The Best Current Shows That Are Darker Than Night

Updated October 9, 2020 3.0k votes 606 voters 21.7k views28 items

List RulesVote up the best television shows currently airing new episodes that keep it dark. No reality shows or docuseries.

Some television viewers enjoy diving into the dark underbelly of society or the human psyche. There are plenty of horror programs that will air this year that present a supernatural threat that endangers the characters in terrifying ways. Some dark shows instead depict that the biggest monster of all is... man. If these types of shows pique your interest, then you will be pleased to hear that there are plenty of shows with dark themes that will air in the coming year.

Each season of American Horror Story deals with a new set of characters dealing with horrifying monstrosities. There may not be any ghosts or ghouls in True Detective, but that does not stop the characters from having to contend with the darkest aspects of society. Who needs a monster with fangs lurking around the corner when you can see how the world really works when people give in to their base instincts.

These are some of the best series with dark themes you will get new episodes for in the near future. You can vote on which shows are the best and vote down on the shows that are just too dark for your liking. Give in to your dark side with this list.

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161
48
Mindhunter
Jonathan Groff, Holt McCallany
Premiered: 2017
Genres (Tv): Crime drama, Psychological thriller
Mindhunter (Netflix, 2017) is an American crime thriller television series created by Joe... more
2
166
52
The Haunting of Hill House
Michiel Huisman, Carla Gugino
Premiered: 2018
Genres (Tv): Supernatural horror
The Haunting of Hill House is the first season of the Netflix supernatural anthology... more
3
161
53
Black Mirror
Daniel Kaluuya, Toby Kebbell
Premiered: 2011
Genres (Tv): Drama, Thriller, Science Fiction, Fantasy
Black Mirror (Netflix, 2011) is a British television anthology series created by Charlie... more
4
121
34
True Detective
Mahershala Ali, Matthew McConaughey
Premiered: 2013
Genres (Tv): Crime Fiction, Drama
True Detective (HBO, 2014) is an American anthology drama television series created by Nic... more
5
162
68
Westworld
Evan Rachel Wood, Thandie Newton
Premiered: 2016
Genres (Tv): Sci-fi, Drama, Western
Westworld (HBO, 2016) is an American science fiction western thriller television series... more
6
109
37
Peaky Blinders
Cillian Murphy, Helen McCrory
Premiered: 2013
Genres (Tv): Action, Drama, Period Drama
Peaky Blinders (BBC Two, 2013) is a British television action drama created by Steven Knight,... more
7
147
73
Stranger Things
Winona Ryder, David Harbour
Premiered: 2016
Genres (Tv): Sci-fi, Horror, Supernatural, Period drama
Stranger Things (Netflix, 2016) is an American science fiction-horror web television series... more

8
94
32
Wentworth
Danielle Cormack, Nicole da Silva
Premiered: 2013
Genres (Tv): Drama
Wentworth is an Australian television drama series. It was first broadcast on SoHo on 1 May... more
9
167
89
American Horror Story
Connie Britton, Dylan McDermott
Premiered: 2011
Genres (Tv): Anthology, Horror, Supernatural
American Horror Story (FX, 2011) is an American anthology horror television series created by... more
10
86
28
Fargo
Billy Bob Thornton, Allison Tolman
Premiered: 2014
Genres (Tv): Comedy, Drama, Crime
Fargo (FX, 2014) is an American black comedy drama anthology television series created by Noah... more
11
82
30
Ozark
Jason Bateman, Laura Linney
Premiered: 2017
Genres (Tv): Crime drama, Thriller
Ozark (Netflix, 2017) is an American crime drama series created by Bill Dubuque. Financial... more
12
107
54
You
Penn Badgley, Elizabeth Lail
Premiered: 2018
Genres (Tv): Drama
You (Lifetime, 2018) is an American television drama series created by Greg Berlanti and Sera... more
13
67
25
Taboo
Tom Hardy, Leo Bill
Premiered: 2018
Genres (Tv): Period drama
Taboo (FX, 2017) is a British television drama series created by Tom Hardy, Edward "Chips"... more
14
38
7
The Handmaid's Tale
Elisabeth Moss, Joseph Fiennes
Premiered: 2017
Genres (Tv): Drama, Dystopian fiction
The Handmaid's Tale (Hulu, 2017) is an American web television series created by Bruce Miller,... more
15
71
39
Killing Eve
Sandra Oh, Jodie Comer
Premiered: 2018
Genres (Tv): Drama, Spy thriller
Killing Eve (BBC America, 2018) is a British drama television series developed by Phoebe... more
16
53
30
American Gods
Ricky Whittle, Emily Browning
Premiered: 2017
Genres (Tv): Fantasy, Drama
American Gods (Starz, 2017) is an American television series developed by Bryan Fuller and... more
17
69
58
The Walking Dead
Andrew Lincoln, Jon Bernthal
Premiered: 2010
Genres (Tv): Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, Suspense, Drama
The Walking Dead (A&E, 2010) is an American post-apocalyptic horror television series... more
18
30
20
The Witcher
Henry Cavill, Freya Allan
Premiered: 2019
Genres (Tv): Fantasy, Action, Adventure, Drama
The Witcher (Netflix, 2019) is a fantasy action-adventure series based on the series of short... more
19
34
31
The Twilight Zone
Simon Kinberg, Jordan Peele
Premiered: 2019
Genres (Tv): Anthology, Drama, Fantasy, Horror
The Twilight Zone (CBS All Access, 2019) is an American anthology drama web television series... more
20
15
11
Prodigal Son
Tom Payne, Lou Diamond Phillips
Premiered: 2019
Genres (Tv): Crime drama, Procedural
Prodigal Son (Fox, 2019) is an American drama television series created by Chris Fedak and Sam... more
21
12
8
The Haunting of Bly Manor
Victoria Pedretti, Tahirah Sharif
Premiered: 2020
Genres (Tv): Supernatural, Horror, Anthology
The Haunting of Bly Manor is the second season of the Netflix supernatural anthology... more
22
24
26
The Confession Tapes
The Confession Tapes (Netflix, 2017) is a true crime television documentary series created by... more
23
5
5
The Haunting
Michiel Huisman, Carla Gugino
Premiered: 2018
Genres (Tv): Supernatural, Horror, Anthology
The Haunting (Netflix, 2018) is an American television anthology series created by Mike... more
24
10
14
Ratched
Sarah Paulson, Alice Englert
Premiered: 2020
Genres (Tv): Drama
Ratched (Netflix, 2020) is an American television series based on Ken Kesey's novel One Flew... more
25
2
5
Two Sentence Horror Stories
Nicole Kang, Jim Parrack
Premiered: 2017
Genres (Tv): Horror, Anthology
Two Sentence Horror Stories (CW Seed, 2017) is an American horror anthology television series.... more

Ratched