There are so many TV shows about or involving zombies that it could almost become a genre in and of itself, and that's proven even further by the best zombie series available to stream. Zombie TV shows are, at the least, a sub-genre of dramas, thrillers, post-apocalyptic shows, and sometimes even comedies. The concept of zombies – undead former humans roaming around with the singular mission of finding human flesh to feast on – has been approached from every angle imaginable in the past few decades, and they are only getting better.

The Walking Dead kickstarted the idea of zombies on TV and more recently, the release of The Last of Us saw HBO create one of the best adaptations of a video game, but a show that helped revitalize zombie shows with its huge scope, incredible storytelling, and cinematic quality. It elevated the genre more than any zombie show since The Walking Dead premiered. While zombie movies are in abundance, it's the best zombie TV shows that allow for compelling stories to be told in unique ways over a longer period.

10 Daybreak (2019)

1 Season, 10 Episodes

With a comedic angle to the zombie apocalypse, Daybreak is about a 17-year-old high school outcast named Josh. Following an apocalyptic event in California, he goes searching for his British girlfriend. Daybreak is full of pop culture references, which is certainly an entertaining aspect of being in the middle of a zombie outbreak.

But it's the eclectic group of helpers that Josh meets that make the one-season show so entertaining, including a 10-year-old pyromaniac and a former bully. Together, they must fight enemies, including adults who turned into zombies called Ghoulies.

The tipping-off point of the show might be Josh, but it's the ensemble cast that makes the show work, not unlike some other zombie shows. The action and the survival aspect might entertain, but the character dynamics fuel the show. The real downside to the series is that it ends on a cliffhanger. The finale sees a new threat emerge, only for the show to never get to follow through on the story.

9 Helix (2014–2015)

2 Seasons, 26 Episodes

Unfortunately, Helix only lasted two seasons, but SyFy's attempt at a zombie invasion series was well-received by both critics and audiences. Helix is about a viral outbreak that has two effects on humans who have been exposed. Either the virus is fatal and they instantly die or they become creatures who are violent, dangerous, and out for blood.

The premise doesn't sound like anything original and has been done a hundred times, but there's a reason why it's tried and true. Helix nails the formula, and its focus on the science fiction aspects of the narrative as scientists try to control the spread, depicts the premise from a different perspective. The performances in the middle of all of the scientific explanations is what has been most praised by critics. The work of Billy Campbell in the lead, in particular.

The New York Times took the time to single Campbell out in their review of the first season, pointing out how prolific of an actor he is and how many projects he had at the same time, stating:

Mr. Campbell is one of the busiest actors around… An abundance of work can sometimes lead to performances that feel phoned in, but not here.

8 Fear The Walking Dead (2015–2023)

8 Seasons, 113 Episodes

The first spin-off to The Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead follows a different cast of characters than the flagship series and starts its story pre-outbreak. Beginning in Los Angeles, the show moves around Mexico, Texas, Virginia, and other locations. The fact that the show continually refreshes its main cast, including some of the best characters arriving after season one, helps breathe new life into it each season. The show also maintains its connection to the main series by featuring a handful of characters and events from the main series.

Like the original, the biggest enemies the characters face in each season are mortal ones, but the spin-off leans a little too much into that element. That's the biggest downside for the series as some of those conflicts become too complicated and can bog the story down. That is not to say that the series or the performances are bad though. The show and its cast were consistently nominated for Saturn Awards, which honor sci-fi and fantasy art.

7 Brand New Cherry Flavor (2021)

1 Season, 8 Episodes

Netflix's horror drama, Brand New Cherry Flavor, is a limited series that follows Lisa, a young woman who travels to Los Angeles in the hopes of finally being able to direct her first movie. However, she quickly finds herself in a nightmare situation when the producer she connects with is only interested in her sexually, not professionally. When he drops her from the movie, she seeks out help from a surprising source: a witch.

That leads her into a situation that involves not only zombies but also hitmen, supernatural kittens, and a tattoo artist with the power to curse people. Zombies are only one part of the larger theme of Brand New Cherry Flavor, which also addresses themes involving women in entertainment and the power dynamics in the industry. The zombies and other genre elements keep the show entertaining, and it still counts as one of the best Zombie TV shows.

6 iZombie (2015–2019)

5 Seasons, 71 Episodes

iZombie, a loose adaptation of the DC comic book series of the same name, follows Olivia "Liv" Moore, a medical examiner who becomes a zombie. This, however, doesn't stop her work with the police department. Instead, she eats victims' brains, which helps her temporarily inherit their memories and personalities so she can provide details to help police solve the cases.

It's such a unique spin on the procedural crime drama, and while high concepts in the procedural format are huge risks, iZombie is satisfying.

It's such a unique spin on the procedural crime drama, and while high concepts in the procedural format are huge risks, iZombie is satisfying. iZombie is, ironically, a humanizing story about an undead character who finds a way to feed her carnal desire to help others.

iZombie has a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

It's long been incredibly rare for series on the CW, the network that aired iZombie, to earn any of the accolades that would be considered prestigious in Hollywood. That does not mean, however, that iZombie did not gain a legion of fans who wanted to see it earn awards anyway. The show and lead Rose McIver were regular nominees of the Teen Choice Awards. The fans were recognized by the MTV Fandom Awards as Best New Fandom of the Year during the run of the first season as well.

5 Santa Clarita Diet (2017–2019)

3 Seasons, 30 Episodes

Santa Clarita Diet only lasted three seasons, but it's still one of the best zombie TV shows thanks to its compelling storyline and A-list cast that includes Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant. Joel and Sheila are a happily married couple who work in real estate but find their lives changed forever when Sheila starts to demonstrate symptoms of being a zombie and gets a craving to consume human flesh. It's an interesting spin on the typical zombie genre that combines elements of horror with comedy.

Other than iZombie, there have not been very many shows or movies that have attempted to showcase what it would be like to have a person aware that they are a zombie. Zombies are so often portrayed as mindless monsters, while humans are the characters providing the audience point of view.

That is not the case here as Barrymore's Sheila is the "monster" but also the human element of the show experiencing things completely out of her control with hilarious results. This is also the rare series where critical reception to it improved over time. Each season saw more critics complimenting the performances and the storyline of the show.

4 Kingdom (2019–2020)

2 Seasons, 12 Episodes

Kingdom is a South Korean political period horror thriller set in a fictional, medieval-inspired time during the Joseon period. At the heart is a crown prince who investigates a plague taking over, causing humans to turn into zombies. The series is well crafted, whether it's the story, surprisingly great digital and practical effects, or the actors' performances, which helped make Kingdom one of the highest-rated K-dramas.

There's a special feature-length episode called Kingdom: Ashin of the North, which is just as great as the main series. While the show was critically lauded all over the world, it also made a splash at award shows at home in South Korea. It was nominated for Best Drama at both the Baeksang Arts Awards and the Asia Contents Awards. Ju Ji-hoon also won Best Actor at the Asia Contents Awards.

3 Ash Vs Evil Dead (2015–2018)

3 Seasons, 30 Episodes

Ash vs Evil Dead is a horror-comedy spin-off of the original Evil Dead trilogy, but it was canceled after three seasons on Starz. As a result, Ash vs Evil Dead has become just as much of a cult classic as the beloved movie franchise. Bruce Campbell, whom genre fans will know from just about everything, returns to reprise his role as Ash Williams, who teams with some young people in his town when the Deadites return.

The series was less scary than the comedy-horror movies, but just as funny, and Ash becoming more of a developed character in a long-form series was exactly what he deserved. Campbell cited allowing the fans to get to know Ash as one of his favorite parts of the project. Campbell made a statement following the show's cancelation as fans campaigned to bring it back (via Collider):

I'm really glad we did it because we saw Ash's home, we went into his bedroom, we met his girlfriends, we met his daughter that we never knew he had and that he never knew he had, and we met his father, played by the great Lee Majors. I feel we really pushed all the buttons and he fulfilled his destiny written in that ancient book. He was the guy destined to defeat evil in the past, present and future, and he took off with a hot robot chick at the end to go kick in the future. What else do you need? We knew the ratings were bad. We knew, going into the last season, that we had to have an end because we didn't think Starz was gonna re-up us and we were right. So, thank God we did that.

During its run, the show and Campbell were regular nominees at both the Saturn Awards and the Fangoria Chainsaw Awards. Campbell even won Best Actor two years in a row.

2 The Walking Dead (2010–2022)

11 Seasons, 177 Episodes

The longest-running zombie series ever, The Walking Dead begins just after the onset of the zombie apocalypse. Humans who have died "turn" shortly after, becoming mindless, roaming "Walkers." As Rick Grimes learns after waking from a coma, everyone is infected and will turn when they die, not just those who have been bitten. In of the best Zombie TV shows, The Walking Dead deserves a mention simply because of its impressive 11-season run.

Though there was a clear dip in quality in later seasons, between the number of seasons, spin-offs, and being a huge part of the pop culture zeitgeist in the 2010s, the AMC series still holds a legacy that other shows can't rival. In fact, if zombie fans were asked just before 2023, they likely would have named The Walking Dead as the best zombie show because of how fully formed the world is and how thoroughly it is explored.

During the show's run, it was nominated for 16 Emmys, winning two. It was also nominated for a Golden Globe. The Walking Dead was also regularly nominated for People's Choice Awards, Saturn Awards, and Fangoria Chainsaw Awards throughout its run. Most surprising is that the show was even nominated for a Kids Choice Award at one point. It truly captured the attention of everyone at the height of its storytelling.

1 The Last Of Us (2023– )

1 Season, 9 Episodes

The Last of Us is one season in, but HBO carefully and respectfully adapted the source material, which resulted in one of the most emotionally exhausting and epic series the network has ever produced. The show follows Joel (Pedro Pascal), a smuggler who must escort a teenager across a zombie-filled United States where humans can be just as dangerous as the variety of zombies encountered.

Video game adaptations have been notoriously difficult to do, but the team for The Last of Us not only excelled at adapting the game, but also made one of the best Zombie TV shows ever.

The network cast Pascal, who has become one of the most beloved movie actors working today, and from a cinematic standpoint, the show looks spectacular too. It was a huge challenge to adapt an overwhelmingly universally praised video game, but HBO effortlessly pulled it off.

Video game adaptations have been notoriously difficult to do, but the team for The Last of Us not only excelled at adapting the game, but also made one of the best Zombie TV shows ever. The first season of the show was nominated for three Golden Globes and five Primetime Emmy Awards.