokescreen of their own wheel-spinning. All of these definitely have their diehard defenders who never lost faith, myself included, but the majority of audiences can usually agree on where things went wrong with them. And let’s kick it off with the biggest smoke monster of them all.

There will be spoilers, so be warned.

Lost

Point of No Return: Nikki and Paulo

While some people never bought into the resolution-less myths and legends that Lost rained down on viewers, this show was about as close as many people got to a small screen religion, and was one of the first TV series that spawned rampant Internet speculation. But despite some nice temporary reprieves, Lost could never fully recapture how blissfully ominous its first two seasons were, collapsing beneath its own mysteries, flash-forwards and myriad other plot contrivances. By the time the gang reached the Temple, the head-scratching had turned to head-bashing, and I think we can all agree that the finale was about as delicate and graceful as a drunken elephant ballet.

Dexter

Point of No Return: Rita’s death

For me, Dexter was never as good as it was in Season 1, but still I hung on. A victim of far too many Miami-based serial killers, Dexter hit a secondary high point when John Lithgow joined the show as the layered psychopath Trinity Killer, who killed Rita and changed Dexter forever. (Mostly by turning him into an awful single parent.) The show took too long in introducing Deb to Dexter’s Dark Passenger – a description that made me cringe harder with every utterance – and still ruined their relationship, which was basically the only relationship that mattered by that point. And it’s best just to forget that the abysmal Colin Hanks character and series finale even happened, lest we all turn homicidal.

24

Point of No Return: The middle of nearly every season.

After Season 1 24 basically became the action thriller equivalent of a house made out of the same set of LEGO bricks, just in a slightly different formation. As far as mindless popcorn drama goes, it’s hard to knock later seasons of 24 harder than earlier ones, as they all followed similar story structures, but each season took that much more disbelief suspension to consider that anything in this show could have actually happened to this same set of characters. 24: Live Another Day even switched up the format to make itself seem distinct, but few were fooled. The one part of 24 that never got old? Chloe, obviously.

Smallville

Point of No Return: Once the show’s limitations became blatantly obvious.

More closely resembling the late-1980s Superboy than anything in the modern superhero TV landscape, The CW’s Smallville featured nearly 100% less direct ties to the Superman universe, and kept baiting viewers for ten seasons with a lukewarm plotline that still felt like a high school drama even in the years after the characters had moved onto Metropolis. A lot of your favorite DC characters appeared on Smallville in their most watered-down form, and the show’s budgetary restraints kept even the most potentially badass sequences on the level of half-hearted fan film. Its 10-season lifespan obviously kept a sizeable audience, but presumably few of them walked away with compliments to spare.

Veronica Mars

Point of No Return: Season 3 at the latest

I genuinely praise Veronica Mars for being one of my favorite TV shows of the past 20 years or so, and I couldn’t tell you what Season 3 of the show was about, mere minutes after using the Internet to remind myself. A series where the characters seemed to remain true to their enjoyable personalities throughout the run – with the possible exception of Duncan “Generic Nickname” Kane – Veronica Mars’ continuously clique-heavy Neptune lost itself in a series of increasingly baffling crimes and plotlines. The movie kind of made up for it, but I can’t imagine that Season 4 would have righted this witty ship.

Prison Break

Point of No Return: The Season 2 finale

Created by Paul Scheuring, Fox’s Prison Break filled its first season with a plethora of enjoyable twists and turns, calculating characters, and a madcap plotline so ridiculous it could only be god-awful or amazing, and luckily it was the latter. It could have been one of the most exciting one-and-done shows ever, but it still managed to be captivating throughout Season 2. But by Season 3, the writers were writing for the show Prison Break Again and Again, with Michael getting sent to the mostly prisoner-run Sona. And then there’s the cartoonishly over-the-top Season 4, which I assume even the cast and crew have forgotten about.

Heroes

Point of No Return: Whatever Season 2 was

When it debuted in 2006, Heroes seemed destined to become the next best thing to anything Marvel and DC had going for it, introducing a plethora of superpowered people, a complex-but-centered plotline, and a dastardly villain in Zachary Quinto’s Sylar. And then the Writer’s Strike happened, and a shortened Season 2 proved that not even the always enjoyable Hiro Nakamura could save a dreadfully slow-building story that needlessly went into the past. And then those other seasons happened. The upcoming limited series Heroes Reborn will hopefully learn from those earlier mistakes. Is “focused narrative” a superpower that someone can have in this universe?

Homeland

Point of No Return: Not killing Brody

Though Season 4 of Homeland was a turn in the right direction for the acclaimed Showtime drama, it shot itself in the foot by not shooting Damien Lewis’ Nicholas Brody in the head by the end of Season 1. (Or whatever way he was originally supposed to die.) By keeping him and his increasingly grating family around, the show essentially neutered any far-reaching plotlines they might have gone with otherwise, and then gave Carrie Mathison a wedlock child that she hates, which doesn’t equal the most intriguing plot point for a show focused on international government intrigue. Season 5’s German setting and Carrie’s absence from the CIA will hopefully continue to build this show back up.

Nip/Tuck

Point of No Return: The middle of the Carver storyline

If all one wanted out of a TV show was for the most sensationalistic and lascivious programming imaginable, then Ryan Murphy’s Nip/Tuck actually got better as it went along. But for everyone else looking for enrapturing storytelling and sympathetic characters, this show absolutely lost its way even before the Carver’s disappointing identity was revealed, arguably around the time Ava’s storyline got more shocking. The surgeries got increasingly ridiculous, Sean and Christian’s behavior got ever more disgusting, and all other characters ceased to matter. Except Liz, of course, but she ended up getting screwed by the writers, too. Can’t hate on all those guest stars, though.

True Blood

Point of No Return: Season 4 and beyond

To be honest, I’m not even sure I could pinpoint when this show lost its already rocky way. True Blood started off with vampires, shapeshifters and Sookie “I’m a faerie-hybrid” Stackhouse, so I guess I should have expected werewolves, witches and more to show up. Really, Tara’s mother was enough to make me want to throw my TV out the window, but True Blood just started oozing awful when Eric lost his memory, when Tara turned, and when the Vampire Authority became a major plot point. As far as the show’s last few seasons go, a nice supercut of all the good scenes would have been preferable.

The further away we get from the Golden Age of Television, the more butts, blood and four-letter words are taking over the airwaves. This has always been the case with premium cable networks like HBO, but some regular cable networks have been loosening the reins for years now, and we’re seemingly not far away from no holds barred television all over the dial. Except for CBS, probably.

While some people obviously have severe problems with nudity and violence on television, I revel in that kind of stuff. But it was still no easy task to put together the 10 most explicit TV series of 2014, because some of these shows’ filters seem to either be absent or clogged with hair and viscera. What a year, though. Enjoy!

Game of Thrones

Most Notorious For: Sex and violence

The King of Pirated TV is also in the royal family of Stuff That Kids Shouldn’t Watch. The violence isn’t always so graphic, especially during traditional sword fights, but when it goes there, it’s an eye-gougingly disgusting affair. As well, it seems like every other conversation held indoors is happening in front of female prostitutes putting an orgy together. Not to mention Cersei’s on again-on again love affair with Jamie, her brother, which is the center of an extremely uncomfortable confession. Did we mention patricide and purple corpse-faces?

Banshee

Most Notorious For: Over-the-top violence and uncomfortable sex

Cinemax is a channel mostly known for its late-night softcore flicks, but the network is now pushing forward with original programming, and Banshee is the hardcore ringleader of the bunch. Banshee is executive produced by Alan Ball, and it definitely shows in the incest-lite business happening between crime boss Kai Proctor and his promiscuous Amish niece Rebecca, whose lovers inevitably find themselves in fatal harm’s way. And then there’s the 1980s action movie level of heightened gunplay going on all the time.

Veep

Most Notorious For: Insanely vulgar language

There isn’t a curse word known to man that someone on Veep hasn’t turned into a knee-slappingly hilarious insult, or even just a slice of life observation, such as Julia Louis-Dreyfuss’ Selina Kyle pondering, “Hey, I’m the President. I can fuck anybody I want now, right?” Add in a slew of bad taste political jabs – “Someone has just flown two planes into my career.” – and you quickly learn that it doesn’t take bare skin and decapitations to jump the line into explicitness. Although I’m sure everyone is thinking about murdering Jonah in the most horrific ways imaginable. Maybe in Season 4…

Hannibal

Most Notorious For: Violence and gore

Get this: a thriller about a currently closeted cannibalistic serial killer set in a world of other dangerous murderers is one of the most explicit series on TV. Who’d have thought? What IS surprising, however, is that Hannibal gets away with its blood lust and mayhem on NBC, a network known more for cancelling awful comedies. The entire face-contorting Mason Verger storyline alone was enough for this show to make the list, but it was hardly the only troublesome thing happening. And it’s only going to get more extreme next year. Go Bryan Fuller!

True Blood

Most Notorious For: Everything imaginable

True Blood has gotten increasingly ridiculous over its lifespan (or is it unlifespan?), and Season 7 saw no reason to make any exceptions. Even if all that happened this season were the deaths, it would still be one of the most disgusting series in 2014. Disregarding characters that died in relatively normal ways, this season showed us someone getting their stomach ripped out, someone getting their jaw ripped off of their face, a head-bashing, and TWO exploding vamps. The one in the finale was more important, but the earlier incident, in which Arlene has one exploding into goop right between her legs, was one of the nastiest visuals on TV this year.

Sons of Anarchy

Most Notorious For: Vulgar language, sex and violence

For its seventh and final season, Sons of Anarchy pulled out all the stops – and TWO eyeballs – in concluding the violence-ridden existence of Jax Teller and SAMCRO. This season featured a second “carving fork stabbing in the skull,” as well as a slew of other horrifying murders. But what got the show in more trouble this year than anything else? A cold open montage of just about every main character in the show having sex, some more pleasurably than others. What do you think bothered the PTC more: Charlie Hunnam’s buttocks or Tig getting it on with the transgender badass Venus?

Girls

Most Notorious For: Sex and vulgar language

2014 kicked off not only with Season 3 of Girls, but with TheWrap’s Tim Molloy getting slaughtered by creator Lena Dunham and executive producer Judd Apatow (and the rest of the Internet) for blatantly asking Dunham why she was naked all the time in her own show. Regardless of how all that turned out, it’s undeniable that Dunham’s character Hannah is naked a lot, both for sexual indulgency and also just hanging out around the house. Add that to some foul-mouthed arguments and the other characters’ sex lives and you have yet another HBO series that could never find a home on network TV without a heavy editing hand.

American Horror Story

Most Notorious For: Weird sex, violence, racism and gore

It was a gimme that this series would be on this list, as Ryan Murphy is the Crown Prince of making things unnecessarily disgusting. Freak Show seemed like it would focus most of its exploitation on the freaks themselves, such as Legless Suzy or the conjoined twins. But no, we had a jaw-less murderer clown wreaking havoc, the son of a too-loving mother bathing in blood, a lobster-handed dude plowing an extremely obese woman and obsessing about her bosom, the smallest woman in the world dead in a jar, and more than one reference to a monstrous penis. Then there’s the three-tittied Desiree and her giant clitoris. And who could forget the ending of Coven, in which Kathy Bates’ slave-murdering origin is played out?

The Leftovers

Most Notorious For: Violence, sex, gore and inducing major depression

In adapting the quasi-post-apocalyptic novel The Leftovers, author Tom Perrotta and Damon Lindelof created one of the darkest and most damning series on TV. A show that takes place after 2% of the world disappears simultaneously, The Leftovers plays fast and loose with extreme forms of grief, maniacal anger, mental disorders, cold-blooded murder, cold-blooded suicide, and much more. Every downtrodden event is amped up for pure misery, even without mass amounts of blood and nudity. And if all that wasn’t bad enough, everything involving the Loved Ones line of dead people replica dolls is far more horrifying than murder, especially in the finale.

The Walking Dead

Most Notorious For: Violence and gore

It’s easier to think about extremely disgusting sequences on The Walking Dead than it is to remember scenes where nothing awful is happening. Though there was a little bit of sex this year, the ratings juggernaut is more in tune with gorily mowing down zombies with a fire hose, or putting Carl in danger of getting raped, or seeing cannibals do their cannibal thing, or just straight up killing main characters off. And what if they’re not necessarily a main character, but a side child character? Yeah, they also do horrific things and then get killed for them. No one is safe here, especially not the viewers.

Every year, some major characters and fan favorites get killed off of our favorite shows, and every year we are surprised when some big names bite the dust on network and cable TV. This year was no different, although we believe the body count was unusually high. Here’s to a successful year filled with shocking deaths, tragic deaths, vengeful deaths, epic deaths and tear-inducing deaths. Here at CinemaBlend, we’ve compiled a list of 2014’s biggest TV deaths, and you can check them out below.

First, we would like to mention that there are plenty of spoilers in this list, so if you aren’t caught up on your favorite TV programs, we suggest you turn away right now. That being said, all of these deaths occurred in 2014 and most of them hit the schedule months ago, so if you are all caught up on the likes of Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, True Blood and many more, please proceed.

15. Johnny Crowder, Justified

It’s hard not to feel like everyone on Justified has a horrible death coming to them sooner or later, but the feeling of doom and gloom was much more apparent surrounding Johnny Crowder, a career criminal with more ambition than balls and more anger than smarts. It’s no surprise that Cousin Johnny was killed off during the fifth season of the hit series, which aired last spring, but the double-crossing zinger of an episode ending with Boyd putting a bullet squarely into his former lieutenant’s temple was still jarring and insanely memorable.

14. Pierce, Community

Community lost several big cast members last year, but only one went out in epic fashion. Pierce’s death was impactful on Community not only because it offered the opportunity for the character to go out boldy, in an episode filled with lie detectors and bequeathing, but also because it set up the future of the series. The episode is an important and fitting tribute to the character, and it also involves Troy nabbing Pierce’s fortune along with a sailboat trip around the world, enabling him to leave the series, as well. Pierce’s death was one of the first to kick off 2014, but its impact will still be felt when the show returns on Yahoo.

13. Alcide, True Blood

True Blood has always featured plenty of deaths. However, for seven seasons most of True Blood’s most popular characters managed to avoid silver bullets and stakes. But in Season 7, the death toll started coming early. Alcide bit the dust during the third episode, leading our heroine, Sookie Stackhouse, to be devastated on top of having to deal with the Hep V epidemic. It was a shocking and effective moment in a series that wanted to go out with a bang.

12. Lorne Malvo, Fargo

Fargo did a great service to its audience when it pitted the tenacious Deputy Molly Solverson up against ruthless career hitman Lorne Malvo, who racked up a giant body count throughout the show’s 10-episode run. Malvo’s death on the series, while expected, included a wild chase scene, a bear trap and the unexpected twist of Colin Hanks' incompetent police officer-turned-mailman taking out the bag guy. Who couldn’t get behind that ending?

11. Gemma, Sons of Anarchy

Gemma’s another TV character that made it for an incredibly long time on a show that is rife with deaths and other tribulations. Gemma was able to make it so long due to her fierce desire to protect her family, no matter the cost. Unfortunately, this fierceness was also her downfall, as Gemma made the choice to kill Tara and then cover it up. Her son, Jax, obviously had to do something about this blatant fuck up and in one of the most cringe-inducingly heartbreaking scenes television has ever had to offer, Gemma met her downfall.

10. The Clown, American Horror Story: Freak Show

After producer Ryan Murphy spent months explaining to audiences that American Horror Story: Freak Show’s clown was going to be the most horrifying character TV had ever seen, we finally met John Carroll Lynch’s Twisty. Unfortunately, Twisty’s tenure on the show was short-lived. We did get to see his twisted backstory, involving creepy circus performers and a botched suicide attempt before we said goodbye to TV's creepiest clown, which made his passing really mean something.

9. Zoe Barnes, House of Cards

Kate Mara’s Zoe Barnes was a huge part of House of Cards during its first season on Netflix. People expected her story to continue during Season 2, which is why it was all the more shocking when Frank Underwood opted to clean up loose ends and push her onto a Metro track when a train car was coming during the first episode. The murder was brutal and callous but easily accomplished. Due to its timing and Zoe’s importance in Netflix’s series, it definitely deserves a spot on this list.

8. The Mother, How I Met Your Mother

Rumors abounded long before How I Met Your Mother’s series ender aired that the long-awaited mother might die. Actress Cristin Milioti, who had the distinct honors of playing the mother, did the best she could to dissuade those fan theories, but sure enough, when the finale aired, death was the mother’s fate. We may not have been totally shocked by the comedy’s ender, but fans were still devastated. It’s tough to wait for a character for nine seasons and then in the course of one episode, watch her quietly slip through your grasp.

7. Sara Lance, Arrow

Arrow’s winter finale left us with a dead Oliver Queen, but while that character’s journey doesn’t actually seem to be over, Sara Lance seems to be permanently dead. The show took a note from House of Cards when it aired its first episode this fall. All seemed well, until she was shot full of arrows on a rooftop before she plummeted to the ground. Sara’s death was tragic, and it set the rest of the season up for vivid storytelling and the introduction of Black Canary.

6. Nucky Thompson, Boardwalk Empire

Boardwalk Empire’s shortened fifth season offered some of the most deliberate, chilling and emotional deaths we’ve seen in the series. From Chalky’s decision to walk outside with Narcisse, to Nelson Van Alden’s final, cornered breaths, to the impossible notion that Sally Wheet could have been in the wrong place at the wrong time, Boardwalk Empire ended its character’s stories well. While Nucky’s death wasn’t shocking in the final moments of the drama, the way the story played out was completely engrossing. There was no other way Boardwalk Empire could have ended, and even Nucky knew it.

5. Beth, The Walking Dead

Beth wasn't the most famous or even the most popular character on The Walking Dead. Thanks to her relationship with Daryl and her personality, however, many really hoped she would get her happy ending. Sadly, that happy ending never came. She was lost during a midseason finale that was so emotional, cast members admitted it was the hardest thing they've ever had to shoot. She might be gone, but her memory will affect the surviving characters for a long time, especially Daryl.

4. Will Gardner, The Good Wife

We expect deaths on shows like True Blood and Sons of Anarchy, but one show we don’t expect them on is The Good Wife, which delves into the world of courtroom, as well as politics. What makes the death of Will Gardner such a powerful blow to fans is the fact that Robert and Michelle King and the rest of the creative team were able to keep the character’s exit quiet for months after he decided to leave the show. So when a young man on trial for murder killed Will during a random episode last spring, we were shocked and we were heavily affected. Few deaths can change a show in such an integral way, but Will Gardner’s death has continued to shape the series 9 months later.

3. Jax, Sons Of Anarchy

Jax’s death on Sons of Anarchy is another not wholly unexpected death on this list. What makes Jax’s death special is the manner in which the character went out. Jax spent seven seasons trying to live by his deceased father John Teller’s impossible ideals. Unfortunately, when a man realizes he is doomed or duped, there is often only one alternative. In a chase scene featuring numerous police, Jax opts to drive straight into an oncoming truck, similar to how his father went out. I’m not sure it’s the ending we would have guessed for the character, but it’s a fitting end for Sons of Anarchy and a tragic one for the fans who stuck around for all seven seasons.

2. Bill Compton, True Blood

Regardless of where you stand on True Blood’s finale, Bill Compton’s death was a huge blow for the series. True Blood was as much about Bill Compton’s journey as it was about Sookie’s and forcing his frequent lover to stake him felt about as gut-wrenching of an ending as the show could manage. Those who shipped Sookie and Bill were devastated, and the rest of us were left to wonder why... There are plenty of strange occurrences in a series based on the supernatural, and True Blood managed to remain its particular brand of campy until the very end.

1. Joffrey, Game Of Thrones

I think it says something about the number of deaths on television this year that epic moments from Game of Thrones like Oberyn Martell’s death and tragic moments, including Ygritte’s ultimate downfall, didn’t even make this list. But nothing could compare to the impact Joffrey’s death had on audiences this year, bringing on a sort of feeling of sick pleasure from those who were more than happy to see the monster’s ultimate downfall. Joffrey certainly brought flavor to Game of Thrones, and while it’s hard to say the character didn't deserve his ultimate downfall, the show will definitely miss his peculiar brand of cruelty. Rest in peace, boy-king.

RIP 2014 TV characters

TV featured a ton of deaths in 2014. It would be a lot of work to fully list every major and minor character who faltered due to battle, murder, disease and misfortune, but we did our best to put together an inclusive list of the biggest deaths this year. Without further ado, here are a few more big characters we will miss:

If you feel there is anyone missing from the list who should have been included, feel free to let us know in the comments, below.