13 Most Essential Fall Shows, Ranked
Michael Block is a 14 time GLAM Award nominated writer, producer, and host of the podcast Block Talk. Throughout his time in the entertainment industry, he has worked on and off Broadway as a stage manager, written several produced plays, critiqued hundreds of theatrical performances, drag and cabaret shows, and has produced events randing from drag competitoons to variety concerts!
On Block Talk, he interviews nightlife personalities, covers the wide world of entertainment through features, ranking episodes, and recaps ALL of Drag Race, as well as Dragula and Survivor. He has interviewed hundreds of RuGirls that span the globe at DragCon NYC, DragCon LA, and DragCon UK.
In his free time, he makes one-of-a-kind jewelry and gift baskets with his mom. He is a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community.
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When summer ends and the chill in the air sends a shiver down your spine, two types of TV viewers emerge: the ones who toss on their sweaters, warm up the kettle for some tea, and watch some cozy TV, and those who deck out their homes in their Halloween decor, light some candles, and turn on some spooky shows. No matter which one you are, we've officially entered the period where TV viewing shifts to fall essentials. Whether set in the fall or evoking the spirit of the season, the shows on this list are essentially fall.
Each year, we tend to get a smattering of new content that helps us prepare. For traditionalists, it's the old faithfuls we turn to in order to get in the mood. From the quintessential Gilmore Girls to the campy horror live-action teen scream queens like Wednesday and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, we have shows that should definitely be on your fall must-watch list!
13 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' (1997–2003)
It's been nearly 30 years since the world met Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar) in the iconic supernatural horror series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Created by Joss Whedon, the seven-season series follows a teenager who was picked by fate as the "Chosen One" to fight vampires, demons, and other forces of darkness. Set in the fictional town of Sunnydale, California, the beloved series treats high school as a horror, where real teenage struggles serve as the monsters to be defeated.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer subverts the traditional damsel-in-distress horror by making the titular heroine a strong inspiration. And we all need someone to look up to when it comes to the terrors of high school. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is essential fall viewing thanks to its spooky monster themes and its school setting as its prime locale. Fear not—journeys to the graveyards at night, as creepy beings lurk in the shadows, are the show's modus operandi. As Buffy grew up, the series allowed her and the gang to embark on fresh starts, just as every fall brings. As you pack away your bathing suits for the season and bring out the leather jackets and chunky sweaters, put on some Buffy the Vampire Slayer for prime cool-weather viewing.
12 'Abbott Elementary' (2021–Present)
Perhaps the greatest sitcom to come out of the 2020s is the hilarious Abbott Elementary. Created by Quinta Brunson, the hit ABC series follows the dedicated teachers at the underfunded titular elementary school in Philadelphia. The mockumentary-style comedy chronicles the daily struggles and momentary triumphs of the devoted and passionate staff as they battle low budgets, bureaucratic hurdles, and unexpected hijinks. Featuring a stellar ensemble led by Brunson, Abbott Elementary is a feel-good comedy that brings just a tinge of nostalgia from your school days.
Though Abbott Elementary smartly documents an entire school year, it's still a fall essential because each new season brings a brand-new school year. Though many school years technically begin while the summer sun is still burning, the start of the school year still evokes fall. If you watch the series in real time, you can also follow the real-time progression of Janine (Brunson) and company as they welcome their new class of whipsmart kiddos. And yes, the kids do matriculate to a new grade each year. Abbott Elementary is a simple joy. It's pure escapism that harkens back to simpler times.
11 'Only Murders in the Building' (2021–Present)
For decades, we thought we knew who the Three Amigos were, but then Selena Gomez began working with Steve Martin and Martin Short, and a new trio was born. Created by John Hoffman and Martin, Only Murders in the Building has become a long-running masterpiece. Entering Season 6 later this year, the cozy murder-mystery series follows three neighbors—Charles-Haden Savage (Martin), Oliver Putnam (Short), and Mabel Mora (Gomez)—who begin a true-crime podcast inspired by the literal corpses that roll up in their upscale New York apartment, the Arconia. As they dig up crimes, they uncover deep secrets about their neighbors and realize a killer is among them. Alongside a star-studded cast of series regulars and beloved guest stars, Only Murders in the Building is a low-stakes comedic thriller.
Many TV lovers seek something cozy to curl up and watch. Only Murders in the Building is very much that. Through the comforting cadence of poking fun at true-crime podcasts, Only Murders in the Building is the perfect show to watch as the temperature drops. With a usual late-summer or early-fall release, the series has gone hand-in-hand with the season. If fall fashion in New York is your thing, the characters love to layer up in chunky sweaters, heavy overcoats, and stylish hats and scarves. Only Murders in the Building also evokes the season, as its New York backdrop features changing leaves, and warm-toned colors capture the autumn atmosphere. The narrative also happens to pair perfectly with a nice cup of cocoa. Very few true-crime shows are as safe and comforting as Only Murders in the Building.
10 'Wednesday' (2022–Present)
There are very few families more iconic than The Addams Family. With a plethora of movies and animations based on the IP, a new generation was welcomed into the clan. Tim Burton's hit Netflix series Wednesday brings the titular daughter to the forefront as she attends Nevermore Academy. With a dark color palette setting the tone of the series, the Jenna Ortega-led series is the perfect show to binge on an autumn night.
With haunting thrills, chilling twists, and a set of beloved and newfound fan-favorite characters, Wednesday exudes the aura of autumn. Having a spooky background naturally woven in, Burton's brilliant mind only adds to the flavor and spice. As we'll often discuss on this list, when a show takes a journey into the woods, it automatically screams fall. When not on school grounds, Wednesday spends much of the action in the forests of Jericho, Vermont, home to terrifying creatures, mysterious creatures, and a mist and fog that lead to a wonderment of danger. Plus, with its two seasons, each featuring a spooky-tinged Lady Gaga track—"Bloody Mary (TikTok Remix)" and "The Dead Dance"—Wednesday is a perfect segue to Halloween.
Collider Exclusive · 8 Questions · 2 Minutes Which Netflix Character Would Be Your Best Friend? Dustin · Emily · Wednesday · Gi-hun
Some friends drag you out of the house. Some sit with you on the worst night of your life. Netflix has written both, plus the one who tells you the truth you have been avoiding all week. Answer eight quick questions about how you actually do friendship, and find out which of them was always going to end up in your corner.
🧢Dustin(Stranger Things)
🗼Emily(Emily in Paris)
🕷️Wednesday(Wednesday)
🟢Gi-hun(Squid Game)
01
How do you usually end up making a new friend? The origin story says a lot about the friendship that follows it.
02
What is a perfect Saturday with your best friend? Friendship is mostly built out of very ordinary hours.
03
You call them at two in the morning. What happens? This is the real test of a friendship, and everybody knows it.
04
What do you want from them when you are clearly wrong? The best friendships are the ones that survive being corrected.
05
What do your friends actually value about you? The friend you attract says something about the friend you are.
06
You have a falling out. How does it go? How a friendship repairs itself matters more than how it breaks.
07
What do you actually need a best friend for? Everybody is missing something. The right friend fills that gap.
08
Ten years from now, what keeps the two of you close? Eight questions in, this is the one that decides who you get.
The Group Chat Has Spoken Your Best Friend Is…
Four Netflix characters, four completely different ways of showing up for somebody. This is the one who fits how you actually do friendship, and what having them in your life would be like.
Dustin Henderson
You do not do friendship at half volume, and neither does he. What you want is somebody who says yes to the plan before you have finished describing the plan.
- Dustin is the friend the entire show runs on: loyal past the point of sense, enthusiastic about everything, and incapable of leaving anybody behind.
- You have the same instinct. Your friendships are loud, specific and slightly ridiculous, and they last for decades because of it.
- He is also the one person who would take your strangest interest completely seriously, which is far rarer than it sounds.
- You would have a group chat. It would never once be quiet.
Emily Cooper
You are the friend who makes things happen, and so is she. Together you would be mildly exhausting to everyone around you and completely delighted with yourselves.
- Emily treats an ordinary Tuesday as something that could be turned into an occasion, which is either the best or the worst quality in a friend depending on your energy levels.
- You share her refusal to sit still. Neither of you has ever accepted a night in when something was happening somewhere else.
- She is far more loyal than people give her credit for. She defends her friends loudly, publicly, and occasionally before checking the facts.
- She would post the photo without asking. You would forgive her, because it is a very good photo.
Wednesday Addams
You have no patience for pleasant lies, and she has no ability to tell them. What looks like coldness from the outside is the most reliable friendship on this list.
- Wednesday never says a kind thing she does not mean, which makes the rare ones count for an enormous amount.
- You would rather be told the truth than be made comfortable. She is constitutionally incapable of offering you anything else.
- Underneath all of it she is ferociously protective. She simply refuses to make a performance out of caring.
- Do not expect a birthday message. Do expect her to ruin anyone who wrongs you.
Seong Gi-hun
You look after whoever is having the worst day. So does he. It is the least strategic way to move through the world and the best possible quality in a friend.
- Gi-hun is not the strongest player in Squid Game, or the cleverest. He is the one who keeps choosing to protect somebody else, over and over, at genuine cost to himself.
- You have the same instinct. You notice who is struggling and you stay with them, long after anybody would blame you for leaving.
- He is a flawed friend, and that is part of why it lands. He lets people down, then comes back and tries again, which is more than most manage.
- He would give you his last chance and never once mention that he had done it.
9 'Pretty Little Liars' (2010–2017)
Snag your PSL and turn on PLL, aka Pumpkin Spice Latte and Pretty Little Liars. The suspenseful and thrilling series is set in Rosewood, Pennsylvania, as four best friends—Aria Montgomery (Lucy Hale), Emily Fields (Shay Mitchell), Hanna Marin (Ashley Benson), and Spencer Hastings (Troian Bellisario)—have their secrets dramatically exposed as they are threatened by the anonymous "A," who begins harassing the girls after the mysterious disappearance of their clique leader, Alison DiLaurentis (Sasha Pieterse).
With the series set in the fall and winter semesters, the show not only provides fall vibes with its suspenseful storylines, but also the fashion the characters wear. The autumnal atmosphere is only enhanced by those dreary, rain-filled scenes. Although the series didn't air during the fall, and there are certainly some episodes that veer into wintertime, diehard fans go back to watching the show when the fall season hits, as PLL is a guiltless slasher series for those who like suspense more than screams.
8 'Charmed' (1998–2006)
It's the season of the witch, so we certainly couldn't leave Charmed off the list. Known as The Charmed Ones, the most powerful good witches of all time, sisters Prue (Shannon Doherty), Piper (Holly Marie Combs), Phoebe Halliwell (Alyssa Milano), and later Paige Matthews (Rose McGowan), must harness their combined Power of Three to protect the world from evil beings in modern-day San Francisco. During a time in which Buffy the Vampire Slayer was giving teens vampires, Charmed brought the supernatural through magic. With a dominating female-led presence and a cult following of fans, Charmed holds a firm place in television history.
Between the fall vibes and compelling themes, fans often turn to Charmed to get prepared for some cozy nights in. The Halliwell Sisters have become icons in their own right, representing the idea that good will ultimately prevail against evil. There hadn't been a coven more beloved until we met American Horror Story's coven at Miss Robichaux's Academy. The series did receive a reboot starring Melonie Diaz, Madeleine Mantock, and Sarah Jeffrey, but the new generation didn't pack as much of a punch.
7 'Twin Peaks' (1990–2017)
Absolutely, there is a certain audience who will appreciate the brilliance of Twin Peaks. It may be hard to get into, but if you fulfill your destiny of finishing, you'll understand the decades of hype and lore of Twin Peaks. Filled with signature David Lynch surrealism and eccentricities, Twin Peaks became an absolute game-changer in the type of stories and characters that could be shared on network television. An American horror soap opera, Twin Peaks features a story that must be seen to be believed. From the naked corpse of the homecoming queen to the possession of her father to Log Lady (Margaret Lanterman) is the most wonderfully twisted series that today's shows aspire to be.
The setting of the fictional Pacific Northwestern town brings fall to the forefront. Through its wickedly dark themes, spooky atmosphere, and now-retro vibes, Twin Peaks has become a fire-lit, rainy night in bingeworthy viewing for fanatics. The series brilliantly weaves mystery, crime, and supernatural elements with that autumnal mist through the leafless trees of Washington.
6 'Virgin River' (2019–Present)
The cinematography of Virgin River screams fall! The small-town, cozy-feeling series has become a blanket and snuggle show. The romantic drama set in a picturesque northern California town has been compared to "a soap opera in a sweater." Virgin River follows Mel Monroe (Alexandra Breckenridge), who answers an ad to work as a midwife and nurse practitioner in a remote northern California town. Believing it to be a perfect place to start fresh and escape a life of trauma, Mel soon discovers that small-town living is not what she thought it might be.
Virgin River is a low-stress, life-lesson-teaching, heartfelt romance that brings Hallmark vibes on a Netflix budget. The series, based on the novels by Robyn Carr, has earned a devoted following that is filled with wholesome charm, exuding escapism. Just imagine being whisked away to Virgin River, looking out at the mountains, with a morning cup of coffee while wearing your cozy sweater. That's the escapism that Virgin River celebrates.
5 'The Vampire Diaries' (2009–2017)
Set in the chilling, supernatural hamlet of Mystic Falls, Virginia, The Vampire Diaries exudes the fall. The CW teen drama followed human Elana Gilbert (Nina Dobrev) as she suddenly falls for fellow student-slash-century-old vampire Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley). When his brother Damon (Ian Somerhalder) comes to town, the relationship becomes more complicated as he is on a mission to bring back their past love, Katherine Pierce, a doppelgänger of Elena. With an inherent love triangle at the heart of the story, the brothers must keep Elena safe while maintaining their secret identities as vampires.
Based on the books by L.J. Smith, The Vampire Diaries is a guilty-pleasure watch that helped those Twilight fans continue their bloodthirsty desire for more vampire-centric love stories. For those who love campy horror romances, The Vampire Diaries will fulfill your every fantasy. If you're looking for quality substance, maybe this one isn't for you. The Vampire Diaries never strays away from what it's destined to be. From the woods to the graveyard, the fall is screaming out on The Vampire Diaries.
4 'Chilling Adventures of Sabrina' (2018–2020)
The Archie Comics classic Sabrina the Teenage Witch has seen itself by many generations of consumers. Originally published in 1971, the titular character made her animated debut before Sabrina's live-action TV debut in 1996, starring Melissa Joan Hart as Sabrina. The sitcom was light-hearted and fun, with just enough '90s magic to make you giggle. However, a generation later, Archie Comics released Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, a darker take on the titular character. Writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa took his work from page to screen with a Netflix budget.
The highly anticipated series starred Kiernan Shipka as Sabrina Spellman alongside an ensemble cast. The spell-binding world was a much darker adaptation than the '90s show, but it screamed a gothic, autumn-esque supernatural thriller. Greendale provides that Halloween feel with the mysterious woods and bountiful witchcraft. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is a tried-and-true coming-of-age series that brings bold and dark themes through the lens of teenage life.
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