Werewolves are one of the most common creatures in the horror genre and have been at the center of countless popular TV shows.Inhorror shows, werewolves are depicted in a variety of ways, with some transforming into growling, hairy creatures from head to toe and others only being noticeable in their faces. Regardless of how each show depicts its werewolf characters, what makes them all appealing to audiences is the difference between their moral characters as a human versus a werewolf.
Most horror series, through dramatic storylines and more humorous ones, depict theirwerewolf characters struggling with their double identityand working to keep others safe when transforming under the full moon. Additionally, many horror TV shows demonstrate the archetypal conflict between other monsters, mainly vampires, and werewolves, making for some truly entertaining on-screen confrontations.
Hemlock Grove
Cast
Set in small-town Pennsylvania, Hemlock Grove explores the lives of the titular town’s residents as they deal with a series of strange, brutal murders. Two young men, Roman Godfrey and Peter Rumancek, set out to uncover what is actually going on while dealing with their respective supernatural secrets. The series stars Bill Skarsgård, Landon Liboiron, Famke Janssen, Penelope Mitchell, Lili Taylor, and Dougray Scott.
While it’s not the most consistent or critically praised horror show, audiences can still have fun with Netflix’sHemlock Grove. The series comes from horror director Eli Roth and is set in the titular Pennsylvanian town where supernatural creatures reside.The main werewolf throughout the show is Peter Rumancek.
Hemlock Grovehas a unique distinction between regular werewolves and vargulfs, with the latter being extremely merciless werewolves. These two sides make for some gripping tension and keep audiences invested in Peter’s journey.
The Order
Created by Dennis Heaton, The Order is a horror television series that follows Jack Morton, whose mother was murdered via mysterious circumstances. Seeking vengeance, Jack joins a mysterious society known as the Hermetic Order of the Blue Rose, where he’ll learn powerful magic. At the center of this order, however, he’ll discover a secret war brewing between practitioners of magic and werewolves.
Detailing the years-long conflict between secret societies is Netflix’sThe Order. The societies at odds with one another arethe Knights of Saint Christopher, made up of humans turned werewolves, and the Hermetic Order of the Blue Rose, made up of magic practitioners.
10 Creepy Horror TV Shows That Don’t Get Too Scary Or Gory
Sometimes, viewers want a TV show that still embraces horror tropes or ideas without them being overly gory or terrifyingly frightening.
ThroughoutThe Order’s two seasons, the history between these two groups is unpacked, with college student Jack Morton at the center of its mystery.The Order’s werewolveshave a unique established lore that helps audiences get invested.
The Originals
Spinning off from the popular CW seriesThe Vampire Diaries, The Originals is a supernatural drama series that follows three vampiric siblings of the first vampire family known to exist. With the eldest sibling, Klaus being a hybrid of werewolf, witch, and now vampire, the three find themselves attempting to help with the delicate balance of powers in the New Orleans French Quarter as they deal with their own family troubles.
The success ofThe Vampire Diariesresulted in two spin-off series, the first beingThe Originals. Like its predecessor,The Originalshas a strong focus on vampire characters but introduces other supernatural species as well, diving further intothe rivalry between werewolves and vampiresalluded to in the first series.
The Mikaelson siblings find themselves in the middle of a war between werewolves, vampires, and witches.
The show is centered around vampire-werewolf hybrid Klaus Mikaelson and his siblingsafter they move back to New Orleans. There,the Mikaelson siblingsfind themselves in the middle of a war between werewolves, vampires, and witches.
Grimm
Detective Nick Burkhardt discovers he’s a Grimm, a guardian tasked with keeping the balance between humanity and mythological creatures. As he navigates his new role, he battles dangerous Wesen while uncovering secrets about his ancestors. With the help of allies, Nick confronts dark forces threatening both worlds.
InGrimm, Nick Burkhardt is a detective tasked with keeping the peace between humans and mythological creatures known as Wesen. There are a range ofWesen throughoutGrimm,includingwolf-like creatures known as Blutbad.
They are among the strongest of the Wesen, and they possess traits commonly associated with werewolves, such as having immense loyalty to others and being affected by a full moon. The main Blutbad inGrimmis Monroe, who helps Nick get in contact with the supernatural world.
True Blood
True Blood is a horror/fantasy drama series created by Alan Ball and starring Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, and Alexander Skarsgård. The series follows the life of Sookie Stackhouse, a waitress with telepathic powers that lives in a fictional town in Louisiana. In this town, a new synthetic “drug” has allowed vampires to escape their coffins and roam amongst the living.
HBO’sTrue Bloodsees vampires living among humans, many of whom are hostile to their existence. Still, the series is not without other supernatural creatures and has characters who are faeries, witches, and werewolves.
InTrue Blood, werewolves are part of the Were variety, which describes a human that can shapeshift into an animal.Werewolves are officially introduced in season 3through Alcide, a cordial werewolf character who befriends the series' protagonist, Sookie Stackhouse.
Being Human
Being Human (2008) is a British supernatural drama series that follows three housemates living in Bristol—a vampire, a werewolf, and a ghost—as they struggle to navigate their shared existence while concealing their true nature from the outside world.
The British TV showBeing Human, combines comedy and horror for an entertaining show about three supernatural creatures — a vampire, a ghost, and a werewolf — living under one roof and trying to lead normal lives. However, despite their efforts, the three encounter many obstacles throughout the show’s five seasons.
Being Humanhas a 100% rating onRotten Tomatoes.
The main werewolf in the show isGeorge Sands, who does his best to control who he becomes after transforming on full moons.Being Humanhas a healthy amount of humor that doesn’t overshadow its more serious storylines but still allows for a good time when watching the show.
Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a television series created by Joss Whedon, focusing on Buffy Summers, portrayed by Sarah Michelle Gellar, a young woman chosen to battle against vampires, demons, and other supernatural forces while navigating the complexities of teenage life.
The titular character inBuffy the Vampire Slayercomes across a variety of supernatural creatures, like demons, ghosts, werewolves, and, of course, vampires. There are more werewolf characters in theBuffycomic series, but in season two of the show, the character of Daniel “Oz” Osbourne is introduced.
Oz is soon revealed to be a werewolf, and thoughOz was greatly underutilized, the character still had some depth. During his time on the show, Oz was grappling with his identity as a werewolf and whether he was truly “bad.”
What We Do in the Shadows
What We Do in the Shadows, released in 2019, is a mockumentary series exploring the nightly lives of a group of centuries-old vampires residing in Staten Island. The comedic show delves into their interactions with each other and the modern world, providing a humorous take on the vampire genre.
Werewolves don’t have as much screen time inWhat We Do in the Shadowsas they do in other horror shows, but their appearance does hark back to a conflict depicted throughout many supernatural stories. InWhat We Do in the Shadows, a series that revolves around vampires living in Staten Island,werewolves are seen as the enemy.
10 Best Vampire TV Shows Of All Time, Ranked
As long as there have been scary stories, there have been tales about vampires, and the best TV shows about the mystical creatures are iconic.
Though the two groups have entered a truce, some tensions do rise and the series handles such confrontations with a great amount of comedic elements.
Teen Wolf
This supernatural drama follows a high school student in Beacon Hills who becomes a werewolf after being bitten. Alongside his best friend, he navigates newfound powers and dangers, confronting various threats while entangled in the complexities of adolescence and the supernatural world. Created by Jeff Davis.
Inspired by the 1985 film of the same name,Teen Wolfis set in the fictional town of Beacon Hills, where an ordinary teenager, Scott McCall, is turned into a werewolf and must face different enemies from the supernatural world.
Considering werewolves play a big part in the show, Teen Wolf’s wolf mythology is expansive and remains consistent throughout the series' run.
Teen Wolfacts as an offbeat coming-of-age story as Scott must figure out how to survive in the supernatural world while remaining unchanged to other humans. Consideringwerewolves play a big part in the show,Teen Wolf’s wolf mythologyis expansive and remains consistent throughout the series' run.
Penny Dreadful
Penny Dreadful is a gothic horror thriller series that follows characters forced to brave historic British literature creations in Victorian London. Centering on Vanessa Ives across the series, the show has Vanessa and her allies face-to-face with supernatural entities that will challenge their reality while dealing with their own personal demons.
Like many of the other horror shows mentioned,Penny Dreadfulis not strictly about werewolves. Instead,the series features an array of famous characters, including Count Dracula, Henry Jekyll, and Lawrence Talbot. The latter goes byEthan Chandler inPenny Dreadfuland is revealed to have a supernatural background by the end of season 1.
Without giving much away, it’s safe to say Ethan’s non-human form initially comes as a shock, and it’s fascinating to see the evolution of his character throughout the series' run.
