Here's every TV show that was adapted from a horror movie. Hollywood studios attempting to turn popular movies into TV shows is far from a new trend, and that makes total sense. If something works well for audiences as a one-off movie, there's reason to believe offering more of it on an ongoing basis could prove successful. Still, the amount of movie-to-TV transitions has steadily increased in recent years, as the desire to capitalize on existing intellectual property instead of placing risky bets on original projects, has become the norm.
Horror movies have also increasingly served as sources of inspiration for TV shows, likely due to two primary factors. The first is that horror franchises rarely revolve around expensive A-list casts or special effects budgets. Second, horror fans are some of the most loyal and enthusiastic in entertainment. One need only look at the surprisingly Leprechaun sequels to gather the impact of the genre.
In 2021, one of the biggest horror icons of all-time, Chucky TV show has garnered widely positive reviews, and become only the latest success story when it comes to horror properties transitioning from the big to small screens. Presented below is a full round-up of every horror movie that's become a TV show so far, ranging from direct adaptations, to sequels, to loosely connected reboots, and sometimes even loosely related spinoffs.
Ash vs.Evil Dead
Fans waited decades in the hopes that Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell would team up for a proper Ash vs. Evil Dead TV show, which saw Campbell back slaying Deadites as Ash, despite now being middle-aged. Ash vs. Evil Dead drew raves from many fans, but, sadly, Starz canceled the show after three seasons, frustratingly ending on a cliffhanger.
Bates Motel
On the surface, A&E's Psycho films, focusing on Norman Bates' relationship with the mother that he would eventually murder and imitate. While in some ways Bates Motel was a prequel, this clearly wasn't set in the original Psycho universe, as lots of circumstances changed, and new characters now existed that didn't before. Bates Motel was critically acclaimed and came to a satisfying end after five seasons.
Blade: The Series
Wesley Snipes' hit Blade films may not have been traditional horror, but when something is that full of vampires, it's definitely friendly to the genre. In 2006, Spike TV aired Blade: The Series, which cast rapper Sticky Fingaz as the titular Daywalker. Interestingly, Blade: The Series did consider the Snipes films canon and is set not too long after the events of Blade: Trinity. Spike canceled the show after a single season.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Chucky
As mentioned above, Chucky - which airs tly on Syfy and USA - is the most recent horror movie turned TV show, and serves as a direct follow-up to Brad Dourif - who skipped the Child's Play remake - is back to lend his iconic voice to the murderous doll. Chucky has been a success in both ratings and reviews, and it wouldn't at all be surprising to see a second season happen.
Damien
Omen movie, Damien looks at the titular antichrist as a 30-something adult who still struggles with his evil destiny. Damien wasn't terrible, but it also wasn't remarkable, as it failed to catch on with TV audiences. The dour cliffhanger ending sets up Damien's victory and a coming apocalypse.
The Dead Zone
One of the first and most successful attempts at adapting a Stephen King novel for TV, USA's Halloween Kills' future Tommy Doyle, Anthony Michael Hall - from a tortured loner into an almost superhero, and it oddly worked. There were lots of direct nods back to the 1983 Christopher Walken movie version as well. The Dead Zone ran for six seasons, although sadly ended without resolution.
Dominion
The 2010 movie Dominion in 2014, a loose sequel set decades later. Bettany didn't return, although Legion writer-director Scott Stewart executive produced. Dominion ran for two seasons before being canceled by Syfy.
The Exorcist
Many fans hope that David Gordon Green's Exorcist trilogy can finally get the movie franchise back on track. However, from 2016 to 2017, FOX provided the first genuinely good Exorcist outing in decades. The Exorcist TV show was mostly an original story in the same universe, and it deployed narrative twists to cleverly tie back to the movies. Despite a loyal cult fanbase, low ratings led to cancellation after two seasons.
Freddy's Nightmares
Premiering in 1988, right at the height of Freddy mania, Freddy's Nightmares was canceled after two seasons, mainly due to complaints about its level of violence.
